Why Tony Iommi Opposed Doing New Sabbath LP With Original Lineup

In a new interview with Classic Rock magazine, iconic guitarist Tony Iommi revealed that famous producer Andrew Watt once approached him about doing a follow-up to 2013’s 13 with all the original Black Sabbath members. However, Iommi rejected the idea for a couple of understandable reasons.

Why Iommi Didn’t Want to Do a New Sabbath Album With Watt

13 was almost a proper reunion album for the original quartet (Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and drummer Bill Ward). Sadly, though, Ward left the band in 2012 due to contractual disputes and was replaced by former Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave percussionist Brad Wilk for 13. There were talks of doing another album (including a blues album) throughout the 2010s, but that obviously never happened.

In the latest issue of Classic Rock (published online on Sept. 12), Iommi confessed that Watt – who produced Ozzy’s Ordinary Man (2020) and Patient Number 9 (2022) –  wanted to do a studio successor to 13 with all four founding musicians sometime in the 2020s.

“I’d met Andrew Watt when he was producing Ozzy,” Iommi began. “He was very keen and a bit too excited.”

However, Iommi said, Watt’s idea didn’t sufficiently appeal to him because Watt “didn’t know what it was like working with the original Sabbath” (including working with Ward). Plus, Iommi added: “[W]e’d done 13, and I didn’t like the idea of: ‘Now here’s another album.’”

So, there you have it.

Of course, Black Sabbath did put out a new EP called The End in 2016 (which contained spare tracks from 13 plus live tracks from 2013 and 2014). There have also been various collections, box sets and the like since 13 arrived, well, 13 years ago.

It’s also worth mentioning that Ward reunited with his three former bandmates at their monumental Back to the Beginning farewell show in 2025. Around the same time, the quartet expressed mixed feelings about doing a new album, and with Ozzy passing away mere weeks after Back to the Beginning, it’s safe to assume that there will never be a new Black Sabbath record.

READ MORE: ‘I Still Don’t Feel Like He’s Gone’ – Tony Iommi Reflects on Life Without Ozzy + Black Sabbath’s Legacy

Other Tony Iommi News

Last month, Tony Iommi spoke with Loudwire Nights’ Chuck Armstrong about his latest solo album – and first since 2005’s Fused – From the Dark (among other topics).

“It’s been good fun, there’s no pressure,” Iommi said about the creation of From the Dark. “If nothing happened, nothing happened, then we’d [Iommi’s band] do it the next time. But it did, every time we come to record something, it’d work.”

Iommi continued:

What happened originally, I was going to do an instrumental album. I did actually do a couple of instrumentals and I thought, “Maybe I’d like to do it with a singer instead.” So I’ve still got the instrumentals, I haven’t used them. Jorn [Lande, vocals] was straight away in my mind because I love the way he sings, I love his vocals and he’s done stuff with us before … Our players, they’re from Birmingham. Karl [Brazil, drums] lives in Birmingham, Becky [Baldwin, bass] lives in Birmingham, Jorn lives in Sweden, but he comes over, so it’s great.

Iommi also touched upon his final conversation with Ozzy:

He was really happy with [Back to the Beginning], that we could do it, you know. In fact, I spoke to him the night before he passed. He said to me, “I really feel tired and really worn out.” I said, “Well, you’re bound to really, it’s been a lot of stress and pressure and stuff like that.” And the next thing, the next day, [he’s] gone.

You can read and/or listen to Iommi’s chat with Loudwire Nights here.

So, what do you think of Iommi’s reason for not doing a follow-up to 13 with Watt and the original Black Sabbath lineup? Let us know!

Also, keep scrolling to see our list of the jobs 26 rock and metal musicians had before they were famous!