Tony Iommi wanted Geezer Butler on From The Dark and asked him, Becky Baldwin says, and the reason it did not happen was logistical rather than personal.
Baldwin, who plays bass in Mercyful Fate, ended up with the job. She is candid about what that felt like. "Any fan of Black Sabbath would want to see the pairing of Tony and Geezer. It's like the thing that we all love," she told BraveWords, adding that she has been a Butler admirer for as long as she has played, for the animal activism as much as the playing.
What she did about it is the interesting part. Rather than avoid the comparison she went straight at it. "I've always wanted to play like him, so why would I avoid doing that with Tony? Of course I'm going to play and channel as much Geezer Butler as possible when I'm playing with Tony." She hopes that if the two ever meet, he takes it as the respect it is.
Iommi asked Butler to come, she says, but wanted the recording done in his own studio under his own eye, because it is his solo project. Jorn Lande sings on it and shares the writing on every song, with Karl Brazil on drums.