''The 1996 DEP Sessions'' is a collaborative studio album by British musicians

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...

and Glenn Hughes, released through

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

and Mayan Records in 2004. Material for ''The 1996 DEP Sessions'' was originally recorded in 1996, and was circulated among fans as a

bootleg recording A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. Making and distributing such recordings is known as ''bootlegging''. Recordings may be copied and traded ...

dubbed ''Eighth Star'': on this recording, two of the final tracks were missing, while a cover of Jethro Tull's To Cry You A Song (mistitled "Shaking My Wings") was included (which did not feature Tony Iommi). The album title reflects the fact that the tracks were recorded in the ''

DEP International Dep International was a British record label founded in 1980 in music, 1980 by members of British group UB40. It specialised in reggae and dub music. The label went into administration (law), administration in October 2006 and into liquidation ...

Studios'' in

Digbeth Digbeth is an area of Central Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. The album's drum tracks were originally performed by

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

, formerly of

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

and one-time bandmate of Glenn Hughes in

Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

. After Holland was convicted of attempted rape in 2003, Iommi had the drum tracks re-recorded by

Jimmy Copley James Frank Copley (29 December 1953 – 13 May 2017) was an English rock drummer. Copley was largely a session musician and worked with Jeff Beck, Graham Parker, Upp, Paul Young, Magnum, Roger Glover, Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes of Deep Pu ...

prior to release to prevent the album from having any association with a sex offender.

Track listing

Personnel

– guitars * Glenn Hughes – vocals, bass *

Don Airey Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician who has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, after the retirement of Jon Lord. He has had a long and productive career, playing with such acts as Gary Moore ...

– keyboards *

– drums * Neil Murray - additional bass *

Geoff Nicholls Geoffrey James Nicholls (29 February 1944 – 28 January 2017) was a British guitarist and keyboardist, and longtime member of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath until 2004. Nicholls also played in the NWOBHM band Quartz before joining Black Sa ...

- additional keyboards *

Mike Exeter Mike Exeter is an English sound engineer and record producer who came to prominence via his work with British rock bands Cradle of Filth, Judas Priest Black Sabbath and more. He is also known for his work with the British guitar player Tony Io ...

– additional keyboards, engineering, mixing

References

2004 EPs Glenn Hughes albums Collaborative albums Heavy metal EPs Sanctuary Records EPs Tony Iommi albums {{1990s-metal-album-stub