Headless Cross (album)

Background

Following the poor sales of The Eternal Idol (1987), Black Sabbath was dropped by both Warner Bros. and Vertigo Records. Tony Iommi sought a new label and signed with I.R.S. Records after meeting owner Miles Copeland, who told Iommi, 'You know how to write albums, you know what people want. You do it and I'm fine with it.' Iommi brought in vocalist Tony Martin and recruited drummer Cozy Powell, who remarked that the band had hit rock bottom when he joined. Iommi and Powell briefly considered dropping the Black Sabbath name but decided to continue under it. The trio wrote and rehearsed with keyboardist Geoff Nicholls. Geezer Butler initially expressed interest in rejoining but instead joined Ozzy Osbourne's touring lineup. Iommi and Nicholls considered asking Ronnie James Dio or David Coverdale to join, but Powell convinced them to keep Martin.