A lesser-known period in the discography of heavy metal icons Black Sabbath will be spotlighted in a new box set coming from Rhino in May.

Anno Domini 1989-1995, available May 31 on four CDs or four LPs, will offer a closer look at albums that essentially featured founding guitarist Tony Iommi restarting the band from scratch, recruiting vocalist Tony Martin and a cast of new and old talent to re-establish Sabbath's place in the metal canon. The albums Headless Cross (1989), Tyr (1990), Cross Purposes (1994) and Forbidden (1995) will be included in the set, with Forbidden receiving a new mix by Iommi especially for this collection. On CD, three of the albums will include a bonus track apiece in the form of non-LP B-sides or Japanese exclusive bonus tracks. Hugh Gilmour has penned new liner notes for the set, available in a booklet that also includes rare photos and artwork. The box will additionally include replicas of a poster and program from the Headless Cross tour.

Black Sabbath endured a significant amount of changes by the time I.R.S. Records signed them to release Headless Cross in 1989. The group came together with Iommi, the group's sole remaining original member; keyboardist Geoff Nicholls (who'd been playing in the band since the Ronnie James Dio-led Heaven and Hell in 1980); Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell; bassist Laurence Cottle and singer Tony Martin, who became a last-minute replacement as frontman in 1987, overdubbing the vocals of singer Ray Gillen for the Vertigo/Warner Bros. album The Eternal Idol. Featuring darker, heavier lyrics than most albums in their discography (plus a cameo by Queen guitarist Brian May on the track "When Death Calls"), Headless Cross was regarded by many fans as a return to form. Cottle, hired in only a session capacity, did not join the group on tour; he was replaced by Neil Murray, who'd kept rhythm alongside Powell in his group Hammer as well as Whitesnake.

This line-up of Iommi, Powell, Nicholls, Martin and Murray would next record 1990's Tyr, one of Sabbath's most unique albums. Like Headless Cross, it was produced by Iommi and Powell; unlike its predecessor - or most of the group's albums - it is perhaps most reliant on Nicholls' keyboard sounds, with punishing percussion by Powell. Martin's lyrics drew inspiration from Norse mythology; Tyr was a warrior god and son of Odin in that culture. Tyr outcharted Headless Cross in the U.K., but did not place in America.

Even more line-up changes would ensue post-Tyr: in 1992, Iommi was rejoined by Nicholls, founding bassist Geezer Butler, returning vocalist Dio and drummer Vinny Appice (the group's line-up from 1981's Mob Rules) for Dehumanizer. The reunion was short-lived, and the original band line-up - Iommi, Butler, drummer Bill Ward and singer Ozzy Osbourne - briefly reunited as Osbourne announced his temporary retirement in 1992. The group's next album, 1994's Cross Purposes, would feature Iommi, Butler, Nicholls, a returning Martin and another former Rainbow drummer, Bobby Rondinelli. Lost in the shuffle of a changing rock landscape and partially resented by Butler (who was under the impression that the material would not be released as a Black Sabbath album), Cross Purposes failed to impress all but the faithful fans, though it briefly returned the group to the U.S. charts.

After more changes toward the end of the Cross Purposes tour (including a brief return by original drummer Ward), the Tyr line-up of Iommi, Nicholls, Martin, Powell and Murray instead reconvened for one of the group's most divisive albums, 1995's Forbidden. Produced by guitarist Ernie C of metal band Body Count (and featuring a cameo from Body Count frontman, rapper Ice-T, on opening track "The Illusion of Power"), both fans and the band have expressed dissatisfaction with the album's sound, prompting Iommi to go back and try to course-correct for this box.

"I was never happy with the guitar sound, and Cozy was definitely never happy with the drum sound," the guitarist said in a statement. "So, I thought it would be nice to do it for him in a way. I just felt that, without changing any of the songs, there was an opportunity to go back and bring out some of the sounds and make it more what people would expect Sabbath to sound like."

After Forbidden, the classic Black Sabbath line-up would reform once more, largely remaining consistent up to their final album, 2013's 13, and their final tours, neither of which featured Ward. (Iommi, Butler, Dio and Appice would briefly reform in the late '00s under the name Heaven & Hell.) Anno Domini 1989-1995 finally shines a light on most of Martin's time with the group, offering a look at a different side of a legendary rock group. You can pre-order the box below; as an Amazon affiliate, The Second Disc earns a small commission from sales at the below links.

Anno Domini 1989-1995 (Rhino, 2024)

4CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
4LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD/LP 1: Headless Cross (released as I.R.S. Records EIRSA 1002 (U.K.)/I.R.S. Metal 82002 (U.S.), 1989)

1. The Gates of Hell
2. Headless Cross
3. Devil & Daughter
4. When Death Calls
5. Kill in the Spirit World
6. Call of the Wild
7. Black Moon
8. Nightwing
9. Cloak & Dagger (CD bonus track - released as U.K. B-side to "Headless Cross" - I.R.S. Records EIRS 107, 1989)

CD/LP 2: Tyr (released as I.R.S. Records 1C 064-24 1070 1 (U.K.)/I.R.S. Metal X2-13049 (U.S.), 1990)

1. Anno Mundi
2. The Law Maker
3. Jerusalem
4. The Sabbath Stones
5. The Battle of Tyr
6. Odin's Court
7. Valhalla
8. Feels Good to Me
9. Heaven in Black

CD/LP 3: Cross Purposes (released as I.R.S. Records EIRSCD 1067 (U.K.)/X2-13222 (U.S.), 1994)

1. I Witness
2. Cross of Thorns
3. Psychophobia
4. Virtual Death
5. Immaculate Deception
6. Dying for Love
7. Back to Eden
8. The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
9. Cardinal Sin
10. Evil Eye
11. What's the Use? (CD bonus track released on original Japanese pressings - I.R.S. Records TOCP-8128, 1994)

CD/LP 4: Forbidden (2024 Tony Iommi Remix) (originally released as I.R.S. Records EIRSCD 1072 (U.K.)/72434 98852 2 6 (U.S.), 1995)

1. The Illusion of Power (feat. Ice-T)
2. Get a Grip
3. Can't Get Close Enough
4. Shaking Off the Chains
5. I Won't Cry for You
6. Guilty As Hell
7. Sick and Tired
8. Rusty Angels
9. Forbidden
10. Kiss of Death
11. Loser Gets It All (CD bonus track released on original Japanese pressings - I.R.S. Records TOCP-8586, 1995)