When Black Sabbath completed their farewell tour in February earlier this year, it was an emotional moment for both the band and the fans. We were forced to say goodbye to the group that is responsible for spawning heavy metal as they closed the book they started writing nearly 50 years ago. So, has it sunk in with guitarist Tony Iommi?

"It still didn't seem like it was the end," Iommi began telling Metal Talk (video below) in a new interview. Continuing, he explained, "Because most tours are finished like that and you all go home and you think, 'We'll be back in six weeks to do the next tour. But, of course, it didn't happen on this one. But it was the same sort of vibe for a bit. And it still hasn't sunk in yet because I've been involved with quite a lot of stuff since we finished, dealing with the film stuff and the DVD and The Ten Year War [vinyl box set] and stuff like that. We haven't had time — or I haven't had time time — to really even think about, 'Oh, we've stopped,' 'cause I haven't stopped. I'm still as busy as ever — apart from we're not flying everywhere, which is great."

As for what lies ahead, the legendary six-stringer added, "There's a lot coming up; it's just a matter of picking and choosing what I wanna do. It's hard to say at the moment, 'cause I'm still involved with the Sabbath thing as far as putting this to bed." On the musical front, there's plenty on the horizon as Iommi stated, "There's loads of requests to put something together, and even musicians saying, 'Would you like to do something?' So it's great, really. It's really open."

In recent months, Iommi has discussed possible collaborative musical efforts. The icon revealed that he and Queen's Brian May have talked about working together and former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin has said he is open to working with Iommi again.

Tony Iommi will be receiving the Courage Award at the 2017 Loudwire Music Awards ceremony and concert on Oct. 24. The awards trophy has also been cast from Iommi's very own hand and a making of video can be seen below. The event, hosted by WWE superstar and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, will also honor Judas Priest‘s Rob Halford and Van Halen legend Sammy Hagar with special performances from AnthraxHalestormBody CountNothing MoreStarsetPower Trip and more. Get your tickets and more information here.

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