Legendary Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has revealed that he has a big quantity of unreleased solo materials — and trendy expertise helps him lastly deliver it to life.
Throughout a question-and-answer session on the 2025 Steel City Con, Butler was requested whether or not he nonetheless has any solo albums “within the tank.” His response made it clear that retirement from writing music is way from his thoughts. Which additionally seems to be the case for Butler‘s Black Sabbath bandmate, Tony Iommi.
“Oh, gosh. I’ve obtained tons of stuff,” Butler mentioned. “Since we completed the final Sabbath present [at Back To The Beginning in July 2025], I’ve simply been going by all of the stuff that I’ve written because the ’80s onwards and updating all the things.”
One of many greatest obstacles Butler beforehand confronted was the dearth of a vocalist throughout the writing course of. That, he defined, has modified with the emergence of synthetic intelligence.
“What held me again earlier than, I did not have a singer once I’m at dwelling, however A.I. got here alongside,” he mentioned with amusing. “So all my songs now, I’ve up to date all of them and I am utilizing an A.I. singer to deliver all of the lyrics out.”
Butler clarified that the expertise is not changing human musicians, however slightly serving to him talk his concepts extra clearly. By utilizing A.I.-generated vocals, he can now current totally realized track ideas to singers he plans to collaborate with.
“So now I can take it to singers that I am gonna be working with and go, ‘That is what I would like on the album,'” he defined. “Earlier than I used to be simply enjoying them a bass riff or one thing and going, ‘Are you able to sing to this?’… It is so a lot better now, ‘trigger you’ll be able to sit in your studio and do all the things on A.I. after which take it to correct musicians and allow them to take over.”
Butler acknowledged that some followers view the usage of A.I. as controversial. “Lots of people suppose it is dishonest,” he mentioned, although he emphasised that it has been a artistic device slightly than a shortcut.
Throughout the session, Butler additionally mirrored on Black Sabbath‘s basic songwriting course of, highlighting how natural and collaborative it was.
“With Sabbath, we would sit down in a room collectively and simply jam and jam and jam till anyone got here up with one thing that we might work with,” he mentioned. “As soon as we had an excellent riff, we would end the music a part of it. Ozzy would sing his vocal line, then I might write the lyrics.”
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