Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi praises Metallica and Thrash Metal

Black Sabbath created Heavy Metal in 1970 and a new music genre was born, evolving over the decades and creating many other successful sub genres. The impact the music made by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward had was immeasurable and inspired bands like Metallica. The American band formed in 1981 became the most influential and successful band of Thrash Metal and were deeply inspired by Sabbath.

In an interview with Guitar World, Iommi praised the band led by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich and said that what they did with Thrash Metal was amazing.

Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi praises Metallica and Thrash Metal

“It was nice to hear those Thrash bands paying tribute to us. It’s great how they were able to push it forward into something new and turn it into their own thing. I was just coming up with things I liked. So it was brilliant to hear about other musicians liking what I’d done, taking the same kind of idea and improving on it, evolving it into their own sound. Like Metallica, for instance, who probably learned things from us as well as other people.”

“What they did with the metal sound, turning it into thrash, was fantastic. They’ve always been respectful toward us and they’re lovely guys. I love their attitude toward things, the way they write and everything. It reminds us a lot of how we were. Everyone in one room rehearsing together and taking it seriously,” Tony Iommi said.

Lars Urlich and James Hetfield paid tribute to Black Sabbath multiple times over the years. The two even had the privilege to induct the British band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2006. Although Sabbath is the most important Heavy Metal band of all time, they sold less records than Metallica. The band led by Iommi sold an estimated amount of more than 75 million records worldwide. Metallica sold a little more, an estimated amount of more than 125 million records worldwide.