Black Sabbath: Tony Iommi returns to talk about a live reunion

“The end” was the title chosen for the last series of Black Sabbath concerts staged between 2016 and 2017, as well as for the final EP, but it was also the declaration of intent with which the members of the original lineup Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne, albeit without Bill Ward, decided to end the almost fifty-year adventure of the British band.

Five years after the group showed itself resolute in putting the word “end” to its story with an unequivocal message published on social media in 2017, Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi then returned to meet their voices and their guitars in a song, “Degradation rules”, published in July 2022 as an extract from Osbourne’s thirteenth solo studio album, “Patient number 9”. Over the years, fans have repeatedly hoped to see the legendary group in action once again, perhaps with Ward behind the drums. Osbourne himself has repeatedly said he wants to reunite the band with Bill Ward. While bassist Geezer Butler declared last June that a Black Sabbath show “isn’t going to happen”, recently Tony Iommi is. returned to the topic, clarifying that the possibility of a return to the stage depends only on the health of the group’s members.

Speaking to “Guitar World” magazine, when asked if a Black Sabbath concert is on the cards, the guitarist said:

“Who knows? You can never say never, and we never said never. It really depends on everyone’s health and what we expect from each other now. Can we still play and play the same together? Not I know because it’s been so long. It’s in the air.”

He added: “When the time comes, if it ever comes, we’ll have to see what state everyone is in and whether we can go on stage. If we did, it would have to be good otherwise I wouldn’t do it. There’s no point in just going on stage, what can you demonstrate by doing it? If it’s not as good or as good as before, then there’s no point in doing it. In my eyes, it has to be as good as before or better.”