To a Beatles fan, finding out "the walrus was Paul" was an important clue to unravelling the mystery behind the Fab Four's true identity. And so it is that long-time devotees of Black Sabbath will be glad to know the identity of the band's legendary IRON MAN has finally been discovered.

His name is TONY IOMMI.

As the founder of THE most influential band in the history of metal music, Tony Iommi is not just the guitarist for Black Sabbath. In a career spanning three decades and 25 album, Tony Iommi has been the unyielding "iron man" that has kept Black Sabbath from simply becoming "the band that Ozzy left".

Although a greatest hits album title once proclaimed the band "Soul Their Soul For Rock And Roll", many critics argued that Black Sabbath didn't really lose their soul until the enigmatic Osbourne channelled his vocal talents into a solo career. But to accept that argument is to dismiss the long-time contributions of Iommi, a true guitar legend and Rock God who has kept Sabbath in the black all these years by refusing to sound the death knell on the band.

In fact, in his interview with Pulse, Tony had a few choice words for the critics who charge the only reason the band continues is for the money.

"I just don't understand", laments Iommi over the suggestion it's time for Black Sabbath to surrender to the rock and roll reaper. "Those critics are going to be older one day. But if they're still writing good, why should anyone condemn them? I love going out and playing. I really enjoy what I do. If it was just going out purely money-making maybe it's different. Even then you can't condemn it. I actually love what I do. So I think to condemn it is wrong, because there's room for everybody."

There's certainly room for Black Sabbath, for if rock and roll was born in Hell, then Black Sabbath is the ultimate house band. Since their classic self-titled debut, the band's fiery brand of hard-edged metal has turned many a young rocker on to the Devil's music. And despite the long shadow cast by their formed lead singer, Sabbath has not only survived, but thrived.

At the heart of it all has been Iommi, an innovator whose guitar has delivered more killer licks than Heidi Fleiss. Just last year, everyone from Megadeth to Therapy? was queuing up to pay homage to their heroes on the Sabbath tribute album, "Nativity in Black". More recently, Iommi himself was honoured for producing the "Greatest Rock Riff Of All Time", beating out such luminaries as Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple for his guitar work on the classic Sabbath song, "Paranoid".

Now Iommi is back on the road in support of the 25th Black Sabbath album, "Forbidden", on a tour which brings the band to Polonia Park July 17th for a much anticipated show with Motorhead. It's more like a working vacation for Iommi, the quintessential soft-spoken Englishman. Sounding much like Hugh Grant in the calm afterglow of a satisfying sexual tryst, Iommi expressed nothing but love for the band that has defined his musical career.

"Black Sabbath has always been my life", Tony reflected. "I've been involved with it since the beginning and I've always believed in the band. If I didn't I wouldn't do it. I still feel the same way about it as when I started."

The new album marks a homecoming of sorts, reuniting Iommi and his long-time collaborator, Tony Martin, with renowned session drummer Cozy Powell and bassist Neil Murray in the line-up which produced the albums "Headless Cross" and "Tyr" in 1989 and 1990.

"I wanted to make the album more of a live feel, to get back to the thing of walking into the studio, setting up and just playing", explained Tony. "As opposed to going in and recording drums for three days, then guitars for three days. I wanted to just walk in and play."

To that end Iommi enlisted the additional expertise of an avid but unlikely Sabbath fan, Body Count's Ernie C, to serve as producer. They were also joined by guest vocalist Ice T, who lends a hand on the socially conscious "Illusion of Power". The end result was a rapid-fire recording session and an album Iommi says is different than he expected.

"It probably isn't as heavy as I anticipated", he said. "We did the album in eight days, which was quite unusual for us. We haven't done that since Paranoid."

Hearing Iommi draw comparisons between the new album and the all-time Sabbath classic (besides the title track, Paranoid included "Iron Man", "War Pigs" and "Fairies Wear Boots") is probably a good sign for those fans who have tuned out since Ozzy left the fold. But for those still leery about paying to see the current edition of Sabbath, Tony says he's happy filling the set with old material.

"I like playing the old songs as well as the new stuff", he offered enthusiastically. "People say 'Don't you get tired of playing Iron Man, and Black Sabbath, and Paranoid?' Well, no I don't. Perhaps I'm like a fish and got a three second memory. But I don't get fed up. I get the most out of it I can, and I really do these days. I love it more these past few years than I ever have, and it's great to be in that position."

Tony's contentment is all the more surprising considering recent reports he is being sued by Osbourne, who is attempting to recover $75,000 Ozzy claims he lent Iommi to get out of jail in time for Sabbath's scheduled reunion concert on November 15, 1992.

"I suppose he goes out for what press he can get", suggests Iommi, who was jailed in Modesto, California for non-payment of child support. "That's Ozzy. That's his camp. They always do anything they can to get in the press and I don't owe him any money."

Both Osbourne and Iommi stood to make a killing when it was reported the pair would reunite with original bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler and drummer Bill Ward for a Black Sabbath reunion. But fan hopes were dashed when Osbourne pulled the plug, according to Tony.

"We were hoping as well at that point. I don't want it at all now. But at the time I feel Ozzy let a lot of people down. It was Ozzy that put the idea in everybody's head to do it. And it went for eight months of negotiations between managers and lawyers and everybody else. We signed our agreements, Bill Ward, Geezer and myself, and it was Ozzy that pulled out in the end. He's the one who let everybody down, not anybody else."

As close as they came to mounting what would surely have been the reunion of the year, Iommi says fans should forget about ever seeing the original line-up perform together again.

"The easiest thing to do, you would think, would be to just walk on stage and just play. But all the bullshit gets involved and that really does throw it. It stops everything from happening. There's a lot of jealousy goes on in this business. Unfortunately that's what happened between Ozzy and Geezer, Bill, and myself. There's a lot of bad stuff, things that just get thrown around. There's no need for it really. At our age now, you shouldn't be trying to outdo each other. It's ridiculous."

"As far as I'm concerned, I just want to get on with my life, instead of going backward all the time. It's all right doing these reunions and stuff, but in some ways it's a step back. It doesn't always work. It might work on paper. But when you go to start playing, that team doesn't work anymore."

Tickets for the Black Sabbath/Motorhead show are available at ticketmaster and at the gate. The event is licensed, although no containers will be allowed in the park.