“I’ve got CDs and cassettes full of them – I just can’t get away from it”: Tony Iommi has a massive stockpile of unheard riffs
At 78 years old, Black Sabbath legend and heavy metal pioneer Tony Iommi is showing no signs of slowing down. A year on from the death of his Sabbath bandmate and longtime friend Ozzy Osbourne, the guitarist is gearing up to release his first solo album in 21 years, From the Dark, next month.
He’s the man behind some of the most influential and enduring riffs in the history of heavy metal – think Paranoid, Iron Man and War Pigs – so it stands to reason that Tony Iommi is sitting on a treasure trove of never-before-heard guitar parts just waiting for the right song or context.
READ MORE: “I chop the fingers off and throw the arms in the bin”: Tony Iommi reveals the bizarre thing he has to do to get his prosthetic fingertips
As he explains in a new interview with Classic Rock, he is indeed sitting on a pile of currently unused riffs and guitar ideas, and explains how creating music is just part of his DNA.
“I’ve got CDs and cassettes full of them, thinking that if I ever get stuck I can go back and get one. But I rarely do,” he explains. “Though saying that, I’ll probably never come up with another riff.”
Iommi continues: “The thing is, I don’t have to do this. It’s not about the money, because we don’t need the money. But this [gestures towards the studio], this is what I do. I just can’t get away from it. I have things I want to say.”
Quite how many riff ideas he’s sitting on is anyone’s guess, but we’re sure to hear a bunch of them when his new album From the Dark drops on 23 October. In fact, we’re even set to be treated to a little Iommi acoustic playing…
In July, the guitarist detailed his decision to incorporate some acoustic guitar playing on the new album, and how it ultimately boiled down to wanting to push himself outside of his comfort zone.
“I like to do something you don’t really expect. And to be honest, I hate playing acoustic. I’m not very good at playing acoustic,” he confessed, before speaking directly on the track which features acoustic guitar, Legacy: “On that bit, I just thought it would be nice and different.”
The album will also feature a guest appearance from Brian May, although Iommi wanted the Queen legend to feature even more.
“I said to him, ‘Play on some other tracks,’ but he went, ‘Oh no, it’s your album,’” Iommi recalled recently. “That’s the relationship we’ve had with each other for all these years. We’ve played a lot together. He is a great friend.”
From the Dark arrives 23 October via BMG. Listen to its lead single World Alone below:
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
