James Hetfield says this legendary metal guitarist is the ultimate “Riff Lord”
On any list of the world’s most influential guitarists, few players deserve a place quite like James Hetfield. A walking riff factory with the most relentless right hand in the game, the Metallica frontman has largely shaped the world of heavy metal as we know it today.
But there’s always a bigger fish, as they say…
Every guitarist, no matter how successful they become, was first inspired by someone. And for James Hetfield, his hero comes in the form of legendary Black Sabbath guitarist and heavy metal forefather Tony Iommi.
READ MORE: “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
Iommi is widely regarded as the guitarist who gave birth to the entire genre of heavy metal, his riffs in such Sabbath classics as War Pigs, Paranoid and Iron Man influencing generation after generation of aspiring players.
And in a new episode of James Hetfield’s Riff Life on SiriusXM’s Maximum Metallica – a 24/7 station dedicated to all things Metallica – the frontman waxes lyrical on his adoration for Tony Iommi, and how he has shaped him as a guitarist all these years.
“Tony Iommi is the Riff Lord in my mind. He is the one that has inspired me the most out of any guitar player for my rhythm guitar playing and songwriting,“ Hetfield says.
Citing the riff of Black Sabbath’s Children of the Grave, he continues: “Obviously, Tony is the Riff Lord and everyone starts the song together on the one riff… You know, basically Tony plays off that riff, goes in to hit the big giant chords, which opens the song up.”
“I really love the drum overdub that they did to help with that percussion of the riff and the real cool ghostly guitar sounds at the very end.”
At 78 years old, Tony Iommi is still very much an active riff machine. Next month, he’ll release his third solo album – and first in 21 years – From the Dark. The album, which arrives a little over a year on from the death of his Black Sabbath bandmate and friend Ozzy Osbourne, will comprise eight tracks, and even feature some Iommi acoustic playing…
He said of his decision to grab a strummer for the new album that it largely came down to wanting to push himself outside his comfort zone.
“I like to do something you don’t really expect. And to be honest, I hate playing acoustic,” he confessed. “I’m not very good at playing acoustic.”
Check out Maximum Metallica on SiriusXM. Watch the full clip with James Hetfield praising Tony Iommi as the ultimate “Riff Lord” below:
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
