Tony Iommi shows his guitar still has plenty of fuel on From The Dark, remaining committed to the simplest and most enduring principle of heavy metal… turn up the amp, trust the riff, and let the songs light the way.
Black Sabbath may be done, but Tony Iommi isn’t. The man literally helped invent heavy metal and you’d think that would be enough for anyone to take a long-deserved break, but the legendary guitarist isn’t one to rest on his own history. On From The Dark, Iommi unleashes another thunderous collection of riffs, seemingly from a rock well that never runs dry. Helping Iommi out are the “Nordic vocal god of thunder” and man-of-many-bands Jorn Lande, bassist Becky Baldwin, and drummer Karl Brazil, and longtime studio partner Mike Exeter co-producing.
After Black Sabbath’s emotional farewell at the 2025 Back To The Beginning concert in Birmingham, Iommi’s hometown and the birthplace of the band, fans would’ve been okay with Iommi simply riding off into the sunset. Instead, he went back to work on From The Dark. And this is no ego-driven victory lap. Instead, it’s Iommi charging forward on waves of his unmistakable guitar playing, still searching for the greatest hard rock riff we haven’t heard yet.
“It’s an album we’ve really enjoyed making,” Iommi says. “We’re not trying to prove anything. It’s a great album, it rocks!”
Opening track “Over The Violent Sun” makes that mission clear, with a classic Iommi riff colliding with Lande’s take-no-prisoners vocals. “Black Times” follows with another bruising blast before “World Alone,” the album’s first single, barrels forward on a flood of flying guitar lines, blistering solos, and a relentless rhythm section.
Elsewhere, From The Dark reveals a more ominous, haunting side. “Beyond The Dead” layers a stately, sinister riff with epic orchestration, while “Stormwatcher” uses nautical imagery and dreams of distant horizons to explore uncertainty and the possibility of escape. “Death Wake” pushes even further into the darkness, conjuring a bleak portrait of life stripped of love and humanity.
Jorn Lande, who shares songwriting credits across the album, brings a philosophical and metaphysical weight to lyrics saturated in dystopian imagery and reflections on the fleeting nature of human existence. His dramatic delivery becomes the perfect foil for Iommi’s riffs, a match made in heavy metal heaven.
The closing one-two punch of “Return Of The Arbalist” and “Legacy” bring the album’s shifting moods into final focus, moving from furious force to an expansive, epic finale. With From The Dark, Tony Iommi demonstrates that the man behind heavy metal’s foundational riffs still has plenty left to play.