Tony Iommi recently addressed the long-discussed topic of Black Sabbath’s earliest recordings, made during the band’s days under the name Earth.
The guitarist was asked directly about the legal battle that had previously held up the release of these recordings. The question was whether, now that the rights have been secured, fans can expect them to surface.
Iommi confirmed that a release is on the horizon. “They will come out at some point,” he said. “It’s weird when you hear stuff from so long ago, and all these things crop up that you forgot about.”
Iommi also reflected on what it was like to revisit the recordings after so many decades. He described the experience as both surprising and enjoyable.
“The sound and everything. Bloody hell, we’d done it in a little studio,” he said. “But it was fun to hear them, actually. I sat listening to them all, and it was good because there’s some jazzy stuff and bluesy stuff we done on them where we just used to jam.”
“On a lot of the jams, it was all guitar, and I forgot about half of that,” Iommi continued. “I can’t play that now.”
The recordings carry significant historical weight. They represent a snapshot of the band at a pivotal moment before they became one of the most influential acts in rock history.
The band formed under the name Earth in September 1968, with the original lineup of Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. By August 1969, the group had renamed themselves Black Sabbath after discovering another band was already touring under the Earth name. The confusion had caused booking mix-ups at venues across England.
The demos were recorded in 1969 at Zella Studios in Birmingham. They captured the band in their rawest form, before the heavy metal sound they would become known for had fully taken shape. The sessions featured a mix of jazz and blues-influenced jams, consistent with Iommi’s own recollections of the material.
The tapes had been tied up in a lengthy legal dispute over ownership. The rights were only recently restored to all four original members. A planned release under the title Earth: The Legendary Lost Tapes had previously been scheduled but did not materialize, leaving fans waiting for the archival material to finally see the light of day.
With the legal battle now resolved and Iommi publicly confirming the recordings will be released, the Earth demos appear closer to an official release than at any point in the band’s history. The exact timeline, however, remains unconfirmed.
