The Eternal Idol

The Eternal Idol is the thirteenth studio album by Black Sabbath, released in 1987. It is the first of several Black Sabbath albums to feature longtime vocalist Tony Martin.

The album was originally to be recorded with vocalist Ray Gillen, who quit the band shortly after the initial sessions on Montserrat with producer Jeff Glixman. Martin was hired and reconstructed the vocals shortly before production ended. Most tracks were written by Tony Iommi and bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley, although some lyrics were subsequently modified by Geoff Nicholls and Tony Martin after he joined the band.

The album cover was intended to feature a picture of an Auguste Rodin sculpture from 1889 also called “The Eternal Idol.” However, the album cover actually features two naked models covered in paint and positioned to resemble the piece of art because, legend has it, permission to photograph the actual sculpture could not be secured.

Despite the sleeve credits all bass parts were completed by Bob Daisley, and Eric Singer completed all drum parts. The percussion credit to Bev Bevan relates to a few cymbal overdubs on “Scarlet Pimpernel”.

It peaked at number 168 on the Billboard 200 chart.

There is a 3 minute and fifteen second studio outtake titled “Some Kind of Woman”, which was written by Tony Martin shortly after joining the band. It was offered as a B-Side to “The Shining” single and an early version of “Black Moon”, which was released on Headless Cross, was released as a B-Side to the “Eternal Idol” single.