Tony Ayommy Musician Date of Birth: 19.02.1948 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi is a British guitarist, songwriter, and producer. He is one of the two guitarists (the other being Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin) who can confidently be called pioneers of metal riffs. While Page indirectly influenced the development of this style, Iommi became the patriarch of the entire metal genre, particularly the doom style.

Frank Anthony Iommi was born on February 19, 1948, in Birmingham. Influenced by Cliff Richard and Hank Marvin of The Shadows, Tony picked up the guitar at the age of 14, which he bought with his own savings. By 1967, he had already played in several blues rock bands. His most successful period was with the band Mythology, where Tony met drummer Bill Ward. A year later, he reunited with his old acquaintance Ozzy Osbourne and met Geezer Butler, and the four of them decided to play blues rock together and named themselves the Polka Talk Blues Band. After some time, they changed their name to Earth and gradually made their music heavier.

During this time, Iommi, like all teenagers, worked at a factory. Gaining enough independence and deciding on his career as a guitarist, he quit his job to go on tour with the band in Germany. However, on the last day of his work, a tragic accident occurred that shattered Tony's plans. While replacing a metal cutter, he accidentally cut off the tips of his middle and ring fingers. The doctor told Tony that he needed to forget about playing the guitar, and he fell into a deep depression. However, his friend gave him hope by letting him listen to recordings of gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, who lost three fingers in a fire at a gypsy camp. Inspired, Iommi tuned his guitar half a step lower and invented special plastic fingertip covers, attaching leather plates to them for stability. This is how Tony Iommi's unmistakable sound was born, recognized by fans all over the world.

Shortly after, Tony received an invitation from Jethro Tull, which he accepted but stayed with the band briefly. After two weeks, he returned to Earth. Later on, the band changed its name (due to an existing band named Earth) to Black Sabbath, which best reflected the essence of the band and the music they created. Starting in 1969, largely thanks to Iommi, Black Sabbath introduced the world to a new, dark side of existence. There is no pity or compassion here—only cruelty and injustice born out of humanity itself. This is how the metal genre and one of its styles, doom, were born. It was Tony Iommi's guitar that became a revelation and teacher for many young guitarists, and songs like "Black Sabbath," "Iron Man," "Paranoid," "Into the Void," and "Children of the Grave" became models to emulate. He became the foundation of the band, its essence. One can confidently say, "Black Sabbath is Tony Iommi, and Tony Iommi is Black Sabbath."

However, it is worth noting that Tony never stood still professionally, constantly experimenting with both sound and styles. This was the reason for his universal recognition as a virtuoso guitarist. Iommi is often mentioned alongside Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, and Jimmy Page. In 2000, Tony Iommi released his solo album "Iommi," featuring numerous renowned rock musicians from both the old and new waves, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Brian May, Billy Idol, Henry Rollins, Phil Anselmo, Dave Grohl, and Skin, among others. The album was incredibly interesting, with a modern dark sound, and showed that Tony Iommi still has plenty of material in store and will continue to delight rock fans with solid compositions.