A lot of people have been asking for this one, and now it’s finally here! Black Sabbath riff master Tony Iommi is set to release his solo recordings with bassist and singer Glen Hughes for the very first time on vinyl. The relationship between the iconic guitarist and English musician Glenn Hughes stretches far back into the mid-eighties. Best known for playing bass and performing vocals in the hard rock band Trapeze and in the Mk. III and IV line-ups of Deep Purple, Hughes also sang on the maligned ‘Seventh Star’ album, one of the most underrated items in the vast Black Sabbath catalogue.
Ten years later, Iommi once again collaborated with Hughes for a release that would become known as ‘The 1996 Dep Sessions’, recorded at DEP International Studios in Digbeth, Birmingham. The recordings were demos left unfinished due to the original line up of Black Sabbath reforming at the time. However, a bootleg recording known as ‘Eighth Star’ was circulated among fans so in 2004, to combat this, the session was eventually officially released. The authorised release of ‘The 1996 Dep Sessions’ in 2004 proved to be a catalyst for Tony and Glenn, who rekindled their collaboration and within a year, released what would be Iommi’s third solo album in 2005. Titled ‘Fused’, the album was recorded at Monnow Valley Studios in Wales and saw Iommi sounding heavier than ever. The album is chock full of stomping, grinding riffs that saw Iommi tipping his hat to the metal genre he had helped spawn decades before.
On October 4th, both albums will be released on vinyl for the first time and will also be available on digisleeve CDs and all streaming/digital formats. ‘Fused’ is reissued on Translucent Cobalt Blue vinyl and includes three bonus tracks and ‘The 1996 Dep Sessions’ is pressed on limited Translucent Black Ice colour. Ahead of these releases, fans get another enticing glimpse of these highly anticipated reissues with a new double A side digital single featuring the tracks ‘Dopamine’ and ‘Resolution Song’, both taken from the ‘Fused’ album.
Check out the new lyric video for ‘Dopamine’ right here!