Tony Iommi Nabbed Queen’s Brian May for New Solo Album, But Missed Out on Geezer Butler

Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi announced his new solo album From the Dark on Wednesday, and revealed additional details in an interview with Rolling Stone, one of which is that his good friend Brian May of Queen is the only special guest on the album. Iommi’s first solo LP in more than 20 years is set to be released on October 23rd. May provided a guitar solo on the track “Death Wake.” Get Black Sabbath Albums on Vinyl “It’s a weird riff,” said Iommi of “Death Wake,” adding, “I like that track as well. I like anything doom. Of course, I got Brian May on it playing the solo on that one.” Iommi went on to say about first meeting May, “In the very early ’70s, he was in one studio, and I was in another. And we just hit it off. We’ve been friends for, God, nearly 60 years. We stay in touch all the time. He’s played onstage a couple of times with me, and then we’ve done a couple of album tracks we played on together. He’s a very, very close friend.” If it was up to Iommi, May would’ve had a larger presence on the upcoming album, with the Black Sabbath guitarist noting, “I did say to him, “Do you want to play on something else?” He said, “No, no. Your solos are good. I don’t need to play.” Previously, Iommi and May jammed on a rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” in 2024. Iommi also would have liked to have his Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer Butler play bass throughout the album, but it didn’t work out. “I wanted him to play on this album, but he couldn’t do it,” disclosed Iommi. “He’s doing his own album, I think. Or at the time, something happened there, so he couldn’t come to England. I wanted to get it done and finally get it out, really.” Instead, Iommi tapped Becky Baldwin of Mercyful Fate, saying, “She plays in Geezer’s style. And that’s what I wanted. She’s really good.” The rest of the solo band for the album is comprised of Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande, who co-wrote and sings on all songs, and drummer Karl Brazil. Meanwhile, Iommi recently joined his fellow surviving members of Black Sabbath in offering tributes to Ozzy Osbourne on the one year anniversary of his passing, with the guitarist declaring, “There will never be another Ozzy.” Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath: Deluxe [Half-Speed Master] $59.99 View Details →