won’t take it much more.”
Iommi, who was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012, also expressed concerns that being on the road might result in a recurrence of the disease. “I don’t want that creeping back again, and all the traveling involved in Sabbath tours increasingly takes its toll,” Iommi said. “That’s why we’re going out on one last tour, to say our farewells. And then it very definitely is the end. We won’t be doing it again.” Iommi was also hospitalized recently with back problems, and he still requires blood tests every six weeks to monitor his lymphoma.
“Don’t get me wrong, I still love gigging. It’s all the travelling and the exhaustion that goes with it that’s the problem. That side of things has a big impact on me,” Iommi said. “We may fly in luxury, stay in the very best hotels, ride in the most comfortable limos but there’s still a physical cost to touring… You take a long haul flight, arrive somewhere at five in the morning and book into a hotel. There’s the soundcheck, the promotional work, the gig itself, then you’re back at the hotel to collapse into bed. Then next day, you get to do it all over again. I love being up there onstage, playing with Sabbath. What I don’t love is all the other stuff necessary to enable that to happen.”
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