Heavy metal pioneer Tony Iommi has been rocking for over 60 years, most notably as the guitarist of Black Sabbath. It’s been over a year since Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert, in which the pair played together with bandmates Geezer Butler and Bill Ward in their hometown of Birmingham.
Their frontman, who had been suffering from health problems for years, tragically died just a couple of weeks later. Black Sabbath may be retired, but 78-year-old Iommi is far from it, as he launches his first solo album in 21 years.
Announced today, From the Dark is Iommi’s brand new record, set for release in October. The first single, World Alone, has launched today, in a video you can view below. The guitarist said, “It’s an album we’ve really enjoyed making. We’re not trying to prove anything – it’s a great album, it rocks!”
The announcement described what’s in-store across the 8 track album: “From the opening notes of ‘Over The Violent Sun’, featuring a classic, driving down-tuned guitar riff from Tony Iommi and the dramatic vocal prowess of Jorn Lande, it is clear that From The Dark is an outstanding album that can hold its place amongst the impressive Iommi catalogue. ‘Black Times’ continues the journey, a sucker-punch strike that takes no prisoners, leading into the barn-storming first single ‘World Alone’, before fourth track ‘Beyond The Dead’ changes the pace, with a stately and sinister riff interwoven with epic orchestration.
The description continues: “The existential questioning of Lande’s lyrics, full of dystopian imagery and ruminations on the fleeting nature of the human experience is writ-large throughout the album, especially on ‘Stormwatcher’ with its nautical metaphors and dreams of new horizons. A brilliant centrepoint of this remarkable album, ‘Stormwatcher’ is matched in scope and drama by the subsequent ‘Death Wake’, both music and lyrics combining to create a vivid picture of the cruelties of a life without love and humanity. From The Dark’s closing two songs, the furious passion of ‘Return Of The Arbalist’ and the truly epic kaleidoscope of ‘Legacy’ showcase the power and drama, the light and the shade that courses through the album. Coming a year after Black Sabbath’s final-ever show, at 2025’s Back To The Beginning concert in Birmingham, it demonstrates the creative fires that burn ever-brightly in Tony Iommi and is undoubtedly one of the greatest rock albums to be released this year.
From the Dark will be released on October 23, 2026 and can be pre-ordered here.