Black Sabbath was very democratic about their songwriting credits, with all members of the band generally sharing them for the majority of their output. Yet it’s fair to argue that Tony Iommi’s writing was the chief driver for the band’s sound over the years. After all, it was Iommi, the band’s lead guitarist, who often developed the riffs and other guitar parts that served as the main foundational aspect of their music—and of heavy metal music itself.
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In an interview with Rolling Stone, Iommi explained how he went about writing so many Sabbath classics: “I’d sit in a room and start imagining what sort of thing I wanted to play, like an actor putting himself into a part. But in the early days, it was probably hash or something that brought out our vibe. I never used to smoke it at all, but when we did start smoking, bloody hell, all sorts of things would pop out, good and bad. But even then, I would have probably still put myself in a mindset, imagining something that’s big and demonic or whatever, and try and put it into music.”
The process worked, again and again, over Black Sabbath’s career. Here are five of the most memorable Tony Iommi creations:
1. “Black Sabbath” (from the album Black Sabbath, 1970)
As the opening and title song on the very first Black Sabbath album, “Black Sabbath” holds a special place in metal history. Iommi’s ominous guitar was the catalyst. He was forced to create a unique sound due to an accident that severed the tips of two fingers. To compensate for the loss, he improvised a pair of homemade fingertips that he would use to hold down the strings on the frets. Hard rock fans looking for a deeper, darker, and yes, heavier sound found it exactly one song into that first record.
2. “War Pigs” (from the album Paranoid, 1970)
Because there was such demand for more Black Sabbath product after the surprising success of the debut album, Black Sabbath had to churn out a second album within the 1970 calendar year. As a result, jam sessions that the band had worked through to kill time in their earliest concerts were resuscitated and knocked together into fully-formed songs. “War Pigs” was just such a song. It’s a fantastic group effort, featuring some thoughtful antiwar lyrics from bassist Geezer Butler, which Ozzy Osbourne sold to the rafters with his maniacal vocals. But Iommi’s guitar work stands out, too, from those two note stabs that adorn the verses to the ripping solo that provides exhilarating catharsis.
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3. “Iron Man” (from Paranoid, 1970)
Legend has it that Iommi was fooling around with the opening riff and thought that it sounded like someone creeping up on another person from behind. Ozzy Osbourne heard that riff and believed that it sounded like an “iron bloke.” The song progresses from there into equally exciting territory, in large part because Iommi keeps catapulting it into new directions. His lines tell the story as much as Geezer Butler’s lyrics and Osbourne’s emoting. And the interplay between him, Butler, and drummer Bill Ward keep burrowing to depths that most rock bands couldn’t possibly reach. (Just for the record, none of the four men had any knowledge of the Marvel superhero with the same name as the song title when they created it.)
4. “Paranoid” (from Paranoid, 1970)
That old line about necessity and invention certainly applies here. Black Sabbath apparently had their second album pretty much mapped out, but needed about three minutes more of filler. Considering their penchant for longer songs, it wouldn’t have been that surprising had they just tacked onto one of their other tracks. But instead, the foursome took off from yet another Iommi riff. Since they only had a little bit of time, their usual sludgy pace wouldn’t work in this case. Thus, they revved up the tempo and showed they could be just as potent in a higher gear. Iommi is the one leading the chase, with the rest of the band following in frenzied, furious pursuit.
5. “Heaven and Hell” (from Heaven and Hell, 1980)
There was no reason to expect the album Heaven and Hell to be any kind of success, considering the circumstances behind its recording. Ozzy Osbourne had just been fired, and bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward were less involved than they had been on previous Black Sabbath records. In fact, Iommi and new lead singer Ronnie James Dio considered simply starting a new band. Many metal fans would claim they essentially did, since this Sabbath sounded so different from the traditional one. But the new sound was a resounding success, especially on the title track, which features a swaggering beat, Dio’s rafter-rattling vocal, and multiple instrumental sections that feature Iommi going in a much more melodic direction. Metal was already alive and well by the time “Heaven and Hell” came around, but the song, and the album, could be thought of as not only ushering in Sabbath’s second phase, but heavy metal’s as well.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage
