Guitar Interactive – Issue 66 2019

(^50) Guitar Interactive Issue 66
ormed in 1968 in the iron heart of
industrial Birmingham, Black Sab-
bath is one of the most influential
rock bands of all time. Put simply, without
Black Sabbath; there would likely be no
heavy metal. Set to the ominous sounds of
driving rain and funeral bells, their epony-
mous debut opens with a sinister tritone riff
that paved the way for countless bands to fol-
low - and if the anecdotes are to be believed,
it almost didn’t happen.
Consisting of guitarist and main songwriter
Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drum-
mer Bill Ward and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne,
Black Sabbath started as a psychedelic band
named “Earth”. Despite their best efforts and
Iommi’s blues and folk rock pedigree (hav-
ing toured with a number of successful acts,
including a brief stint in Jethro Tull), Earth
was a flop.
Serendipitously, a cinema across the street
from the band’s rehearsal space was enjoying
considerable success showing horror movies.
Geezer Butler noted that it was “strange that
people spend so much money to see scary
movies”, and that maybe if the band started
playing “scary music” more people would
come to watch them. The band renamed
F
Tony Iommi Tech Session Performance
TECH SESSIONS_TONY IOMMI