Tony Martin, the singer, talked about his time in Black Sabbath and his experience co-writing new songs with Tony Iommi.
The band was in a strange spot between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s, but albums from this period are becoming more popular. The “Anno Domini” box set, which included all of the singer’s recordings save for 1987’s “The Eternal Idol,” gave the Tony Martin era the recognition it deserved.
Martin feels privileged to have been a part of Black Sabbath’s history, even though it took a few decades for people to really appreciate these albums. In a recent interview with Rock Svergie, the singer reflected on the creative process and his collaboration with Iommi. When asked if he could recollect the first song he composed with Tony, he immediately thought of “The Eternal Idol” record and how it was already recorded before he arrived.
Martin recalled, “They told us to just sing what’s there and not to change anything.” “I replied, ‘Alright, by me!'” And I was glad to do so since it allows me to understand the significance of the Sabbath, thus I was
Going into the matter, Martin said that things changed with the next album, 1989’s “Headless Cross.” To this day, this remains a landmark record of the Tony Martin era, with some fans even calling it a Black Sabbath classic. The singer played an important role in its creation. Recalling the album’s process, he said:
“I was already aware now, after doing ‘Eternal Idol,’ what Tony was doing with the guitar. I was still learning as I went along, but he was playing riffs all over the place. I used to record all the rehearsal sessions, which I’ve still got, and then I would cut up the riffs and bits and pieces and put them where I wanted and sing on it or something like that.”
