Top 7 Tony Iommi Riffs

Tony Iommi just turned 76 years old, for many the creator of heavy metal and of course a master of riffs, choosing only 7 of all the material he has composed throughout his career is a very difficult thing, so it is very likely that this top 7 will have a second, third, and maybe fourth part, so in the meantime I will leave you with my first 7 riffs of Tony Iommi to whom we thank his dedication to music and influence for all metal. I omitted the riffs of Paranoid and Iron Man, not because they are not good, but because I prefer to make a top with songs that may not be so popular.

7. The Mob Rules (Mob Rules)

Mob Rules is a great album in all the extension of the word, and if there is a riff from that album that deserves to be in my top (besides another song that I will mention later) is the one from The Mob Rules, a fast riff, and maybe with a punk touch that gives it an incredible energy.

6. The Headless Cross (Headless Cross)

The Black Sabbath era with Tony Martin is perhaps the band's darkest era in terms of sound, and with Black Sabbath's most underrated albums, to quote one Martin-era album, The Headless Cross enjoys heavy and very dark tracks. The title track, Headless Cross has a riff with all the soul of 80's heavy metal and right from the start it grabs you and never lets you go again.

5. I (Dehumanizer)

The riff of I is something completely out of this world, the hypnotic intro that gives way to a crushing and dark riff is what takes you on a completely reflective journey during the song.

4. Dirty Women (Technical Ecstasy)

Dirty Women is probably my favorite Black Sabbath song, I had the fortune to hear it live twice, and although the riff is not the fastest or heaviest that can be heard in a Sabbath song, the melancholic atmosphere (carried hand in hand with the lyrics of the song) and its psychedelic touches, make the riff of Dirty Women something unique.

3. Turn Up The Night (Mob Rules)

Mob Rules repeats with the riff of Turn Up The Night, the opening track of the album, a powerful, fast, fresh riff and a contagious energy that makes you move your head until the end of time.

2. After Forever (Master Of Reality)

I spent several minutes thinking about which riff to leave in second and first place, but in the end I think After Forever could be in the second place, almost bordering with the first place, the riff is a complete brutality, energetic, one of the heaviest composed by Tony Iommi and listening to it live (I also had the opportunity to listen to it live twice) is a religious experience.

1. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath)

It was hard to pick the first place when After Forever is also an extraordinary track, but I think Sabbath Bloody Sabbath deserves the trophy after an uphill battle. The riff is indescribable for those who like details, just by listening to the first chords you know that you are listening to heavy metal at a time when heavy metal did not yet exist, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath was a song ahead of its time, and the atmosphere it transmits, between paradisiacal and hellish airs is a brutal thing. Legend has it that Tony Iommi stayed at Clearwell Castle (a castle that is supposedly haunted) so that he could get inspired and compose material for the band's fifth album, and what was the result? A diabolical riff, heavy and with a lot of class and elegance.