The suggestion was that the new-look Sabbath would take a concept album based on a mythical monster visiting a Welsh pit village on the road, for the Minotaur/Miner Tour. Though the story was a joke, it sparked a conversation between Iommi and Jones which led to a friendship blossoming between the two men.

"I've met Tom a few times and we were talking one day and he said 'Did you ever see that thing in the press about me joining you guys?'" Iommi reveals. "I said 'Yes, I did' and he said 'It's not a bad idea, is it?'"