Black Sabbath announce Tony Martin era boxset ft. new Tony Iommi mix of ‘Forbidden’
‘Anno Domini 1989 – 1995’ is released in May
Black Sabbath have finally announced their long-awaited boxset celebrating Tony Martin’s tenures fronting the legendary heavy metal band.
The Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie Jame Dio eras of Black Sabbath have both been chronicled extensively over the decades in multiple collections.
However, despite Tony Martin being the Birmingham band’s second longest-serving vocalist, no boxset has shone the spotlight on his years with the band… until now.
Entitled ‘Anno Domini 1989 – 1995’, the four-disc Tony Martin era boxset is released on CD and LP formats on Friday 31st May 2024 via BMG. You can pre-order it here.
The collection boasts remastered versions of ‘Headless Cross’ (1989), ‘Tyr’ (1990), and ‘Cross Purposes’ (1994), plus Tony Iommi’s new remix of Martin’s final album with Sabbath, ‘Forbidden’ (1995).
Widely panned by critics and a commercial flop upon its release 29 years ago, ‘Forbidden’ was produced by Body Count’s Ernie C, and Tony Iommi has long expressed his wish to remix the album.
Iommi says: “I was never happy with the guitar sound, and Cozy (Powell) was definitely never happy with the drum sound… So, I thought it would be nice to do it for him in a way.
“I just felt that, without changing any of the songs, there was an opportunity to go back and bring out some of the sounds and make it more what people would expect Sabbath to sound like.”
The four studio albums that make up ‘Anno Domini 1989 – 1995’ are augmented in the CD boxset by three exclusive tracks: the B-side ‘Cloak & Dagger’ and the Japan-only releases ‘What’s The Use’ and ‘Loser Gets It All.’
The set also features a booklet with photos, artwork, and liner notes by Hugh Gilmour, and there’s a ‘Headless Cross’ poster and a replica concert book from the Headless Cross Tour.