Tony Iommi is the true mastermind behind Black Sabbath. While Ozzy Osbourne often steals the spotlight as the band’s legendary frontman, Iommi is the architect who crafted their sound and helped bring heavy metal to the world.
Iommi remains the heart and soul of Black Sabbath’s existence. Even though he recorded a solo album in 2000, Osbourne and drummer Bill Ward still contributed to it. Iommi has an obsession with Black Sabbath music and, even after retiring, it will always be a part of him.
Though Black Sabbath revolutionized heavy rock and essentially invented heavy metal with Paranoid, their journey wasn’t without missteps. Over their half-century career, the band faced numerous challenges, and not everything they produced became a classic. Iommi himself looks back at three albums with regret.
Chaos was often a constant companion for Black Sabbath. Even when they were at their creative peak, turmoil lurked close by. Substance abuse and the frequent changes in their lineup, particularly with singers, often disrupted the band’s rhythm. Iommi cites this instability as a reason why certain albums didn’t quite hit the mark.
The first album Iommi regrets is Mob Rules (1981). By this time, only he and bassist Geezer Butler remained from the original lineup, as Osbourne and Ward had already departed.
After the record’s release, their replacements, Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice, also left the group, only to return a decade later.
In an interview with Guitar World, Iommi revealed the album’s troubled production: “We were all going through a lot of problems at that time, most of it related to drugs. Even the producer, Martin Birch, was having drug problems, and it hurt the sound of that record. Once that happens to your producer, you’re really screwed.”
He also mentioned how the band shifted their songwriting process, leading to unused material that could have improved the album. “Mob Rules was a confusing album for us.”
Another album that doesn’t sit well with Iommi is Technical Ecstasy (1976). This marked the final album with Osbourne before his initial departure, and the band’s efforts to innovate fell flat.
“Black Sabbath fans generally don’t like much of Technical Ecstasy,” Iommi admitted. “It was really a no-win situation. If we had stayed the same, people would say we were doing the same old stuff. So we tried to get a little more technical, and it just didn’t work out.”
In both Mob Rules and Technical Ecstasy, Sabbath struggled with reinvention, leading to albums that lacked the conviction of their earlier work.
But Iommi’s harshest criticism is reserved for Born Again (1983), the only album featuring Ian Gillan of Deep Purple. While the idea of Gillan joining the band seemed promising on paper, the reality was far different.
“It was done purely by lawyers,” Iommi said. “Ian is a great singer, but he’s from a completely different background, and it was difficult for him to come in and sing Sabbath material.” Iommi disliked several of the tunes and thought that the production was poor.
Given the turmoil that surrounded Black Sabbath, it’s remarkable that Iommi only has regrets about three albums.
While these records may not stand among their greatest, they still play a crucial role in the band’s story, shaping Sabbath’s legacy—even if they didn’t always hit the right notes.
