Tommi Iommi has opened up about his forthcoming collaboration with Ozzy Osbourne for the rock legend’s upcoming album.
The Black Sabbath guitarist spoke in an interview with Rolling Stone, where he heaped praise upon the track, as well as Ozzy’s singing, saying the 72-year-old did “a really good job.”
“I wrote the whole track and played on it and played the solo on it,” he said. “It’s horrible, really….No. I’m joking. No, it’s good. It’s really good. And I like what Ozzy sang on it,” Iommi said.
“I think he did a really good job. And I think they had Chad [Smith, of Red Hot Chili Peppers] play drums on it. I’ve left it in their hands now.”
Asked if he and Ozzy have kept in regular contact since their Black Sabbath days, Iommi said, “We’re in touch quite a lot. We don’t really speak because we are useless on the phone, the pair of us.
“I think we stopped that when he used to phone me at 2 o’clock in the morning and I’d go, ‘Oz, it’s 2 o’clock in the morning.’ ‘Oh, oh, sorry. All right. Bye.’
“He forgets about what time it is in England, and of course when the phone goes at that time of the morning you think, ‘Oh, Christ. What’s that? Somebody’s died or something has happened.’ And of course, it’s him going, ‘Oh, oh, oh, oh, sorry. I didn’t know it was that time.’ So we tend to sort of just text now.”
Love Classic Rock?
Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
Meanwhile, Ozzy recently revealed that Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo is also set to feature on his upcoming solo album.
“Rob has always been a great friend of mine,” Ozzy said.
“He’s a great bass player and a great guy; he’s the only guy who, when it came time to move, did things the right way.
“I always ask that the guys who play with me, if they get another offer and want to move on, that’s fine, just don’t drop me in the s***, give me time to get a replacement.
“Rob is the only guy that did right by me for that.
“I’m really happy we’ve got him playing on the new album as well.”
As for when the highly-anticipated project is set to drop, according to a recent financial statement issued by Sony, Osbourne’s next solo album is “anticipated over the next six months“.
For more on this topic, head over to the Classic Rock Observer