Tony Iommi may not be finished with the stage just yet. The Black Sabbath guitarist has hinted that he could take his new solo album on the road, offering fans a glimmer of hope during the record’s launch in his hometown of Birmingham.
The event, held on July 29 at the Actress & Bishop pub, saw Iommi discuss From The Dark in conversation with comedian and fellow Brummie Frank Skinner, while also premiering the dystopian, film-like video for lead single “World Alone“, which was shot in Cornwall. When Skinner asked whether audiences might hear the new material performed live, Iommi smiled and replied (via The Sun): “You may do. Anything’s a possibility.”
Due out October 23 via BMG, From The Dark is Iommi‘s first solo album in more than two decades — his first since 2005’s Fused, which he made with former Deep Purple and Black Sabbath man Glenn Hughes. This time out, he’s joined by Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande, bassist Becky Baldwin and drummer Karl Brazil, best known for his long stint with Robbie Williams, with longtime collaborator Mike Exeter co-producing. The album’s one famous guest is Queen guitarist Brian May, a close friend of Iommi‘s for nearly 60 years, who contributes a solo to the track “Death Wake.”
By Iommi‘s account, the record came together without the weight that used to hang over Black Sabbath sessions. “We’ve done it casually really, because there was no pressure.” he said.
In the album’s press materials, he echoed that spirit: “It’s an album we’ve really enjoyed making. We’re not trying to prove anything – it’s a great album, it rocks!”
That relaxed pace was interrupted by tragedy. The making of the album was slowed by the death of Iommi‘s Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne last July, which prompted the guitarist to step away from recording for a time. The two had exchanged text messages the night before Osbourne died, and the loss hit hard. “I didn’t expect him to go overnight. It was a hell of a shock,” Iommi recalled.
The finished record is steeped in the city that shaped him. “The whole record is designed around Birmingham,” he explained. “The T-shirts have been made in Birmingham, the merchandise has been made in Birmingham.”
There was room for humor at the launch, too. Iommi was made an MBE in the King’s birthday honours last month for his services to music and charity, but when asked when he’d be heading to Buckingham Palace to collect it, he joked: “I’d forgotten about that. They have probably changed their minds now.”
The evening also brought a reminder of just how improbable his career has been. As a teenager working in a Birmingham sheet metal factory, Iommi lost the tips of the middle and ring fingers on his fretting hand — an injury doctors thought would end any hope of playing. “I went to different doctors and they said, ‘You might as well give up and find another profession’,” he recalled. Undeterred, he engineered his own fix. “I got a Fairy Liquid bottle, melted it down into a ball and then got a soldering iron and made a hole in it, so it fit on my finger. I tried to play and it slipped off. I had to find a material that would grip the strings like skin, so I cut one of my old rocker leather jackets up, and it worked.”
Now 78, Iommi hasn’t toured regularly since Black Sabbath‘s farewell tour wrapped in 2017, though he did return to the stage in 2025 for “Back To The Beginning,” the reunion concert honoring Ozzy Osbourne just weeks before his passing. While the door to live shows appears to be ajar, a lengthy trek seems unlikely given his history. Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012 before entering remission in 2016, and around that time he was candid about the toll the road takes on him.
“With my illness, I can’t work to the level I did before,” he said back then. “I have to think about that and, as much as I love to play, I can’t handle the actual touring anymore. I have to play it safe now, and we all talked about it and we decided that this would be the last tour.” He added in a separate interview from the same period: “It’s not the playing – it’s the long flights and arriving at a hotel at 4am. That’s not good for me because it affects the blood cells. But I love playing with the band, and it’s sad to think this is the last tour.”
For now, fans will have to settle for a “possibility” — but with From The Dark on the way, it’s clear the master of the riff still has plenty left to say.
