Black Sabbath - Seventh Star (2026 Remaster)

Seventh Star began life as Tony Iommi's first solo album, and this 2026 remaster brings one of Black Sabbath's most unusual chapters back into focus.

Released in 1986, it ended up billed as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi after label and management pressure, and it was the first Sabbath record without Geezer Butler. Glenn Hughes, formerly of Deep Purple, took the vocals, backed by Eric Singer on drums, Dave Spitz on bass and Geoff Nicholls on keyboards, with Jeff Glixman producing. Sessions took place in 1985 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles and Cheshire Sound in Atlanta.

Hughes's soulful range pulls the material towards melodic hard rock. "In For The Kill" opens at full gallop, "No Stranger To Love" is a big, moody power ballad, and the title track is a slow, brooding epic built on some of the heaviest riffing on the record.

Elsewhere the album leans into polished mid-eighties production and keyboards, but Iommi's guitar tone is unmistakable from the first bar, and his solos carry plenty of fire. Hughes did not last long in the role, with Ray Gillen taking over for the tour that followed.

It sits apart from the rest of the catalogue, and that difference is its charm, with the new remaster giving this one-off line-up a fresh showcase.