[QUOTE] Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma but a new album for the legendary metal band is still on track, it was announced Monday.
Iommi, 63, is currently working with his doctors to determine the best course and "remains upbeat and determined to make a full and successful recovery," a statement said.
In November, the group -- Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward -- announced album and tour plans. While the statement does not indicate whether live dates will be affected, the band continues to write and record their first album in over three decades. Rick Rubin will produce the group's comeback album, which is expected to be released in fall 2012 through Vertigo/Universal.
The metal pioneers are scheduled to headline Download Festival, which will take place between June 8-10 in Donington Park, England.
Since the original lineup came together in 1968, the English metal pioneers have scored album sales of 15 million, according to the RIAA. Between 1970 and 2007, Black Sabbath have had 22 entries on the Billboard 200, and their biggest-selling effort -- 1970's "Paranoid," which featured classic rock tracks like "Iron Man" and "War Pigs" -- has sold 1.6 million in the SoundScan era.
The lineup of Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward released its last album, "Never Say Die," in 1978; the disc has sold 133,000 copies in the SoundScan era. Osbourne split with Black Sabbath in 1979 and went on to a hugely successful solo career, with hits like "Crazy Train," "Mr. Crowley" and "Shot in the Dark." He rejoined the band in 1997 and toured on-and-off with them through 2006, but the only new material produced was two songs tacked onto a 1998 live album.
Iommi, who wrote extensively about the band in his recent book "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell With Black Sabbath," told Billboard.com that he regrouped with Osbourne, bassist Butler and drummer Ward at Osbourne's California home in early 2011 to play some music "for a bit of fun, and to see if we could all play. It was good, but it was just purely, 'Let's have a go and see what happens.'
[URL]http://www.billboard.com/news/tony-iommi-of-black-sabbath-has-lymphoma-1005819752.story#/news/tony-iommi-of-black-sabbath-has-lymphoma-1005819752.story[/URL]
[/QUOTE]
Hope everything's ok for him, going to see the Sabbath reunion at download this year.
Glad they're still going forward after this.
Damn it I just posted this in the music forum :/ Oh well, I hope he kicks cancers ass.
It is great that he is confident he will beat it and that they will not cancel their tour. My father was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and he kept his head up and kept busy and for that he is still with me today. Good luck Mr. Iommi!
It's good that they found it in the early stages. I really hope he will defeat it.
I mean, Tony is a big man and too badass to get defeated by cancer.
My uncle has/had lymphoma to the point that he needed work with his bone marrow meaning it went from lymphoma to leukemia. he's alive and well now though. Tony can kick this kind of cancer's ass since it's not really all that lethal. Even more so since they found it early. I'm still gonna buy the shit out of the new album though.
First Dio now Tony? I hope he pulls through
Cancer is an enemy of metal and I demand it be cured immediately
Nothing can keep metalheads down!
:rock:
[QUOTE=Zeke129;34130807]Cancer is an enemy of metal and I demand it be cured immediately[/QUOTE]No, rust is.
[QUOTE=TicTac;34133551]No, rust is.[/QUOTE]
Cancer is the human equivalent of rust.
That's a drag. Really brings down the spirit for the reunion.
[QUOTE=Gmod4ever;34134566]Cancer is the human equivalent of rust.[/QUOTE]
Human equivalent of rust is decomposition
since cancer is growth it's like the opposite
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.