Gibson Guitars are saluting the iconic sound of Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi through a new multi-part video series, which has the founding father of metal as we know it being praised by the likes of Slash, Anthrax’s Scott Ian, Yungblud and more.
Dubbed Tony Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal, Volume One, the first video instalment is a 22-minute highlight reel describing the origins of Sabbath, and the “ominous new sound [that] emerged from the smokestacks of Birmingham, England” via Iommi’s low-tuned riffage.
Iommi himself was interviewed for the docu-series, in which he begins by explaining the rest of his family’s musical heritage. He then explains that he wanted to play the drums before finding himself on guitar. He also discusses the infamous industrial accident that cut off the tips of two of his fretting fingers, which led Iommi to wear leather thimbles and tune his guitar low — accidentally creating Sabbath’s uniquely gloomy sound in the process. I
“Before hearing Sabbath…I remember seeing Tony…and that mad mustache, and learning that this guy has no fingers,” Yungblud recalls of his introduction to Sabbath many years later. “That’s what I was told as a kid…’Tony Iommi’s got no fingers,’ yet he’s one of the craziest guitar players.” The singer, who went viral in the summer after singing “Changes” at Sabbath’s “Back to the Beginning” concert last summer, adds an anecdote about meeting Iommi backstage when he was 11, and how he grabbed the guitarists hands to look at them in in wonder. Iommi laughed before taking a picture with the young ‘Blud.
Other musicians that take part in the episode include Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick, Slash and Ian, with topics including growing up in Birmingham, as well as growing up in the shadow of Sabbath’s towering, revolutionary discography
“I can’t name one band that hasn’t been touched by that in some way, especially the metal bands,” Slash says. “And they will all tip their hat to Black Sabbath as being a massive influence.”
“Anyone who’s been in a metal band since 1980 and on has stolen from Black Sabbath,” Ian added in his interview.
You can check out the episode in full up above.