Tony Iommi is about to start work on a new album

Tony Iommi offers fans an update on New Year's Day 2023 — (Image credit: Tony Iommi | YouTube)

Tony Iommi has revealed that he's about to begin work on a brand new album in a New Year's Day video update.

In the message, the Black Sabbath guitarist reflects on reuniting with Ozzy Osbourne for a brief performance at the 2022 Commonwealth games in Birmingham and also pays tribute to his late friend and guitar tech Mike Clement, who sadly passed away in November.

During the eight-minute video, Iommi discloses that his recording studio is nearing completion and is looking forward to working on new material in the coming months.

"The studio is built, and it's almost ready to go," says Tony in the message, transcribed by Blabbermouth.net. "I'm just waiting for some equipment. Because of the war [in Ukraine], it's sort of stopped some of the parts coming through. 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."

The coming year will also see the reissues of Black Sabbath's studio albums featuring vocalist Tony Martin.

With Martin, they released five studio albums: The Eternal Idol (1987), Headless Cross (1989), Tyr (1990), Cross Purposes (1994) and Forbidden (1995).

"I'm looking forward to that, because a lot of people have asked about that, which is great," says Tony. "They wanted to see when it's coming out. And we've done them in succession, really, with these albums.

"So we've had all the original Sabbath stuff come out, box sets, and then we've got the Ronnie stuff. And then the next thing will be the Tony Martin and then my solo stuff. So it's gonna be busy again. But it's great. And it's nice to be doing the interviews and talking about what we did and all the rest of stuff."

In closing, the guitarist wished his fans well and hinted at a possible live performance in the future.

"Anyway, happy new year to you all and I hope to see you sometime on tour, whether it's playing or a talks thing. Thanks for all your support over the years, I really appreciate it."

Watch the full video below.

Artists

Born in 1976 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Simon Young has been a music journalist for over twenty-six years. His fanzine, Hit A Guy With Glasses, enjoyed a one-issue run before he secured a job at Kerrang! in 1999. His writing has also appeared in Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog, and Planet Rock. His first book, So Much For The 30 Year Plan: Therapy? — The Authorised Biography is available via Jawbone Press.