Tony Iommi says he rejected Andrew Watt’s designs for making a final Black Sabbath album with the original lineup.
Through his work with Ozzy Osbourne, the Rolling Stones, and Pearl Jam, Andrew Watt has become one of the hottest rock producers on the planet. He could have had Sabbath on his resumé, too.
Watt was a key player in bringing Ozzy’s last two albums – 2020’s Ordinary Man and 2022’s Patient Number 9 – to life, and has songwriting credits across both. He and the Prince of Darkness grew close before Ozzy’s tragic passing last year. It turns out he was eyeing a return to the studio with Sabbath.
Iommi, the cover star of the new issue of Classic Rock, reveals what put him off the idea.
“I’d met Andrew Watt when he was producing Ozzy,” he details. “He was very keen and a bit too excited.
“He also didn’t know what it was like working with the original Sabbath, working with Bill [Ward, drums],” he adds.
Rick Rubin was behind the desk for 13, in 2013. It was the first time Iommi, Ozzy, and bass player Geezer Butler had made an album together since Never Say Die! in 1978. Yet Iommi wasn’t after another milestone.
“We’d done 13,” he acknowledges. “I didn’t like the idea of: ‘Now here’s another album.’”
Notably, Bill Ward was absent from the album sessions. Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave sticksman Brad Wilk was chosen in his place. Ozzy’s solo band drummer, Tommy Clufetos, was subsequently chosen for the band’s following tours.
That made Back to the Beginning – Ozzy’s final gig – even more poignant, as it brought Ward back into the picture and signed the band off in style.
Following Ozzy’s death, Iommi has forged on with his hotly anticipated solo album, From the Dark, which will be his first since 2005. It will feature a guest solo from Brian May, and a full band filled with emerging stars.
Visit Classic Rock to read more from Iommi's new interview.
