Tony Iommi’s new studio album, From The Dark, comes more than two decades after his previous solo outing. It’s brilliantly performed and recorded and can hold its own in the contemporary world of metal, says Gareth Allen.

From The Dark, the new album from Tony Iommi, is a celebration of the creative drive of a musician who fully deserves to be described as a pioneer and visionary. In his work with Black Sabbath and other musical projects, he has created a unique guitar style which, allied with his compositional approach, has provided a bedrock for the development of metal and many of the musical forms it has taken.

His creative drive is always seeking out of new avenues of expression, wonderfully embodied in the acclaimed 2023 collaboration with the Birmingham Royal Ballet on Black Sabbath – The Ballet. Attending the final performance of the initial Birmingham run of the ballet was a very moving experience, not least when Tony Iommi emerged on stage playing Paranoid at the conclusion of the ballet, to the applause of the dancers, and an audience response like no other I have heard.

On this new studio album, he has collaborated with a small group of trusted and very talented musicians, including vocalist and lyricist Jorn Lande, bassist Becky Baldwin, and drummer Karl Brazil. Production on the album is shared between Tony Iommi and his creative partner Mike Exeter, who also adds keyboards.

The opening salvo on the album, Over The Violent Sun, is a strong statement of intent. The rolling distorted guitar figure leads the song forward, with the rhythm section providing an irresistible propulsive drive. Jorn Lande’s towering vocals and lyrical imagery lend an epic scale to the song, while Tony Iommi’s guitar solo has a cogent musicality that sings and darts. Mike Exeter’s keyboards bring in a subtle additional layering, another essential element to the sound.

Black Times, that follows, initially recalls the heady early days of Black Sabbath and is a song that dares you to turn up the volume dial. Then it takes a sudden left turn into a ballad-like section with some lovely pealing guitar work. Such a radical turn within a song is something that has always marked out the creative spirit inhabiting Tony Iommi’s work, and which is readily apparent from any careful listening to the Black Sabbath back catalogue.

World Alone has one of those opening guitar riffs that floors and has a relentless reverberating tension, interrupted only by Tony Iommi’s euphonious lead phrases, that deftly flow through the song. Jorn Lande’s impassioned vocal adds a symphonic element, perfectly fitting the dystopian images conjured up in the lyrics and the accompanying video for the song. Beyond The Dead, the next track, quixotically brings in a catchy torch song element while still retaining the essential heaviness which reigns across the album.

Stormwatcher, with its imposing down-tuned gradualist pace, provides a persuasive contemporary take on doom metal, with the tumultuous sound washing over the listener. The pulsating drumming and bass work reverberate through the speakers, and Tony Iommi’s solo here is built around some compelling melodic phrases that soar over the song’s unforgiving wall of sound. Jorn Lande’s vocal brings a foreboding choral-like quality to the song, the final building block for this heroic soundscape. Catching breath for a second, it feels important to note the excellent production work on the album, which captures both the power of the performances and the strikingly layered soundstage the songs are situated in.

Death Wake is one of the strongest pieces on the album. Ostensibly a power ballad, it has an intricacy, and delicate musical touch, where the band expertly follow the rise and fall contours of the song’s inner structure. Jorn Lande’s brings forward his very best vocal on the album as Tony Iommi’s guitar surges around his vocal from all sides. Return Of The Arbalist takes us into myth and legend territory with the subject of the song’s title being a medieval siege machine. Tony Iommi and the band play this with swing and a full-on metal attack.

Legacy, which stretches out to just over seven minutes, is the crowning achievement of the album. Tony Iommi’s riff launches an unstoppable avalanche of sound, and all the other musicians rise to the challenge. Becky Baldwin’s inventive bass playing works as a brilliant counterpoint to Tony Iommi’s guitar, while Karl Brazil provides a crisp and pithy syncopated rhythm. Jorn Lande’s vocal is perfectly paced, with a well-judged subtle element of drama; and what sound like keyboard interjects by Mike Exeter nicely accent the atmosphere. Tony Iommi turns in two solos, one electric and one which sounds to be acoustic, both demonstrating the free-flowing and fluent nature of his playing.

This is a splendid album, brilliantly performed and recorded; it is forward-looking and completely able to hold its own in the contemporary metal world. It has of course been subject to much anticipation, and it can be said convincingly that it doesn’t disappoint. Tony Iommi assembled a gifted group of musicians to record the album, and it seems possible that more can be expected. Interviewed recently on Later with Jools Holland, Tony Iommi raised the possibility of some shows with the musicians on the album, which is a very exciting prospect.



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