Tony Iommi turned down final Black Sabbath album offer

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has revealed he declined an offer from producer Andrew Watt to record a final album with the band's original lineup. In an interview with Classic Rock magazine, Iommi explained that Watt, who produced Ozzy Osbourne's last two solo albums, approached him in the early 2020s about the project. Iommi stated that Watt was "very keen and a bit too excited" and lacked experience working with the original Sabbath dynamic, particularly with drummer Bill Ward. "He also didn't know what it was like working with the original Sabbath, working with Bill," Iommi said. He added that he was not interested in creating another album after the band's 2013 release, "13." "We'd done 13, and I didn't like the idea of: 'Now here's another album,'" Iommi explained. The 2013 album "13" featured Iommi, Osbourne, and bassist Geezer Butler, but not original drummer Bill Ward, who departed due to a contractual dispute. Brad Wilk performed drums on the recording. "13" was Black Sabbath's nineteenth studio album and topped charts in both the UK and the US.