“From The Dark”, the new album by riff master Tony Iommi, is now imminent. A release steeped in anticipation and high expectations – following Black Sabbath’s final concert and the passing of Ozzy Osbourne – which is set to take its rightful place amongst the standout albums of 2026, now drawing to a close. It’s an album deeply marked by the presence and compositions of Jørn Lande, whose performance is steeped in pathos and an enviable artistic maturity. We caught up with him to mark the launch of the first single, ‘World Alone’, for a pleasant Q&A. So, over to him!
Hi Jørn, thanks for granting us this interview and welcome to TrueMetal.it. Today we’ll mainly be talking about your new album with Tony Iommi, “From The Dark,” set for release in October. How are you feeling right now?
Very happy and proud indeed! It was definitely worth the wait and the hard work and it is great that the news of the album is finally out!
We know you’ve sung with Heaven And Hell in the past, but how did the collaboration with Tony Iommi for this new album come about?
Me and Tony first met in 2004 and did some demos together. For various reasons the collaboration didn’t happen then, Tony did his 2005 solo album with Glenn Hughes, and as we all know Ronnie James Dio returned, to do the Heaven and Hell “The Devil you know” album. However, we kept in touch ever since, and we both wanted to do an album together at some point. Time went on, and finally the call came a couple of years ago.
You’ve mentioned that you helped write the album—can you tell us to what extent and which songs in particular?
I wrote all lyrics and vocal melodies for the whole album
How did the songwriting process work? Did you exchange files online, or did you get together in a rehearsal room?
I first received a couple of rough music demo’s from Tony and worked at home with those, and recorded them at Jailhouse Studios in Denmark. Further on we both worked at Tony’s home studio in England as well as recording at Gospel Oak Studio in Warwick and Abbey Recording Studio in Oxford. It was a back and forth creative process, where we both worked together in studio with producer Mike Exeter, and sometimes we exchanged files. Tony would sometimes adapt/change his riffs to my vocal melodies and lyrics, and vice versa. Mike, Tony and myself would also make spontaneous adjustments during the recording sessions. It was all based on great creative teamwork.
I guess that for Tony Iommi, the first choice on bass was Geezer Butler—no disrespect to the talented Becky Baldwin. Do you know why he wasn’t able to participate?
You would have to ask Tony or Geezer about that. However, Becky is doing a fantastic job on this album.
What’s your favorite track, and why?
They are all great! But if I have to pick out one track it has to be “Stormwatcher” because it really shows and represents the magic of our collaboration. It perfectly blends Tony’s majestic and unmistakable driving guitar with my melodic signature and lyrical style. I also love how the maritime theme came out, it goes so perfectly well with the musical composition of the song, it’s majestic and powerful.
Can you give us some more information about the album’s lyrics?
The lyrics on the album are mainly existential, describing the fight for survival and the journey through life, reflecting on the past, present, future and beyond.
You were born a couple of years before Black Sabbath released their selftitled debut album. How and when did you discover Tony Iommi’s band?
My interest in music started very early and with my father, who was an active musician and singer his whole life. I soon found myself drawn to rock and roll, and remember playing the first two Led Zeppelin albums over and over, plus other bands like Jethro Tull, Sweet and Deep Purple etc.. I first discovered Black Sabbath through 70s vinyl rock compilations, which would include songs like Paranoid, Iron Man etc.. My first full length Sabbath albums were Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die. Since I was already a big fan of Ronnie James Dio through his Rainbow albums, you could say I followed Ronnie when he joined Black Sabbath. Ronnie and Tony were a dream team, the ultimate singer/guitarist pairing, in the same musical way that he had matched so well with Richie Blackmore in Rainbow. All Black Sabbath releases with Ronnie are essential staple albums that stand the test of time. Ozzy was great too of course, with a different character and style than Ronnie, they both put their unique and unmistakable imprint on Black Sabbath.
With the Birmingham concert and Ozzy Osbourne’s death, Black Sabbath’s story now seems like a closed chapter. But as a fan, even though I’m thrilled about Iommi’s new album, deep down I still hold out hope that the band might reunite—perhaps with Tony Martin (one of the singers in the running for “From The Dark”)—under the moniker Headless Cross or Eternal Idol, for example, for one or more albums and possibly a tour. Do you think Tony has closed that door, or is there even just a faint glimmer of hope?
This would definitely be a question for Tony Iommi, and not for me to speculate on.
Do you have any live dates planned?
Potential live shows will be entirely up to Tony, no dates planned as per today, but you never know.. Main focus now is the album release.
Speaking of your artistic career, I personally absolutely loved Ark. What memories do you have of those years and those two albums?
So many good memories from the ARK years, hard to find only a few. We worked and recorded together like a proper band in the “old school” way, which was really great. We rehearsed on 33rd street in Manhattan, as John Macaluso lived in Queens. We experienced everything from killer bee swarms entering the city and tropical storms wreaking havoc in the streets, all good for the creative process I guess.
We even pulled an injured shark up on the beach in New Jersey, but had to release him as there was not much we could do. We had a little party at the same beach, not knowing there was a curfew so police helicopters came to chase us off, great memories!
I know this isn’t an easy question, but if you had to pick your favorite album from your discography, which one would it be? Or the one you’re most attached to for sentimental reasons...
A very hard question indeed, as I like all my albums 😉But if I had to point out a couple it would be “Lonely Are The Brave” from 2008 and “Over The Horizon Radar” from 2022. Of other albums I’ve done I guess Beyond Twilight “The devils Hall Of Fame and ARK “Burn the sun” are essential, such strong creative imprints in time. When you write from within and always aim to reflect on something real, every album will be essential with songs that are personal.
What are your plans for the near future? Do you plan to collaborate with Alessandro Del Vecchio again?
Alessandro has been the keyboard player in my band JORN for many years, in addition to being a great friend, so our collaboration is ongoing. He has also mixed and mastered many of my JORN albums and has co-written several songs with me.
I often go to Somma Lombardo to work at his studio with various projects, and we love working together.
Near future plans besides awaiting the Iommi album release October 23rd, include releasing a JORN compilation of 30 songs, hopefully at the end of this year.
Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, you composed the song “Vi er Norge.” Norway played well (in addition to literally shattering Italy’s dreams of glory in the qualifying round). Any post-World Cup thoughts?
It was a great experience and privilege to perform at various football stadium events during the FIFA World Cup – to support our great Norwegian players who did such an impressive effort! Sorry for Italy, though.
Thank you again for the interview. I’ll leave you some space in case you’d like to add anything to what you’ve already said. Over to you!
Thanks for having me, I really appreciate it! Please give my love to all my Italian friends!
