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Antonis “Jey Key” Katsaros of Greece’s webzine Rock Overdose recently conducted an interview with former BLACK SABBATH singer Tony Martin. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Rock Overdose: You are singing with a lot of passion in your voice. That is one of the reasons that people love to hear you. What advice would you give to the young singers out there?

Tony: For their voice, you mean? Well, I made a terrible mistake when i was younger and just sang without thinking about it… I damaged my voice so many times, but when you are young, it heals very quickly… but after a few years it stops repairing so quick and then you have a problem. You see many older singers struggling these days because of age and repair time… The best thing is to look up some vocal exercises and work on them. There are many different ones — maybe hundreds — but as long as you are exercising your full range, it will help. Now it’s hard work for me. I have to exercise my voice every day or I lose it very quickly. The only thing that was good from the mistake is I found a voice sound that worked. But apart from that, it was a mistake.

Rock Overdose: Let’s go back to the SABBATH days. Which of those albums that you made with BLACK SABBATH is your favorite?

Tony: Better to ask which one I don’t like. That would be “Forbidden”. The rest are very cool.

Rock Overdose: Which was your best time with SABBATH?

Tony: I guess the best time was when we seemed to be friends and the band was working well. After “Eternal Idol” when it was just a session… “Headless Cross” through “Tyr” and into “Cross Purposes” was the better times…. But the times when I was not chosen for the job was horrible.

Rock Overdose: Unfortunately, BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi‘s health problems didn’t made the famous SABBATH reunion that they planned. How are your relations with Iommi? Have you been spoken lately?

Tony: SABBATH haven’t spoken to me for over 15 years. I met Iommi very briefly in Russia once and he said I was doing a great job with my band. But apart from that, I haven’t heard from them at all.

Rock Overdose: You announced your new band, Tony Martin‘s HEADLESS CROSS. Can you introduce us the members of the band?

Tony: Ah… yes.. well there is myself, of course … And Magnus Rosén from the band HAMMERFALL… very nice man and amazing bass player. Dario Mollo on guitar… You may recognize him from the CAGE albums that I did. Danny Needham currently works with VENOM, but he has been my drummer for many years and I trust him completely…. Also Geoff Nicholls of BLACK SABBATH, who you will know very well.

Rock Overdose: Are you working an album or this band will be only for live shows?

Tony: Right now I need a band for live shows. I am planning a return to the stage if all the conditions are right.

Rock Overdose: Finally, what should we wait from Tony Martin for now on?

Tony: I have five projects running and THE CAGE is the first to be released but I also did record another GIUNTINI album and i have a new project running with a band called SILVER HORSES, a kind of blues, ZEPPELIN-type sound — very English sound, but another Italian project. And there are solo albums and I hope a tour and lots of Tony Martin-related things happening in the next few years. And I will be happy to talk to you about these as they happen along the way.

Read the entire interview from Rock Overdose. Source: Blabbermouth.net