Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi: Seventh Star (Red & Black Vinyl)

Seventh Star returns for Record Store Day 2026 on 18 April 2026 as a limited LP reissue through Rhino, pressed on red and black splatter vinyl. The official RSD listing gives the release quantity as 5,400 copies and confirms the UPC as 081227804947.

This is one of the more interesting Sabbath-related albums because it barely sounds like a conventional Black Sabbath record at all, and that is exactly why it has aged better than some people expected. Released originally in 1986, Seventh Star was effectively a Tony Iommi solo project that ended up carrying the name Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi, with Glenn Hughes on vocals. That matters, because once you stop expecting doom in the classic Ozzy-era sense, the record opens up as a sharp, melodic, hard rock and heavy metal album with Iommi’s riffing still driving the whole thing. The official RSD notes point directly to that 1986 origin and the Hughes collaboration, while current retailer listings confirm this reissue adds the single remix of “No Stranger To Love.”

As a review, Seventh Star is a stronger record than its reputation suggests. It is not Master Of Reality and it is not trying to be. Instead, it lives in a more polished mid-80s zone, with glossy production, bluesy heavy rock, and a slightly heroic, melodic edge. Iommi still sounds like Iommi throughout. The riffs on “In For The Kill,” “Turn To Stone,” and “Heart Like A Wheel” have that weight and authority only he could really pull off, but the album is less about crushing darkness and more about controlled power. Hughes brings a very different energy too. His voice gives the material a more soulful and dramatic feel, which pushes the record closer to hard rock than pure doom metal.

What makes Seventh Star worth revisiting now is that it feels like a transitional album rather than a failed Sabbath record. There is real craft in it. The title track has atmosphere, “No Stranger To Love” leans into the band’s more melodic side without collapsing into fluff, and the heavier cuts still have enough steel in them to keep things grounded. It is a curious release in the catalogue, sure, but it is also one of those records that gets better once you meet it on its own terms. For collectors, the 2026 RSD edition looks like a smart one because it is not just a repress. The colour variant is sharp, the pressing is limited, and the added remix gives it a proper reason to exist beyond shelf dressing.