Tony Iommi has addressed his bandmate’s desire for a Black Sabbath reunion.
In a recent episode of The Madhouse Chronicles, Ozzy Osbourne revealed that he feels there is still more to the Sabbath story and expressed a strong desire to reunite with Bill Ward for a final performance.
During an interview on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Iommi commented on the possibility of such an encore:
“It’d be a nice idea, but you’re gonna get everybody going, ‘Oh, they’re doing it for the money. They’re doing it for this, they’re doing it for that.’”
He clarified that financial motives were not the issue and that the band would genuinely enjoy the reunion:
“Well, it wouldn’t be. I mean, it’d be something that’d be a nice thing to actually do, but whether it happens will be another thing. But we’ll see. I mean, who knows?”
Geezer Butler Weighs In on a Reunion
Last year, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler discussed his relationship with Osbourne and the potential for a Sabbath reunion, noting that the idea of reuniting with original drummer Bill Ward has been circulating since their 2016-2017 ‘The End Tour,’ which featured Tommy Clufetos on drums. However, the prospect of a reunion has remained uncertain. In a 2023 interview, Butler commented:
“I don’t think Ozzy’s up for it anyway.”
Is Ozzy On Board for a Reunion?
Butler’s assessment seems accurate. In a previous interview, Osbourne stated that any new collaboration with Iommi would inevitably sound like a Sabbath album. He emphasized that they had already “put Sabbath to bed,” making the idea of another Sabbath album unlikely:
“If Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi do an album together, it’s going to sound like a Sabbath album. Tony was the sound of Sabbath. There’s no getting away from the fact that, when he plays with me, it’ll be some kind of a reflection of that. Maybe the tracks he did on my album were like what Sabbath should have been had we stayed together, but I want to take it away from Sabbath. We put that band to bed. And if he wants to [make it another] Sabbath album, I’m not doing it!”
1 Comment
I really think that given what Ozzy is going through that his former band mates would put their differences aside, but I guess for some it is about money, and that is very sad!