His guitar-playing prowess - even in his early teens - was testament to that. Well, that or burglary, the chosen profession of a young Birmingham resident by the name of Ozzy Osbourne, but that’s another story… If you grew up in Birmingham, England in the ‘50s and ‘60s and didn’t excel at school, you were fated to working in a factory. Today, I’m telling the story of Tony Iommi and the accident that created heavy metal. And, that the specific “accident” in question could have ended his guitar-playing career before it began. His doom-leaden, monolithic, end-of-the world riffs were, well, heavy… man.īut, what many people don’t realize is that Iommi’s unique playing style was equal parts accident and design. “War Pigs,” “Children of the Grave,” “Symptom of the Universe”: those seismic riffs presented a blueprint that a generation of hard rock axe-wielders would follow.Ĭirca 1970, Iommi’s playing sounded like nothing out there. Also, there’s no denying that Iommi’s towering guitar part deserves to be included in the Riff Hall of Fame.Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi is the man who invented heavy metal. We could have closed this list with any of about a dozen worthy choices, but we’ll go with “Supernaut” in part because we want to touch upon Sabbath’s masterful fourth album at least once. Piggybacking on one of Geezer Butler’s best basslines, Iommi explodes out of the gate with a galloping guitar part that just grows more powerful as the song progresses. The main riff from the second Dio-era offering to make our list paints such a vivid and convincing picture, conveying all the unruly anger, confusion and angst that one would expect to find in a setting where the mob indeed rules.ĩ, “Children of the Grave” (from 1971’s “Master of Reality”)
guitar legends of the same period - as he grooves his way toward a phenomenal unaccompanied guitar solo midway through the song.
It’s Iommi at his most bluesy - and, really, sharing the most in common with fellow U.K. But apparently not Iommi, whose lightning fast riffs helped draw up the blueprint for thrash metal with “Symptom of the Universe.” Pioneering one genre would be enough for most musicians. It’s also a sign of the true greatness of Iommi’s main “Iron Man” riff that tens of millions of people - including plenty of non-fans - are able to vocalize it straight from memory.Ħ, “Symptom of the Universe” (from 1975’s “Sabotage”) It’s a sign of the true greatness of Black Sabbath’s second album that three of its tracks make it into the top 5 here.
Yet, that’s really hard to do when Iommi is in the middle of conjuring up a landscape of riffs that seems to promise that a musical experience like no other awaits listeners. The opening notes reverberate with such foreboding darkness, signaling to the faint of heart that it might be best for them to change the station or put on a different record. The biggest highlight was the title track, which spotlighted Iommi at the height of his powers as he conjured up a riff that practically pounced off the vinyl and shook listeners by the shoulders. And, 51 years later, it’s still the best.ģ, “Heaven and Hell” (from “Heaven and Hell,” 1980)Īny fears that Sabbath couldn’t make it without original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne were quickly put to rest with that epic side one of “Heaven and Hell,” which was the band’s first album with the great Ronnie James Dio on the microphone. It was arguably the first heavy metal pop song ever released. It’s one of the best adrenaline rushes in music history - and it all starts with Iommi’s tightly spiraling riff, commanding the attention of listeners with all the subtly of a wrecking ball and propelling the song into high gear in mere seconds. And, more than a half century later, this remains Iommi’s greatest riff. Iommi’s slow, mesmerizing opening guitar work appears from out of a storm, grabbing our attention through the sounds of rain and thunder, and announcing for all to hear that rock ‘n’ roll would never be the same again. This is where heavy metal began - track one from Black Sabbath’s self-titled first album. 1, “Black Sabbath” (from 1970’s “Black Sabbath”)
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