Tony Iommi has unveiled an epic new instrumental song called “Deified” to coincide with a new perfume of the same name, released in partnership with Xerjoff Group.
You can watch the music video below.
The Black Sabbath riff-monger coproduced “Deified” with keyboardist and longtime collaborator Mike Exeter. Additional personnel includes Karl Brazil on drums, Laurence Cottle on bass and orchestration by Ben Andrew.
Deified marks Tommi’s second joint venture with Xerjoff behind the 2021 fragrance Monkey Special, which was also accompanied by an instrumental song called “Scent of Dark.” “I’m really excited about our new perfume and after the success of our last one [Monkey Special], I hope that you’ll like Deified as much as I do,” Iommi said in a statement. “We’ve gone through the same process of trying different samples of perfume over the last year until we came up with this one, and I really like it.”
Tony Iommi, “Deified”
The Inspiration Behind “Deified”
The “Deified” animated music video shows a child flipping through a history book and unwittingly wreaking havoc on the world after he tears a page. Realizing the error of his ways, he rushes back to the book to undo the damage he’s caused. Xerjoff Group CEO Sergio Momo is credited with the video’s production and art direction, and he appears in the video playing guitar alongside Iommi.
Momo revealed the inspiration behind the name “Deified” in a recently released joint video interview. “A friend of mine gave me this little booklet on poetry, which was palindromic poetry,” he explained. “And I said, ‘Well, that’s just crazy.’ So I just kind of found a few words which could be connected mainly with Tony’s lifestyle and artistic career, and he really immediately liked ‘Deified.'”
He continued: “It could refer to a riff, it could refer to a story, it could refer to many things. So why don’t we just go down that road and see how it goes?”
“Deified” Arrives Amid Black Sabbath Reunion Speculation
Iommi’s new song and fragrance arrive amid renewed speculation of a Black Sabbath reunion. Although the guitarist has not addressed the rumors, ex-Sabbath drummer Bill Ward chimed in on Instagram on Thursday. “I’m in for playing some of everyone’s old favorites,” Ward wrote. “Loved playing them then, I’d love to play them one last time.
“I’m not going to talk about my health publicly except to say, every day I’m pretty good for 76 years old,” Ward continued. “I’m active musically every day, and I have a very busy and gratifying life. Love you all, all the fucking time.”