The album took nearly five years to make. All of the songs were written by Iommi, producer Bob Marlette and the respective vocalists of each track (except "Black Oblivion", which was written by Iommi and Billy Corgan).
According to Iommi, he and Phil Anselmo had recorded three tracks together for the album, but only one was put onto the album. Iommi has also said he "wrote a couple of tracks with Billy Idol and two with Billy Corgan, but you know, we could only use one of each".
Other songs written
In an interview with Cosmik Conversations, Iommi said that they "actually wrote a few tracks with Billy [Idol]...three with Phil Anselmo...and two tracks with Billy Corgan, but you know, we could only use one of each."[1] There is also a track entitled "Something Wicked This Way Comes" written and recorded with Scooter Ward of the band Cold that was not included on the album. The bulk of the music for that track was used for Peter Steele's song, "Just Say No to Love". The track has been available through various filesharing networks. One of the unreleased tracks with Phil Anselmo is a faster-paced song entitled "Inversion of the Saviours".[2] It has also been available through various file sharing networks.
Black Sabbath band members on the album
Tony Iommi's career is closely linked to his time in Black Sabbath, a band he led from its formation in 1968 to its retirement in 2017. Iommi also formed the band Heaven & Hell, a group featuring a collection of former Black Sabbath band members that had performed together under the Black Sabbath name in the past.
A number of musicians associated with Black Sabbath appear on Iommi. Track 9 features Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne (1968–1978, 1978–1979, 1996–2006, 2011–2017) and drummer Bill Ward (1968–1980, 1983, 1984, 1994, 1997–2006, 2011–2012). The track also features bassist Laurence Cottle, who was a session musician on Black Sabbath's studio album Headless Cross.[3] Cottle also plays bass on tracks 3–5 and 7–9 on Iommi. Tracks 3 and 7 feature guitarist Brian May, of Queen, who had previously contributed a guitar solo to the Headless Cross album and performed with Black Sabbath on their 1989 tour. He also played alongside Iommi at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992.
