Issue 181 of British heavy metal magazine Kerrang!, published in April 1988, featured Alice Cooper on the cover, interviews with Dokken and Heart, reviews of Ace Frehley and Ted Nugent gigs in London, and a report on the rumour that Led Zeppelin could reform to play a one-off show to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the launch of Atlantic Records. But that wasn't the story that got the rock world reverberating with shock when the issue hit newsagents across the UK.
The big talking point of the week, splashed across pages 6 and 7 of the magazine, was the surprise revelation that Black Sabbath had recruited legendary Welsh singer Tom 'The Voice' Jones as their new frontman.
Furthermore, the new-look group revealed exclusively to writer Johnnie Smith, they were already working upon an ambitious new concept album, Minotaur, which would weave "fragments of Greek mythology, segments of Spanish bullfighting (a project partially developed by Jones pre-Sabbath) and parts of coal-mining and Jones' native Welsh culture." Jones and Sabbath mainman Tony Iommi were also apparently collaborating on "a quite stunning stage production that will be one of the most spectacular attempted in the realms of Heavy Metal."
Exciting stuff.
"Let me say to Sabbath fans everywhere, and to all your readers, Tony, Bill [Ward] and myself are committed to the idea of me singing in the band, with the ultimate aim of resurrecting the glory days of Black Sabbath," Jones was quoted as saying.
"Believe me," guitarist Iommi added, "you just have to hear us in action with this guy on vocals to know that he is the greatest singer that Sabbath have ever had... I've always been a great admirer of Tom's work. Take a tune like Delilah for instance, it's got superb lyrics about Samson murdering Delilah, a powerful vocal melody - very, very Metal."
