tony iommi

Riff of the Day BLACK SABBATH – Hole in the Sky

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March 5, 2016

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black-sabbath-artist-page-pic-zumicBlack Sabbath – Hole in the Sky (from the album Sabotage, 1975 Vertigo/Warner Bros.) The inventors of doom were in town last night, and I missed them. I saw them a few years ago, but it still would have been great to witness Black Sabbath one last time. The band is one of the main reasons I play guitar and listen to heavy music to this day. Tony Iommi, in my eyes, invented doom metal on his Gibson SG. From Ozzy to Dio and in between, Black Sabbath went about their business and changed rock n roll.

Sabbath Factoid: The title of their sixth album Sabotage was named as such because the band were entangled in a legal battle with former management. According to Iommi, the band felt as if were being “sabotaged all the way along the line and getting punched from all sides“. This lead to the album having a heavier, more aggressive sound.

T.

 

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12 Riffs of Christmas DIO and Iommi- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

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tumblr_mf7kqzjsan1qdev51o1_1280Dio & Tony Iommi – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (from the compilation We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year, 2008 Armoury Records) Perhaps the the last couple of legends that come to mind when you think of Christmas songs, Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi bring us the finest in Yuletide metal. These former Black Sabbath and Heaven and Hell mates made heavy music what it is today, so of course they have every right to do what they like regarding Christmas. I have had the honor and pleasure of seeing these amazing men in concert. The late, great Dio had one of the best voices in music. God rest, ye merry Gentleman. One of a kind.

T.

Riff of the Day 10/29/15 Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

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Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath (from the album Black Sabbath 1970, Vertigo) You can pretty much pinpoint the start of doom metal to the opening riff of Sabbath’s title song on their self-titled album. Tony Iommi dropped his guitar tuning down one and a half steps out of necessity, but what came out of it was a sound that still defines heavy music today. Ozzy Osborne,  Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward changed music with one album. One of the darkest sounding songs of it’s era still conjures evil to this day.

T.