Tony Iommi Explains His Refusal to Reunite Black Sabbath's Original Lineup for a New Album

The idea came from Andrew Watt. The producer behind Ozzy Osbourne's final two albums, "Ordinary Man" and "Patient Number 9," got to know Tony Iommi while working on Osbourne's records and pitched him on bringing Black Sabbath's original lineup back into the studio. Iommi said no.

He explained why in an interview with Classic Rock: "He was very keen, almost a bit too excited. He didn't really know what it would be like working with the original Sabbath, working with Bill." Iommi also pointed to a more direct reason: "We already did '13,' and I don't like the idea of 'let's do another album.'"

"13" was Black Sabbath's nineteenth studio album, released in 2013 and led by original members Iommi, Osbourne, and Geezer Butler, with drumming duties handled by Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave—original drummer Bill Ward sat out due to a contract dispute. The album topped the charts in both the US and UK and earned the band a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. NME gave it three and a half stars at the time, writing that it "gathers together everything you'd expect from a new Black Sabbath album featuring three returning original members."

After "13" came out, Osbourne publicly suggested the band would record "one more album," but he walked that back in 2015, saying the band had "decided not to do it," citing a practical reason: "It takes three or four years to write and record an album, and by then I'll be f***ing seventy-two, seventy-three years old, so we decided to just do one farewell tour."

The original lineup never made it back into the studio, but they did reunite onstage in 2025 at "Back To The Beginning" at Villa Park in Birmingham—the four members' first time performing together since 2005, and it turned out to be the final performance for both Sabbath and Osbourne personally. Just over two weeks after that show, Osbourne passed away in July 2025 at age 76.

Iommi wrote a tribute at the time: "I can't believe it! My dear friend Ozzy just passed away, just weeks after our Villa Park show. This news is so heartbreaking, I can't find the words, there won't ever be anyone else like him. Geezer, Bill, and I have lost our brother. My heart goes out to Sharon and the whole Osbourne family. Rest in peace, Oz."