NEW
YORK (Sanctuary Records) - IOMMI, Featuring Legendary
Heavy Metal
Guitarist Tony Iommi, To Release New Album, Fused on July 12, 2005 on
Sanctuary Records
Black Sabbath Axe-Slinger Joined By Vocalist/Bassist
Glenn Hughes and Drummer Kenny Aronoff
Tour Planned After This Summer's OZZFEST
Tony
Iommi, the legendary
Black Sabbath guitarist, will release his new
album Fused on July 12, 2005, via Sanctuary Records. This will be
Iommi's third solo album.
Joining Iommi on Fused is former Deep
Purple vocalist/bass guitarist
Glenn Hughes and former John Mellencamp
drummer Kenny Aronoff, who has also played sessions with the likes of
the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, Alice Cooper, Bob Seger,
Lynyrd Skynyrd and countless others. The trio will hit the road to
promote Fused later this year after
Black Sabbath finishes headlining
the 10th anniversary Ozzfest tour.
The 10 songs on Fused are:
"Dopamine," "Wasted Again," "Saviour Of The Real," "Resolution Song,"
"Grace," "Deep Inside A Shell," "What You're Living For," "Face Your
Fear," "
The Spell" and "I Go Insane."
Iommi has worked with
both Hughes and Aronoff in the past. Hughes is a longtime friend who
sang on the 1986
Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi album Seventh Star.
In 2004, previously unreleased songs they had collaborated on eight
years earlier were completed and released by Sanctuary as The 1996 DEP
Sessions. Aronoff played drums on the song "Black Oblivion" on Iommi's
self-titled 2000 solo album, which was loaded with all-star guest
appearances. Fused was produced by Bob Marlette, who also manned the
studio boards for Iommi.
"I put some ideas for four or five
tracks down about three years ago, but I hadn't written them
specifically with
Glenn in mind," Iommi says. "After The 1996 DEP
Sessions was finished last year, I said to my manager that I should try
Glenn on my solo album.
Glenn came over to England and we did a trial
run writing more material and it was unbelievable. His enthusiasm is
amazing. He is so full of energy and great song ideas."
"The
ideal thing for me is to work with collaborators. I can come in with
riffs until the cows come home, and I do that all the time. I like to
do it that way and then build the song with somebody else."
Iommi
and Hughes tend to write quickly when they settle in. Once the basic
song ideas were written for this new album, Hughes worked on overall
melodies and lyrics. The songs were in place, but a drummer was needed
to tie it all together. Iommi was eager to work with Aronoff again and
had him in mind from the beginning. The highly respected skins-basher
was thrilled about the invitation, especially when Iommi said he wanted
to tour to promote Fused.
"I definitely knew that for my next
album I wasn't going to use a lot special guests again. I wanted to use
just one singer, and I also wanted it to be more like a band this time.
The idea was to go into the studio with
Glenn and Kenny play everything
live. It was great. I really enjoyed doing it that way," says Iommi.
"That was the original way you used to record, and that was the only
way I knew how to record for a long time. Only a few years ago did I
start recording the other way, by building up and layering tracks. By
playing live in the studio, you can hear exactly how the songs are
going to sound and whether they work."
These new songs most
definitely work, and they rage with the same fire and intensity that
mark Iommi's best. There is nothing quite like the sound of a power
trio, because there can be no weak links -- each musician's efforts
stand out. There is no place to hide. Iommi, Hughes and Aronoff feed
off each other, whether it's the concise punch of "
Dopamine" and "What
You're Living For" or the fluid twists and turns in the nine-minute
epic "I Go Insane."
Iommi's lethal guitar crunch leads the
charge. Hughes truly pushes himself to the edge and adjusts his voice
to fit the overall direction of each song while simultaneously
propelling the rhythm with his pounding bass guitar. The volcanic
thunder Aronoff unleashes from his drums sounds like nothing he has
done before. Marlette's sparkling, crisp production results in a
hard-hitting, modern, in-your-face sound.
"Bob is a fantastic
producer. He also played a few keyboard parts on this album because he
wanted to get his hands in there!" laughs Iommi.
Marlette's
major role as the producer was to provide that extra, objective pair of
ears and determine when a song was finished. He also judged Iommi's
solos and usually found what he looking for after four or five takes.
However, Iommi often wanted to lay down more solos with the purpose of
topping himself with each pass.
"I tend to keep trying solos
until I get to where I say, 'Oh yeah, I really like that one.' It's not
often I say that, but you're always trying to get that one you're happy
with," he says. "Sometimes it is difficult working with a producer when
you have been a producer yourself, but it's good to compare ideas. To
get the best end result you do whatever it takes."
Iommi's excitement about Fused is at a fever pitch and he cannot wait to tour with Hughes and Aronoff.
"In
addition to playing material from this album, we'll probably do a
couple of tracks from The 1996 DEP Sessions and a few Sabbath songs
too," he says.
For more information, including the latest news and tour updates, visit:
www.iommi.com
www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com
