Photo credit: Kyle Hansen of RKH Images

Ballet and Black Sabbath are an unlikely combination, but one that fans will be getting when Black Sabbath – The Ballet opens later this year.

The project is the brainchild of Birmingham Royal Ballet director Carlos Acosta and the band’s Tony Iommi.

The ballet will premiere in Birmingham in September. It will feature eight Black Sabbath tracks, including “War Pigs”, “Paranoid”, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” and “Iron Man”, plus new music inspired by the band.

Iommi says he hopes the “rags to riches” tale will attract “both our fans and ballet fans.”