The Eternal Idol   by Black Sabbath

The Eternal Idol of 1987 is the thirteenth studio album by Black Sabbath and marks the beginning of the Tony Martin era on vocals. Despite its commercial struggle at the time, it is now considered one of the most underrated albums of the band. It was released in November 1987 (United Kingdom) and December 1987 (USA) by Vertigo and Warner Bros.

The production of the album was chaotic, with continuous member changes. Initially, vocals were recorded with Ray Gillen, who left before completion. Tony Martin was hired to re-record all the parts (the only survival of Gillen on the album is a laugh on the track "Nightmare"). On bass, even though Dave Spitz is mentioned on the back cover, the bass on the album was played entirely by Bob Daisley. Eric Singer (later in KISS) recorded the drums, but left before the tour. Only Geoff Nicholls remained the stable collaborator of Iommi on keyboards. "The Shining" was the one and only single from the album. The cover is based on the sculpture "The Eternal Idol" by Auguste Rodin. Because the band did not get permission to use a photograph of the original, they used two models painted with bronze paint. The models had to be taken to the hospital after the photoshoot due to the paint's toxicity.

The album The Eternal Idol did not achieve great success at the time, reaching only No. 168 in the USA and No. 66 in the UK.