Tony Iommi Hopes to Write With Tony Martin for Martin-Era Black Sabbath Album Reissues

The Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath has always existed in the colossal shadows of the Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio fronted portion of the catalog, but guitarist Tony Iommi has plans surrounding the five albums Sabbath recorded with the singer. Reissues for both Headless Cross and Tyr are in the works and the riff lord revealed he'd like to work on some new material with his former frontmen to celebrate.

"We've held back on the reissues of those albums because of the current Sabbath thing with [Ozzy Osbourne], but they will certainly be happening," Iommi told The Music. Of course, the guitarist is referring to the Black Sabbath farewell tour that is currently underway. Typically, reissues include new content, be it previously unreleased live recordings, demo versions of songs, alternate mixes, etc., but Iommi has something even better in mind. "I'd like to do a couple of new tracks for those releases with Tony Martin," he said before setting his sights on projects further down the pipeline, adding, "I'll also be looking at working on Cross Purposes and Forbidden."

Iommi and Martin both recently attended the unveiling of a memorial plaque dedicated to late drum legend Cozy Powell — who played on Headless Cross, Tyr and Forbidden — in the U.K. The two reconnected after more than a decade of not speaking to each other, leading Martin to post a message on his Facebook page stating, “Well what a great day… I attended the unveiling of Cozy Powell’s memorial plaque in his hometown of Cirencester, along with Brian May, Neil Murray, and Tony Iommi … And to my surprise was greeted by Tony Iommi VERY warmly. It's the first conversation of any length I have had with him in 15 years!!!! ….. and it turns out we may well be working together soon!!!”

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