Tony, Bill and Geezer got Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler reunited with their estranged drummer Bill Ward on Saturday night of 11th May 2019, at "Grammy Salute To Music Legends" awards ceremony and live tribute concert at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Rival Sons performed a medley of "War Pigs", "Changes" and "Paranoid" for Iommi, Butler and Ward at the event, where Sabbath was honored by The Recording Academy with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Earlier today, Iommi wrote on Twitter: "Another Grammy! Great performance from Rival Sons yesterday, thanks guys."
Butler tweeted: "Last night at the #grammy #LifetimeAchievementAwards #TonyIommi #BillWard."

Rival Sons drummer Mike Miley wrote on Instagram: "What an experience. We @rivalsons got to present a @recordingacademy Lifetime Achievement Award to @blacksabbath last night, and perform a medley of their songs, RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM, and a vast array of other stars and legends, at the @dolbytheatre In Hollywood. I got to sit down with @billwarddrummer for a few precious moments; talking about jazz, feel, and rhythm, and other life stuff. What a treat. What a legend and what a sweetheart 'Wardy' is."

The Recording Academy produced "Grammy Salute To Music Legends" in partnership with Thirteen as part of the "Great Performances" series on PBS, set to air later this year.

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors performers who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording. The award is determined by a vote of The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. Prior to Saturday night, the last time Iommi, Butler and Ward were all in a room together was back in May 2015 when they accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ivor Novello Awards in London, England.

Blabbermouth.net, 12 May 2019

Grammy announces Lifetime Achievement for Black Sabbath

One week after the Super Bowl on February 10 the entertainment world gathers for the biggest night in music, the annual Grammy Award presentations with the 61st Grammy Awards.

Along with the awards for musical merit over the past year, the Recording Academy is presenting a number of Lifetime Achievement Awards for recognition of a lifetime of outstanding artistic contributions.

“Each year, the Recording Academy has the distinct privilege of celebrating music industry giants who have greatly contributed to our cultural heritage. This year, we have a gifted and brilliant group of honorees and their exceptional accomplishments, contributions, and artistry will continue to influence and inspire generations to come,” said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow.

Leading the list of recipients is the British heavy rock band Black Sabbath.

“Speaking on the iconic rockers, the Recording Academy said, “from their power riffs to their dark, gothic imagery Black Sabbath arguably invented the heavy metal signposts and influenced every heavy rock band that followed.

The Lifetime Achievement recipients will receive their awards in a special ceremony in May 11.

Hopefully all four members: Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler can attend the ceremony. 

11 February 2019

Tony Iommi tells Midlands Rocks the latest news on the Forbidden remix

Our friend Dean Pedley kindly shared with us this great interview with Tony for Midlands Rocks. 

With Tony Iommi attending this weekends event to celebrate Black Sabbath’s legacy to the City of Birmingham Midlands Rocks was able to have a few words with the guitarist to get an update on what he has been working on recently.

Tony, we’ve been hearing over the last couple of months that you’ve been working on remixing one of Sabbath’s albums from the 90’s, namely Forbidden which seems to occupy a slightly uncomfortable place in the back catalogue…

“Yes that’s right. I’ve had the time, on and off, to start to remix the Forbidden album, I never liked the final mix and sound of it – none of the band did actually – so I’ve been working on that. I’m taking my time and there is no rush with it, it will be done when it’s done, but it’s been good to go back and pull it all apart and start to put it back together again.”

Looking back, what was the problem with how that album sounded at the time of its release back in 1995?

“Well we weren’t involved with how it ended up sounding like it did. It was produced by Ernie C from the band Body Count and he also got Ice-T to appear on it on the opening track (“Illusion of Power”) and they were from a totally different background to us. So he came in and did a good job at the time but I just felt that…without changing any of the songs…there was an opportunity to go back and bring out some of the sounds and make it more what people would expect Sabbath to sound like. I  met up with Tony Martin recently and I’m sure he will listen to what I have done with it at some point, but at the moment it is just myself and Mike Exeter (the sound engineer who worked with Tony on Fused, The Dio Years and 13 amongst others) who have been working on it.”

Does this mean that in time you might go back and look at some of the other albums from the Tony Martin era such as Tyr or Headless Cross?

“No, not really. It was definitely that album that kind of irritated everybody. I was never happy with the guitar sound and Cozy was definitely never happy with the drum sound, he would go on and on about it. So I thought it would be nice to do it for him in a way.”

I know that you are good friends with Brian May, have you been to see Bohemian Rhapsody yet?

“No, actually I haven’t seen it yet. I have seen the trailer and I know that the actor who plays Brian looks very much like him but I haven’t yet seen the entire film. In fact Brian has asked me twice now if I’ve seen it yet so I will definitely make sure that I do. I have heard great things about it. Brian is a great friend of mine as you say, and Roger is too, and it’s great to see that the film has been so well received and done so well for them. I’m not sure if Hollywood will ever want to make a film about Black Sabbath but you never know…”

Finally a few words about today’s event, which has seen fans come from far and wide to celebrate the legacy of Black Sabbath…

“Well what can I say, it’s been amazing to see so many people here today and I know some of them have travelled a long way to be here they really are true fans. I’m just sorry that none of the other members of the band were able to be here but, for different circumstances, it just wasn’t possible.  As you know Ozzy has not been very well recently and I’m sure that they all would have loved to have been here. But I’m so grateful to everyone who has put all of this together and to everyone that has come along today. It really does mean such a lot to me.”

Thanks to Tony for taking the time to speak with us and Mohammed Osama, Mike Olley and the team at Westside BID for inviting Midlands Rocks to cover the event.

Dean Pedley for TheMidlandsRocks.com, 11 February 2019

Guitar hero Tony Iommi mobbed by fans in city church

Fans travelled from all over the world to see the long-awaited unveiling of the unique Black Sabbath bench - in a Birmingham church. Band worshippers came from as far afield as San Francisco, Oregon and Philadelphia in the United States as well as from Norway, Sweden and Italy in Europe and Israel in the Middle East.

Even at 71, guitar legend Tony Iommi was literally tickled pink by the reception.

The celebration of the band's 50-year history was held at St Luke's Church, Gas Street. The event was attended by 350 fans who sat in the three wings of the church facing the central stage.

One of the day's highlights was watching city-born comedian Jasper Carrott interviewing Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi for 20 minutes. Jasper, 73, quipped: "I knew Tony before I was born." 

After they formed in 1968, Black Sabbath’s final world tour reached the end of The End on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the NEC’s then Genting Arena (now Resorts World Arena). Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne, who turned 70 in December, was due to play a solo concert at the Resorts World Arena on the same night of the bench unveiling on February 9, 2019.

But days after his entire UK and European tour was cancelled in late January with a view to rescheduling the dates to September, he was then hospitalised with flu. Speaking as he began a tour of the fans who had been queuing down Gas Street for hours, Tony had a special message for the stricken star.

"I've been in touch with Ozzy's wife Sharon on a regular basis," said Tony. "I hear he is doing OK. But get well soon Ozzy. And quick."
When fans entered the St Luke's Church the heavy metal bench was under wraps beneath a black cloth sporting the band's logo in purple lettering. Tony Iommi received a Broad Street Walk of Stars award for the whole group, presented by Birmingham Lord Mayor Cllr Yvonne Mosquito (Lab, Bordesley and Highgate). With Tony having already received a personal award for himself on November 23, 2008, Jasper joked that the guitarist was the only person to receive the honour twice.

Sabbath's founder manager Jim Simpson took the band to No 1 with the album Paranoid in 1970. He received another star on behalf of drummer Bill Ward. Bill's thoughts were relayed in a video message, having been unable to fly from the US. Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne received the first Broad Street Walk of Stars award on July 6, 2007. Geezer Butler received his at Villa Park on February 3, 2018.

Jasper made the most of the chance to interview Tony on stage in front of such an international audience. The Funky Moped star was so funny, you've never seen an interviewee who only ever dresses in black turning so pink with such a degree of rib-tickling. Jasper told so many jokes about Tony, the axeman kept visibly wondering what he had let himself in for. A specially-made video montage, featuring Tony's classic riffs beaming out of the PA, soon brought the extraordinary sound of Sabbath back to the fore to remind everybody why they were really there. The film detailed the band's birth and subsequent evolution into what Jim had called 'the world's most influential rock band... powered by Bill'.

After the whole event had been underway for an hour, Tony finally unveiled the extraordinary tribute that everyone had come to see - the world's first 'heavy metal bench'. The godfather of the genre then posed for photographs by becoming the first person to sit on the bench and then by standing behind his own image. Wife Maria Sjšholm then joined in the fun, too.

Almost 6m long, the bench has been made by Gateway Steel Fabrications from Tyseley where brothers Ben and Phil Lungley worked tirelessly for six weeks to bring the vision to life. In the city of 1,000 trades they proved that anything is still possible when craftsmen are given the chance to put their minds to something truly creative. At the same time they also turned Black Sabbath's history full circle. And that's especially for Tony, who worked in a sheet metal factory before going full time as a musician. 

The bench was designed by Westside BID manager Mike Olley in conjunction with Dubai-based architect and Sabbath superfan Mohammed Osama. That the artwork for the etches of the band's four members was drawn by Mohammed's fellow Egyptian Tarek Abdelkawi simply offered further proof of Sabbath's extraordinary global appeal. It was only completed on Friday, February 8, with manufacturer Ben Lungley saying:  "We thought we would have had it finished days before the event. But making it was even more challenging than we thought with the sub-frame, galvanising, kilning and all sorts really. We are delighted with how fans have enjoyed seeing it today."

If Saturday's post-event photo frenzy is anything to go buy then the bench is going to be yet another massive Black Sabbath hit. Heavy metal lovers will be able to sit and enjoy taking photographs of themselves next to the etched images of their heroes. The bench will be installed on Broad Street in about six weeks' time once the tunnel below has been strengthened for the Midland Metro Tram. 

It will be positioned on the pavement overlooking the canal which leads towards the Arena Birmingham. Forklift truck driver Ian Hall from Rowley Regis said it was wonderful to see one of Birmingham's finest bands being recognised in this unique way. "We have statues for famous people but this is something really tangible for fans of Black Sabbath to interact with," he said. All of those present received a free pint of Black Sabbath ale in a commemorative Black Sabbath pint glass they could keep. The beer was made by Mark Gregory from Silhill Brewery in Solihull. Bromsgrove-based superfan Chris Hopkins was among those eager to enjoy the unique present. He has seen Black Sabbath more than 70 times and made five trips to the United States to watch them.

Tickets for the unveiling of the bench were just £12, with all proceeds being donated to the Westside Charitable Endeavour, dedicated to recording the area’s historical attributes.

Graham Young for BirminghamMail.co.uk, 10 February 2019

Tony Iommi: how I wrote the riff to Symptom Of The Universe

Black Sabbath’s guitarist revealed the secret behind metal’s greatest riff to Loudersound webzine. Here is the whole interview:
When we recently drew up a list of the Top 50 Greatest Riffs Ever, there was only ever going to be one winner: Black Sabbath’s mighty Symptom Of The Universe. We asked the man behind it, the legend that is Tony Iommi, how he created this immortal noise – and whether he’s ever come up with a riff on the toilet.

Can you remember where you were when you came up with the riff for Symptom Of The Universe?

Tony Iommi: “Oh my god, it was a long time ago. I can’t remember, to be completely truthful. I imagine we would have probably been in rehearsal.”

Is that how you used to come up with riffs – in rehearsal?

“Generally, yeah. Sometimes I’ve come up with stuff at home and taped it just to remember it, but I don’t really work things out as such.”

You make it sound easy…

“Dare I say it, but yeah, I’ve not had much trouble coming up with riffs. Now I’ve said it, I’ll probably never come up with another one. But I’ve got hundreds of them from over the years on various CDs. Some of them go back to the original Sabbath, some from the Dio era, bits and bobs from when [Deep Purple’s] Ian Gillan or [former vocalist] Tony Martin were in the band. I don’t even know what’s on there. I keep threatening to sit down and listen to them all one of these days when I get the chance.”

Back when you were writing Symptom Of The Universe, which guitarists were you in competition with?

“Me. I was in competition with myself. I would always try to come up with more and more inventive ideas – different tunings, changing the amps, just fiddling about with the guitars really. I would constantly be trying to improve things and change things. I didn’t really listen to other people, just in case I started playing someone else’s riff by mistake.”

The second half of Symptom Of The Universe heads off into weird, prog-jazz territory. Was that you deliberately setting out to write a prog-metal song?

“No, that was just us jamming together. It was something I came up with and Geezer [Butler, bass] and Bill [Ward, drums] followed, and then Ozzy came in. But then a lot of Sabbath’s stuff went to places you didn’t think they would go. I remember when we had Ronnie Dio with us, I played him the track Die Young [which ended up on Sabbath’s Heaven And Hell album]. It went into this completely different tempo, and he went, ‘You can’t do that!’ I went, ‘Of course we can. It’s what we’ve always done.’”

What are your memories of making the Sabotage album?

“Oh, it was a nightmare. We had a court case with our ex-manager, Patrick Meehan, while we were in the middle of making the album. We’d get a writ and we’d end up having to go into bloody court in the morning, all dressed up, then try to get back to the studio afterwards to carry on working. It was hard to come up with things. You had to have two heads.”

Did that aggro feed into the album?

“Certainly with Geezer’s lyrics. He wrote one called The Writ, so it influenced him, that’s for sure. I think the aggression definitely came out in the music when we played together. There is some really heavy stuff on that record.”

Is it true that The Writ was inspired by a lawyer unexpectedly turning up at the studio to serve you with legal papers?

“That’s exactly what happened. They used to turn up all the bloody time. We never knew they were coming. If we did, we’d have disappeared sharpish.”

Sabotage took nearly a year to record. Was there ever a point where you thought you might not make it to the end?

“No, I’ve never felt like that. We’ve always fought through whatever was there. Without the music, we’d have all gone bloody loony. I think it actually it brought us all together as a band. Whenever we went through problems, we’d just fight through it together.”

The Sabotage album cover. What’s going on there?

“Ha ha ha! A guy who worked for us who was an artist, he came up with a great idea – us reflected in a mirror, stuff like that. But when it got to the day, somebody said to Bill, ‘What are you gonna wear?’ And he was, like, ‘I dunno.’ So he turned to his wife and said, ‘Can I borrow your tights?’ So he put on this pair of his wife’s red tights. And I think he might have borrowed Ozzy’s underpants, too. It looked bloody ridiculous. It definitely didn’t come out like we wanted it to.”

When was the last time you came up with a riff and thought, ‘Ooh, that’s a bit tasty’?

“Well, I’ve got a few that I haven’t used yet that were good. There’s about four or five from the last Sabbath album 13 I that we didn’t use. I listened to a CD with them on recently. I thought, ‘Blimey, that’s good, why didn’t we use it?’”

What are you going to do with all these unused riffs that you have lying around? Use them on a solo album? Or maybe Save them for a new Sabbath album?

“It won’t be a Sabbath album, I don’t think. I really don’t know. I’ve just had [engineer] Mike Exeter over to my house, and we put some ideas down, though. I’m getting dates off Mike to see when he’s available, but really it’s down to me to go through some of the things I’ve already got. Problem is, by the time I’ve gone through them, I’ll have come up with something else.”

We’ve talked about Symptom Of The Universe. But what’s your favourite Tony Iommi riff?

“Oh my god, that’s difficult. I like Into The Void. And I like some of the stuff we did with Dio – Heaven And Hell was a good riff, Neon Knights. There’s so many I like. I like pretty much all the stuff we’ve done.”

Apart from your own, what’s the greatest riff of all time?

“That’s even harder. There’s so many great riffs out there from the past, and up to date stuff. But you’ve got to have Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water. And of course there are a lot of Zeppelin songs. Jimmy Page has some great riffs.”

Have you ever had a riff come into your head while you’ve been sitting on the toilet?

“Ha ha! Oh yeah. I have riffs that come in all the time at different times, different places. You never know when the magic’s going to strike.”

By Dave Everley for Metal Hammer, Loudersound.com, 20 January 2019

Tony will help judge the 2019 Pride of Brum event

Pride of Birmingham celebrity judge revealed to be Tony Iommi!

The annual awards, now in their sixth year, celebrate courage, caring, compassion and community, recognising unsung heroes who make a difference.

For Sabbath star Tony, it will be his second year in the judging hot seat. “I’d been to Pride of Birmingham before,” he says. “But until last year as a presenter, not as a judge. It was humbling to read of the amazing achievements and extraordinary efforts of the shortlisted nominees. Helping pick the winners was one of the toughest things I’ve done. I’m looking forward to looking through this year’s nominations. There are some fantastic people doing fantastic things in and around Birmingham.”

The Birmingham Mail’s Pride of Birmingham Awards, with partners TSB, will be hosted at the University of Birmingham in March.

BirminghamMail.co.uk, 20 January 2019

VIP Ceremony with Black Sabbath will take place in Brum

Hundreds of Black Sabbath fans are expected to watch their favourite band being presented with a ‘heavy metal’ bench at a VIP ceremony in Birmingham next month. The uniquely designed steel bench – incorporating images of the band’s original four members – will eventually be placed on the renamed Black Sabbath Bridge across the canal on Birmingham’s Broad Street.

Black Sabbath fans have been invited to apply for a limited supply of 350 tickets to attend the heavy metal bench presentation ceremony at 11am on Saturday 9 February at St Luke’s Church on Gas Street. The tickets are already SOLD OUT in few hours. 

Mike Olley, manager of Westside Business Improvement District (BID), said: “We’re so excited to be arranging this spectacular event when we expect Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward to accept the bench, honouring what’s arguably Birmingham’s most famous band.”
Black Sabbath super-fan Mohammed Osama, who initiated the commemorative idea and has worked closely with Westside BID on the project, said: “I’m thrilled that my plan to pay tribute to Black Sabbath in their home town has finally reached this presentation stage. The handmade, stainless steel bench is now being forged in the city and will feature images of Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for Black Sabbath fans, citizens and tourists to enjoy.”

The bench artwork was created by Egyptian artist Tarek Abdelkawi – an illustrator, graphic designer and musician with an architectural background – and the words ‘Geezer. Ozzy. Tony. Bill. Made in Birmingham 1968’ will be etched on it. The artwork has been applied by Etch Components, based in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, and is being incorporated into the bench’s final manufacture by Gateway Steel Fabricators, based in Tyseley.

Ben Lungley, of Gateway Steel Fabricators, said: “We love making unique products and it’s been a delight working on this project with Mohammed and Westside BID. It’s a tricky process incorporating the design in steel and making the artwork come to life, but the end-product will be stunning.”

Mike Olley of Westside BID also revealed the event will see Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward awarded his own star on the city’s Walk of Stars, which honours famous people from Birmingham. He said this star, along with those previously awarded to the other three band members and a fifth star to the band itself, will be realigned in the shape of a cross in front of the heavy metal bench on Black Sabbath Bridge. Both the heavy metal bench and new stars will be presented at the 9 February event by Birmingham’s renowned comedian Jasper Carrott, chair of the city’s Walk of Stars project.

Mr Olley said Westside BID was grateful to Councillor Waseem Zaffar, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment on Birmingham City Council, for helping gain permission to rename the canal bridge as Black Sabbath Bridge. Mr Olley added: “Black Sabbath’s most ardent fans will be keen to witness this historic event and tens of thousands will enjoy visiting the heavy metal bench once it’s in place on Black Sabbath Bridge.”

Black Sabbath’s heavy metal bench presentation is at 11am on Saturday 9 February at St Luke’s Gas Street Church, 41 Gas Street, Birmingham B1 2JT. Tickets are priced at £12 each and the proceeds will be donated to the Westside Charitable Endeavour, dedicated to recording the area’s historical attributes.

Yourwestsidestory.com, 19 January 2019

Black Sabbath to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Grammy

Black Sabbath will be honoured by The Recording Academy in the next year for contributing to “our cultural heritage”.

The Recording Academy has revealed the names of the artists who will be given a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2019. And among the names revealed are Black Sabbath, who will be honoured at a ceremony in Los Angeles on May 11.

The annual award is given to artists who have "made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording". The Recording Academy praise Black Sabbath for inventing “the heavy metal signposts" that "influenced every heavy rock band that followed.”

Sabbath wrapped up their last-ever tour in their home town of Birmingham in February last year, with both Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi later saying that it might be possible for them to get back together to play at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Blabbermouth.net, 20 December 2018

Engineer Mike Exeter tells about 13 album sessions

Engineer, producer and musician Mike Exeter recently spoke to Australia's "The Void With Christina" about his work on Black Sabbath's reunion album, "13". The first Sabbath effort in 35 years to feature founding members Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler was written over an 18-month period at Tony's home, Ozzy's house and Angelic Studios in Northampton, England before recording sessions began at Shangri-La studio in Malibu with producer Rick Rubin.

"[Tony and I] got into a routine where we would start putting ideas down [in the studio]," Mike recalled about the early songwriting sessions that resulted in "13". "Because he doesn't wanna play people stuff off his phone; he wants to have a catalog of songs. So we would start putting ideas down and come up with a drum pattern that would maybe suit a specific riff that we thought might be worth looking at. And then I'd throw some bass on, I'd program the drums, and maybe we'd put some keyboards or orchestration. And a main riff or a song might come out of one of those moments. And over a period of maybe two days in a week, we'd develop those and we'd maybe go, 'It's just a riff. Let's put it down and just call that a day.' Or it might turn into a song. Always with the idea that a singer's come along and do their best with it. So what might feel like a verse riff to somebody could be a chorus or anything to someone else. So this would go on. And the real first thing that was born out of that was the Heaven & Hell album ['The Devil You Know'] with Ronnie [James Dio], and that then developed into writing sessions and things like that. So, when we got to the Sabbath album, '13', we knew Ozzy was gonna come and have a listen to some ideas. And he came up just after Christmas 2010. We played him an hour and a half's worth of stuff, and that was only half of what we got prepared that was relevant to what Ozzy would sing. Because we got stuff that wouldn't be right for Ozzy, 'cause Tony kind of knew what Ozzy liked."

Asked if Tony writes music with a specific singer in mind, Mike said: "He writes for himself, but he knows it's not precious, and he'll change a riff if a singer needs him to. It was quite interesting. The dynamic between him and Ronnie was probably the masterclass of my life, because knowing their history, it was quite interesting watching them really concentrating on doing as much as possible to make the other one feel at ease. 'Cause they've had a pretty acrimonious fallout over the years, and they'd come back together, and it was so lovely — the feeling was always good. So they were constantly pushing each other, and it was always, like, 'Oh, do you mind if I change this chord? Will that affect you?' 'No, no. I can sing that.' Or, 'I've come up with this idea. Do you think that affects what you've played?' And Geezer would always be there in the middle, going, 'I really like that. That's good.' Or, 'How about we try that?' So it was this lovely, quiet environment. And the same thing was happening with '13'."

According to Exeter, two years passed between Sabbath's first meeting with Rubin and the completion of "13". "It only took that long because Tony was diagnosed with cancer halfway through," he explained. "We would have been recording a year earlier if his diagnosis hadn't come through. But that gave the whole project time to develop. The boys got to really know each other again as a working relationship. Because they hadn't written together properly for years. They had a little stint after the reunion in '99-2000, but that didn't really go anywhere."

"13" went to No. 1 in both the U.S. and the U.K., a first for the band in America and only their second chart-topper in their native country since 1971.

Blabbermouth.net, 20 December 2018

Emerald Sabbath: Ninth Star a new tribute to Black Sabbath

A new tribute to our Gods Black Sabbath will soon see the light of a day! This is the story of how an Irish nuclear construction safety inspector brought 10 former members of BLACK SABBATH together to produce a tribute album to one of the greatest bands ever.
The "Ninth Star" album by EMERALD SABBATH is an ambitious epic rock and classical music tribute to BLACK SABBATH.

"Ninth Star" features 10 former members of BLACK SABBATH and much more, including:
* Adam Wakeman (BLACK SABBATH, OZZY OSBOURNE) * Bev Bevan (BLACK SABBATH, ELO) * Neil Murray (BLACK SABBATH, WHITESNAKE) * Terry Chimes (BLACK SABBATH, THE CLASH) 
* Laurence Cottle (BLACK SABBATH, THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT) * Ron Keel (BLACK SABBATH, KEEL) * Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL) * Dave Walker (BLACK SABBATH, FLEETWOOD MAC) * Bobby Rondinelli (BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) * Tony Martin (BLACK SABBATH, HEADLESS CROSS) * Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, WHITESNAKE) * The English Chamber Choir

Other EMERALD SABBATH contributors include Will Malone and Mike Lewis ("Sabotage", "Technical Ecstasy"), Mike Exeter (BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST), Skaila Kanja (Royal Academy Of Music) plus BLACK SABBATH album graphic designers Richard Manning and Colin Elgie ("Technical Ecstasy") and Hugh Gilmour ("Born Again").

EMERALD SABBATH founder/producer Michael Suilleabhain states about "Ninth Star": "I have been a BLACK SABBATH fan since 1983, when I heard them for first time. Like a lot of fans, it was BLACK SABBATH's debut album I heard first, and as they say, the rest is history. Over the years, I have since seen BLACK SABBATH a total of 82 times with every lineup [except with Ray Gillen]. I also have a great passion for classical music, and in May 2015 I decided to mix both of them. Adam Wakeman was the first to contribute to the project, with keyboards on 'Changes', and then it snowballed into this final product.

"I decided to re-record BLACK SABBATH tracks and instrumentals with as many as ex-members of BLACK SABBATH as possible. A lot of the artists also played on the originals (such as Vinny Appice, who joined SABBATH on drums for the 'Heaven And Hell' tour, and The English Chamber Choir on 'Supertzar'). I then brought in a string quartet along with various classical players. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be able to do this, but my persistence paid off. I would like to thank all the ex-BLACK SABBATH guys for helping me with this, as well as the former BLACK SABBATH graphic designers, string arrangers and producers. I hope that everyone will enjoy this album.”

"Ninth Star" will be released on February 15, 2019 via Plastic Head Distribution.

 Track listing and credits:

"Embryo" - Adam Wakeman: Keyboards, Bev Bevan: Percussion, Laurence Cottle: Bass, Anneka Sutcliffe: Violin, Sarah Tobias: Flute/Clarinet

"Die Young" - Ron Keel: Vocals, Vinny Appice: Drums, Rudy Sarzo: Bass, DC Cothern: Guitar, Pete Rinaldi: Guitar, Ellen Morgan: Keyboards

"Fluff" - Sarah Tobias: Flute/Clarinet, Ardeton String Quartet, Pete Rinaldi: Guitar
"Trashed" - Ron Keel: Vocals, Vinny Appice: Drums, Bev Bevan: Percussion, Laurence Cottle: Bass, Pete Rinaldi: Guitar
"Stonehenge" - Adam Wakeman: Keyboards, Laurence Cottle: Bass, Pete Rinaldi: Guitar, Sarah Tobias: Flute
"She's Gone" - Dave Walker: Vocals, Neill Murray: Bass, Bill Dwyer: Drums, Ardeton String Quartet, Lisa Ljungberg: Backing Vocals
"In For The Kill" - Tony Martin: Vocals, Laurence Cottle: Bass, Bobby Rondinelli: Drums, Pete Rinaldi: Guitars, Adam Wakeman: Keyboards
"Orchid" - Neil Murray: Bass, Sarah Tobias: Flute/Clarinet, Ardeton String Quartet, Pete Rinaldi: Guitar
"Hole In The Sky" - Ron Keel: Vocals, Bobby Rondinelli: Drums, Laurence Cottle: Bass, Pete Rinaldi: Guitar

"Changes" - Michael Suilleabhain: Vocals, Adam Wakeman: Keyboards, Laurence Cottle: Bass, Bev Bevan: Percussion, Queenie May: Backing Vocals, Annela Sutcliffe: Violin, Sarah Tobias: Flute/Clarinet

"Supertzar" - English Chamber Choir, Adam Wakeman: Keyboards, Terry Chimes: Drums, Laurence Cottle: Bass, Pete Rinaldi: Guitar, Skaila Kanja: Harp, Elen Morgan: Glockenspiel

Blabermouth.net, 12 December 2019