In a new video celebrating the new year, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi reflects on the past year and looks ahead to new ventures, which includes starting work on a new album that may possibly be his first solo record since 2005's Fused.
For the 74-year-old Iommi, 2022 was full of ups and downs — he played at the Commonwealth Games' opening and closing ceremonies which was a definite highlight, but 2022 was also the year he endured the death of Mike Clement, his guitar tech of the last 33 years. He also lamented Russia's war against Ukraine, which incidentally is holding up the completion of his new recording studio.
"I'm having a new studio built, which I'm really pleased about. Well, actually, the studio is built. It's almost ready to go, I'm just waiting for some equipment. Because of the war [in Ukraine], it's sort of stopped some of the parts coming through," explains Iommi in his eight-minute video message, "But we're almost there. In another couple of weeks, I think I'll be ready to go in and start work in there, which I'm really looking forward to... writing another album."
Watch the full message in the video below.
The chances of it being Black Sabbath material is slim to none as the band's members have expressed next to no desire to author a followup to 2013's 13, which was the group's first with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978.
The alternatives are that Iommi has his sights set on another solo album or is starting an entirely new project.
His previous solo efforts include 2000's star-studded Iommi and 2005's Fused, which notably features Glenn Hughes on vocals and bass. Released between this pair of albums was The 1996 DEP Sessions, a collaborative recording that came out in 2004, eight years after the recordings.
In the video, Iommi also reconfirmed that he will focus on reissuing the IRS Records era of the Black Sabbath catalog, which includes four of the five records Tony Martin sang on as well as 1992' Dehumanizer which saw Ronnie James Dio return to the lineup.
Keep an eye and ear out for all that as 2023 rolls on!
Tony Iommi's 2023 New Year's Message
