Albums from Black Sabbath‘s I.R.S. Records era are set to be reissued in 2023.
Guitarist Tony Iommi teased the upcoming rereleases in a tweet this week marking the birthday of late drummer Cozy Powell, who played on three of Sabbath’s I.R.S. albums.
“Cozy Powell would have been 75 today,” Iommi writes. “Looking forward to the release of the IRS albums in 2023, a tribute to his great playing.”
Sabbath released five records on I.R.S. — 1989’s Headless Cross, 1990’s Tyr, 1992’s Dehumanizer, 1994’s Cross Purposes and 1995’s Forbidden — three of which featured Iommi as the only original member. The era’s lineup also included Tony Martin on lead vocals for each album but Dehumanizer, which featured the return of Ronnie James Dio.
Meanwhile, Iommi reunited with the original Black Sabbath frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, this year to play on the Prince of Darkness’s new solo album, Patient Number 9. Their collaboration “Degradation Rules” is nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 2023 Grammys.
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