Tony Iommi’s new solo record arrives Friday, Oct. 23, and his singer has been explaining how it came together. Tony Iommi From The Dark is out on BMG with Norwegian vocalist Jorn Lande singing and co-writing every song. In an interview with Australia’s Heavy, reported by Blabbermouth on Oct. 18, Lande said that working with Iommi is “every rock singer’s dream.”
Tony Iommi From The Dark: The Basics
BMG announced Tony Iommi From The Dark on July 29, along with the first single, “World Alone.” According to the official announcement on Iommi.com, the lineup is:
- Tony Iommi – guitar
- Jorn Lande – vocals, co-writer on all songs
- Becky Baldwin – bass
- Karl Brazil – drums
The album was co-produced by Iommi and Mike Exeter, whom the announcement describes as Iommi’s “long-time creative partner, co-writer, producer and audio engineer.” Blabbermouth notes that Baldwin is best known as a recent addition to Mercyful Fate, and that Brazil has worked with Robbie Williams and James Blunt.
Iommi’s own short summary: “We’re not trying to prove anything – it’s a great album, it rocks!”
Tracklist
- Over The Violent Sun
- Black Times
- World Alone
- Beyond The Dead
- Stormwatcher
- Death Wake
- Return Of The Arbalist
- Legacy
The deluxe CD media book edition of Tony Iommi From The Dark adds “Scent Of Dark” and “Deified (extended).” Iommi.com lists double vinyl in four colors (black, “Monkey” red and black marble, “New Boy” white and black marble, and “Eyeglass” transparent blue), plus an Amazon-exclusive CD, a standard CD digisleeve and digital.
You may have seen reports of a Brian May guest solo. SDMETAL couldn’t confirm it on the official announcement page, which doesn’t mention any guests, so we’ve left it out.
Lande: One Singer Instead of Several
The most revealing part of the Tony Iommi From The Dark story, according to the Blabbermouth transcript, is how the record changed shape. Lande said he was first asked to “maybe work on a track or two,” and that the original plan was “to have several guest singers on the album,” possibly with symphonic arrangements and instrumental pieces.
Then he sent in “Beyond The Dead,” which he described as “thoughts about what’s gonna happen after you pass.” Iommi and his team loved it and sent him a second track, “Stormwatcher,” which Lande calls one of his favorites, with “a maritime, ship-in-storm type of topic.” After those two songs, Lande said, they decided on one singer for the whole album instead of several.
The Dio Thread
Lande didn’t hide his influences. “When you listen to the first single, ‘World Alone,’ it’s easy to hear my Ronnie [James] Dio influence there,” he said, before adding that the chorus is “more like a typical Jorn thing.”
He has history there. Lande performed with Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice at the 2010 Ronnie James Dio tribute at High Voltage in London, where Glenn Hughes also joined them, and he released his Dio tribute album the same year.
“It’s the Godfather”
On why he took so much care with the lyrics for Tony Iommi From The Dark, Lande said:
“This is, I guess, in the rock and metal scene, probably the biggest achievement or every rock singer’s dream, to be able to work with someone like Tony Iommi. It’s the godfather. He’s kind of the reason why so many bands started in this business.”
He said English isn’t his first language, so writing Tony Iommi From The Dark took time. Exeter would sometimes hit the talkback button to ask, “What did you just sing? What does it mean?” Lande also said the album was written “the old-school way,” with a lot of “teamwork” instead of parts “fabricated on the computer.” On the themes, he said: “There’s a lot of darkness in some of the songs… but then there’s a lot of hope as well.”
A Year After Villa Park
Tony Iommi From The Dark arrives a little more than a year after Black Sabbath’s final show at Villa Park in July 2025, which you can see on screen when Back to the Beginning hits theaters Oct. 28. It also comes days after producer Andrew Watt said the original lineup nearly made one more Sabbath album. Watt and Iommi tell that story differently. For more on where heavy music stands, see our state of metal rundown.
No live dates for the Tony Iommi From The Dark lineup have been announced, and nothing has been announced for San Diego. The album is out Friday.
SDMETAL