Legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi celebrates Metallica’s contribution to metal while expressing his reservations about the sometimes excessive technicality in today’s Music scene.
Metallica’s contribution to Thrash Metal
Tony Iommi, often considered the founding father of metal, has hailed Metallica and the thrash scene for taking a new direction to the music he helped create with Black Sabbath.
In an interview given to Guitar WorldIommi shared his enthusiasm for the evolution of the genre: “It was nice to hear these thrash bands pay homage to what we did. It’s great to see how they pushed the genre into something new and made it their own sound.”
He particularly praised Metallica: “What they did with the metal sound, turning it into thrash, was fantastic. They have always been respectful to us, and they are lovely guys. I like their attitude and the way they write, it reminds us a lot of our way of working at the time: everyone in a room rehearsing together seriously.”
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Reservations about the extreme technicality of current guitarists
Despite his admiration for innovation in the metal scene, Tony Iommi remains committed to a more emotional and spontaneous approach to music. He expressed his reservations about the current tendency to favor technical virtuosity: “Today’s technicians are brilliant. Even very young musicians are doing amazing things in their bedrooms. But I always return to the roots of the blues, searching deep within myself to tell the truth. What matters to me is the sound I get out of it, not how many notes per second I can play.”
Iommi also spoke about his own style: “I can’t exactly reproduce a studio-recorded solo when I’m on stage. I’m doing something similar, but not identical. This spontaneous side is what seems most authentic to me.”
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