Also known as the Riffmaster, Tony Iommi was arguably the most pivotal musician in the creation of Heavy Metal music. The accident in which he lost the tips of two fingers forced him to change his playing technique, use lighter strings, and tune his guitar differently. These adaptations contributed to the distinctive sound of Black Sabbath, which laid the foundation for Heavy Metal music, alongside his bandmates Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler.
After the release of their groundbreaking self-titled debut album in 1970, Sabbath went on to release a series of incredible albums in the following years. However, in 1973, while in Los Angeles attempting to create a new album, Tony Iommi found himself creatively blocked. Everything changed when the band decided to seek inspiration by retreating to a castle in England. It was in the castle’s dungeons that the riff for the classic song “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” came to him. Iommi recounted this story in an interview with Guitar World.
How dungeons inspired Iommi to write ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ riff
“Before making that album, we went to L.A. to record and it never worked out. I got writer’s block and just couldn’t think of anything. I was a bit like, ‘Oh, shit!’ Then we came back to England and had a couple of weeks off. I’d never had a creative block like that before.
“I was really worried because I just couldn’t think of anything. So we decided to create a bit of atmosphere and hired Clearwell Castle. We set our gear up in the dungeons. Bloody hell, straight away the first riff I came up with was that one from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. I knew I really liked the sound of it, and then we built it up from there. It ultimately comes down to the mood you’re in, where you are, the atmosphere there and what you can create. Being in the dungeons of a castle clearly had the right effect on me,” Tony Iommi said.
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was the band’s fifth album and was released in November, 1973. Besides the title track, it also has famous songs like “Sabbra Cadabra”, “A National Acrobat” and “Killing Yourself To Live”.