Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes: The 1996 Dep Sessions (Black Ice Vinyl)

2024 reissue of the collaborative album, ‘The 1996 DEP Sessions’ (2004), by Tony Iommi & Glenn Hughes.

The relationship between iconic Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and English musician Glenn Hughes stretches far back into the mid-eighties. Best known for playing bass and performing vocals in the hard rock band Trapeze and in the Mk. III and IV line-ups of Deep Purple, Hughes sang on the 1986 Black Sabbath album ‘Seventh Star’. It was the twelth album from the fabled heavy metal originators and was initially intended to be the first solo release from Iommi, but record company and management pressures led to the album being billed as ‘Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi’.

In 1996 after Black Sabbath went on hiatus, Iommi & Hughes reunited to record together what eventually became ‘The 1996 Dep Sessions’. Due to Sabbath reforming at the time, the sessions were never officially released until 2004. But the official release rekindled Iommi and Hughes’ collaborative spirit resulting in another studio album in 2005, ‘Fused’, Tony Iommi’s third solo effort. Now these two collaborative albums are being reissued on vinyl and CD, marking the 20th anniversary of Tony Iommi’s and Glenn Hughes’ joint discography. ‘Fused’ includes 3 bonus tracks.