During his annual New Year message back in January, riff godfather Tony Iommi teased fans about a “really good” solo album that he's been cooking up in the studio – and now he's offered an update on its progress.
The good news is it's coming along nicely, and “might use some orchestration”. The not-so-good-news is there isn't a timeline for its release.
In an interview with Full Metal Jackie, the Black Sabbath legend says he's written “a lot of stuff” for the album, which would be his first solo record since 2005's Fused, and his first new music since featuring on Ozzy’s latest album, Patient Number 9, in 2022.
“I am writing stuff now for my own album,” he says. “That’s exciting. And there’s no pressure. I just do stuff when I feel like it, because, obviously, I’ve got a life to live and I like to do all the different stuff.
“But I’ve really enjoyed doing this stuff, as I did with Ozzy when I’d done a couple of tracks for his last album. And I’m quite open [to] all that now. Whatever comes, and I like it, I do it.
“I’ve got a lot of stuff [written],” Iommi adds of the upcoming album. “But now we’re actually getting around to sort of putting it together, myself and the engineer. So it’s been good fun.
“As I say, there’s no pressure. I can just do it – I don’t have to do it by next week. And because of everything else [that has] been lurking around, I have to take my time in doing things.
“But it’s been fun, and that’s what it’s all about, really. And I’m looking forward to actually doing it and an album coming out.”
Last month, Iommi remembered the time he co-wrote a Black Sabbath song with Eddie Van Halen, although the band was not able to credit the guitar legend for his contributions.
In related news, Iommi's former bandmate Geezer Butler revealed plans for one final Black Sabbath show are afoot, and he and Osbourne are already onboard.
