Tom Russell with Tony Iommi (2009)

The interview was recorded as Iommi was preparing to tour with Heaven and Hell, the Sabbath lineup featuring Ronnie James Dio on vocals. It captures a specific moment in time, before the final Ozzy-era Black Sabbath show and before Dio's death, when multiple versions of the band's legacy were still active.

Iommi comes across exactly as those who have met him describe him: quiet, thoughtful, and unfailingly polite. There is no grandstanding here. He talks calmly about the band, the music, and the practical realities of keeping Sabbath moving forward. For someone so central to the creation of heavy metal, his manner is remarkably understated.

Tom Russell introduces the interview and places it in its historical context before the archive recording is played in full. Afterward, Tom is joined by Scott McArthur and Andy Muir to reflect on what the interview reveals, not just about Iommi, but about Black Sabbath at that stage of their long and complicated history.

The discussion ranges across the Dio-era Sabbath material, Iommi's role as the band's constant presence, and the contrast between the heaviness of the music and the ordinariness of the man who wrote the riffs. As ever, the conversation is informal, opinionated, and shaped by personal listening histories and memories. It also gets a bit daft!

A valuable snapshot of one of rock's most influential figures, captured without hype and allowed to speak for himself.