Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi is widely regarded as one of the most influential heavy metal guitarists of all time, and the undisputed architect of the riff-driven sound of Black Sabbath. Inventor of the “heavy metal riff”: Almost single-handedly created the dark, downtuned, crushing guitar style that defined Sabbath and influenced virtually every metal band that followed (Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, etc. all cite him as a primary influence). Master of feel and simplicity his playing is never flashy, but his riffs (Iron Man, Paranoid, War Pigs, Symptom of the Universe, Into the Void, Children of the Grave…) are instantly recognizable and timeless. He portrayed incredible resilience and creativity in the face of physical adversity (see below) and he is one of the very few guitarists whose tone is iconic and instantly identifiable - those old Laney amps, SG guitars, and his unique right-hand technique (with prosthetic fingertips) created 'the Iommi sound'

Interesting facts:

• Lost the tips of two fingers on his right hand (fretting hand) in a factory accident on his last day of work before going full-time with the band (age 17). He made homemade prosthetic fingertips out of leather and plastic, detuned his guitars to loosen string tension (creating the ultra-heavy low tuning that became Sabbath’s trademark), and played with a completely unique touch as a result.
• Black Sabbath’s first four albums (1970–1973) are essentially Tony Iommi riff collections with Ozzy singing over them — many critics and musicians consider this the foundation of doom, stoner, and heavy metal itself.
• He’s left-handed but plays right-handed guitars (after the accident he couldn’t switch).
• Used ridiculously light gauge strings (.008–.032 or similar) with super-low tuning (often C# standard or lower), which gave Sabbath that sludgy, menacing tone.
• Wrote almost all of Black Sabbath’s classic material across every era (Ozzy, Dio, Tony Martin, and the 2013 reunion album 13).
• Was briefly in Jethro Tull for a few weeks in late 1968 (he appears in the Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus film, playing “Song for Jeffrey” with them).
• In the 1990s and 2000s, he battled and beat lymphoma (cancer), yet kept recording and touring.
• The “devil’s interval” (tritone) that opens the song “Black Sabbath” is basically patient zero for metal’s obsession with that dissonant interval - and it was Tony’s riff.
• Still active in his mid-70s: performed his final show with Black Sabbath in 2017 in Birmingham (their hometown), but has continued to write, record solo work, and release his own signature SG guitars and Laney amps.

In short: If you removed Tony Iommi from rock history, heavy metal as we know it probably wouldn’t exist in the same form. He’s the riff lord.