The three Black Sabbath albums Tony Iommi hates: “It related to drugs”
Tony Iommi, the legendary guitarist of Black Sabbath, is often seen as the driving force behind the band’s pioneering sound. While frontman Ozzy Osbourne might be the face of Black Sabbath, Iommi shaped their music, playing a crucial role in defining the heavy metal genre. Despite this, even Black Sabbath had missteps during their half-century-long career, with Iommi expressing regret over three albums in particular, largely due to the influence of drugs and lineup changes.
One of the albums Iommi regrets is Mob Rules (1981), which marked a tumultuous period for the band. By this time, both Osbourne and drummer Bill Ward had departed, leaving Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler as the only original members. Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice filled their spots, but the atmosphere during the recording was chaotic, worsened by substance abuse. Even producer Martin Birch was struggling with drug problems, which Iommi believes impacted the quality of the album. Reflecting on Mob Rules, Iommi admitted, “It was a confusing album for us. We started writing songs differently and ended up not using a lot of great material.”
Technical Ecstasy (1976) is another album Iommi feels missed the mark. It was Black Sabbath’s final album with Osbourne before his first departure, and the band was struggling creatively. Attempting to evolve their sound, they introduced more technical elements, but the experiment didn’t resonate with fans or the band. Iommi acknowledged, “It was really a no-win situation. If we stayed the same, people would say we were repetitive. We tried to get more technical, and it just didn’t work out well.”
However, Iommi’s harshest criticism is reserved for Born Again (1983), the only Black Sabbath album featuring Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan as vocalist. Iommi recalled the lack of chemistry between the band and Gillan, stating, “Ian is a great singer, but he’s from a completely different background.” He also disliked many of the songs and found the production quality poor. According to Iommi, the album felt like a forced project, put together “purely by lawyers.”
Though these albums hold less pride for Iommi, they remain key chapters in Black Sabbath’s history, reflecting the challenges the band faced during their legendary run.
