Customer Reviews

Iommi

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The long awaited solo effort from the heavy metal riffmaster Tony Iommi is here at last. And was it ever worth the wait. Not that Tony Iommi had gone anywhere, but in the years before his reunion with the almighty original lineup of Black Sabbath, he didn't exactly enhance his legacy with a string of Black Sabbath albums in the late 80's and early 90's that simply were not up to the lofty standards set by the group's earlier material. Tony Iommi introduced a completely new guitar style tuning lower and playing louder than anyone before him had ever dared. Tony has created some of the most memorable riffs in the history of heavy music. His influence is felt far and wide, as seen by the wide range of performers that appear on Iommi. From the first chord of the first track (which features Henry Rollins on vocals) it is apparent that Tony means business on an album that many people feel is an indicator of the future direction of his career. This album is a showcase for Tony's many talents, including his unquestionable songwriting abilities, as well as his ability to work in guitar solos that add to the song rather than overpower it. Tony does an excellent job of playing to each guest vocalist's stregnths, complimenting their talents rather than overshadowing them. Not being much of a Foo Fighters fan, I expected little from Dave Grohl, but what I found was a very good and inspired performance. Time is Mine, which features Pantera's Phil Anselmo on vocals, shows that Tony is not afraid to update his sound for a new era of music, while staying true true to the qualties that make him a living legend. Who's Fooling Who, which features Ozzy Osbourne(who is, in my opinion the single most influential figure in the history of heavy metal) on vocals and Bill Ward on drums, is an incredible track which shares some similarites with the studio Sabbath material on Reunion, and serves to show how Sabbath might have sounded if they continued to record in the studio after the Reunion tour. Serj Tankian from System of a Down also gives an excellent performance on Patterns, showcasing alot of vocal range and depth. The blending of the styles of the guest vocalists on this album makes the transition between tracks smooth, led by Tony's guitar wizardry. I applaud Divine Recordings, a newly created label headed by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne for having confidence in Tony and helping this project come to being.

The bottom line is this: Iommi is a magnificent showcase of the talents of the man that invented the art of heavy metal guitar playing, with excellent songwriting, masterful riffs, and deftly woven solos that show why Tony Iommi is one of the most influential guitarists who has ever lived.

Well, just when everybody said heavy metal (the good stuff, not Sliknot...ick) was dead, here comes Tony Iommi, the Godfather, the Originator, THE first true heavy metal guitarist of the first true Heavy Metal band (forget Page). Black Sabbath fans rejoice, this is Sabbath version 2 (Yes, I know the band has changed 8 kazillion times). What I mean is, Tony's extremely dark riffs are there in all their gloom, but his guitar playing has evolved way beyond his most famous stuff with Black Sabbath. The whole album is like this: early 70s Sabbath riffs + Modern faster riffs + cool solos + modern vocals and drums=Tony Iommi! This album also features a host of extremely famous singers, including Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, The cool singer from System of a Down (not that I like the band), Billy Corgan, Billy Idol, and...yes, folks...OZZY OSBOURNE!!! YES!! THE OZZMAN COMETH!! Though this may not be a good thing. Those who thought his voice was weird in his classic stuff should prepare for a bombardment of Ozzy gone bizarre....Interesting though, Original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward plays drums on that song ("Who's Fooling Who")...Also, Brian May, famed guitarist of Queen plays 2nd guitar on some songs. Here is my breakdown of the songs (the ones I like best) Laughing Man (In the Devil Mask)-with Henry Rollins, this is a fast, harsh song, with a -gasp-fast solo! Meat-Incredibly heavy riffs, interesting singer (Skin) Goodbye Lament-catchy song with the Foo Fighters guy Patterns-With Serj Tankian of System of a Down, VERY cool singer, very cool song! More heavy riffing, semi-chanted lyrics Black Oblivion-long epic song with Billy Corgan, very fantasy-like. Who's Fooling Who-WITH OZZY!! Need I say more? Into the Night-Another fantasy metal adventure....hehe, with Billy Idol of all people. Also has an un-Iommi like fast solo

Anyway, those disappointed with the current crop of new Hard Metal bands, or Metallica's last two new albums (Load, ReLoad), or Black Sabbath fans would really like this, highly recommended. Also, Tony Iommi has a REALLY cool looking guitar.

I am more of a greatest-hits Sabbath fan rather than a total Sabbath freak but I have a healthy admiration for Mr. Iommi's guitar skills and was mildly interested when this all-star-guest-singer (ala Santana) solo album was released.

I can't say that I love every song here but I was really blown away by the contributions from Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl and Billy Corgan and the Ozzy, Ian Astbury, Billy Idol contributions are plenty of fun too.

These songs are super-heavy but also very catchy and to my ears fit right into the hard rock / neo metal radio format of the time (that played plenty of Sabbath / Ozzy). I could never understand why this record wasn't huge, why was Goodbye Lament not a rock radio single? Oh well, I advise you to buy this used ASAP and crank it up.

Anything Iommi does has his tradmark quality on it. Whilst it is not the "sound alike" mess that too many heavy guitarists seem to indulge in, it is without a doubt a very listenable work, and if you don't like one of the vocalists, you are bound to like at least some of the others.
Worth a try, Worth a buy .. the Man delivers in all respects, and for a variety of people. Of course I like Ozzy's work the best, but I can appreciate the remainder since a classic master is helming the ship into the great waters Iommi himself has chartered.

This is actually the legendary (former?) Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's second solo album. 1986's excellent "Seventh Star" with Glenn Hughes on vocals was his first. It only came out as "Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi" due to record company pressure.

This album is not at all bad for his first effort definitely stepping outside the confines of Sabbath. He has, of course, many guest vocalists on hand. My age and out-of-tuneness with the "nu-metal" scene shows in that the only vocalists on here I have actually heard sing are Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol and former Pantera vocalist (RIP "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott) Philip Anselmo!

Tony's bud Brian May appears on several tracks and the album is the better for it as the former Queen maestro is the only guitarist I can see sounding good with Tony. See "When Death Calls" on Sabbath's "Headless Cross" album for further proof.

With Tony writing and playing guitar, of course it's HEAVY. Thank God for that. Some people probably wanted him to do a self-indulgent instrumental showcase, but with Tony, the song has always been more important. And the songs here are, for the most part, good, though there is a little bit too much of a "'90s" flavour to most of them for my tastes, as with "Flame On" and "Just Say No To Love." However, the latter has a bit of humour as Peter Steele sings "you left me for Tony Iommi!"

The most-noticed track here is the almost-Black Sabbath reunion of "Who's Fooling Who", which features both Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward. It definitely has that early Sabbath sound to it. Why didn't Tony get Geezer Butler and make it a REAL Sabbath song? It's far better than the two studio tracks on Black Sabbath's "Reunion" album. It even ends with a galloping rhythm sounding much like "Children Of The Grave".

The album closes with "Into The Night," featuring Billy Idol, whom I've never really cared for. He is his typical sneering self, adding some juvenile lyrics that aren't printed on the lyric sheet and which I won't quote here.

Iommi, of course, is brilliant on guitar, no matter what the song structures are. His playing is alternately brutal, bluesy and melodic. The album is a worthy buy for just the guitar work.

I have heard rumours this album is being deleted, which is not good. If the fact that Ozzy appears on one track were more publicised, I bet it would have sold better!

Get it while you can, and also get the recent "1996 DEP Sessions" with Glenn Hughes, which is even better.

When I heard that Iommi was coming out with a solo album that resembled Santana's "Supernatural," I cringed. I knew that a few of the vocalists were excellent (Rollins, Grohl, and Skin), but I dreaded hearing Peter Steele, Billy Idol, and Ian Astbury. After buying the album and listening to it all the way the way through twice, I realized that not even Billy Corgan could ruin Tony Iommi. Hell, Rob Thomas could have been on this record and I would think that it sounded cool. For the past thirty years, Tony Iommi has been recognized as the inventor of "heavy metal," alongside Ozzy, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler, but he never really got the credit that he deserves for being an excellent guitar player. Will this album do it for him like it did for Santana? No, but at least he won't be overshadowed by the name Black Sabbath. The riffs are deep and heavy, but the solos and the background playing that Tony does are amazing. This is a must for any fan of the guitar.

PS. Although I really miss Geezer's presence on the song "Who's Fooling Who" (that should be Who's Fooling Whom), it is probably the song that sounds the closest to the original Sabbath, not because of Bill and Ozzy, but because of Tony's riffs. It is everything that "Psycho Man" should have been but wasn't.

The king of fuzz/wah guitar and the prince of sustain is back. After several lack luster later day Black Sabbath efforts, Tony Iommi is back with a new album as a solo artist featuring 10 different vocalists including Henry Rollins, Ian Astbury, Billy Idol, Skin(?) and The OZZ. The first track features Henry Rollins and is FM Heavy Rock Hit Bound with a bullet. The second track featuring Skin starts off weird and then turns pro, Tony pulls out the stops in the middle of this one with a fretboard freak out. The track featuring Ozzy sounds like old Sabbs and has Bill Ward on sticks bashing demons on his drum heads again like in the old days. There is not a clinker in the bunch. This is a very clever album with lots of guitar hooks, interesting lyrics and an incredible guest list. Brian May helps out on guitar on several tracks. Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumkins sings on one track and plays (whatever) on others. Tony exhibits a different sound and guitar style on every track which keeps it from getting boring to say the least. JoeBob says buy or die.

For those Black Sabbath fans that are just now coming down from the recent reunion tour (you know who you are), here comes the knockout punch! Heavy Metal architect Tony Iommi has contructed a classic album of riffage just like ... well, just like he used to make. The heady sludge of classic Sabbath is all over his new CD titled simply, "Iommi." Although most of the 10 guest vocalists sound like they have always wanted to front the mighty Sab (several have already made a career of it), some of the best tracks on the album are those that don't seem like obvious Ozzy ringers. Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl rocks like a man possessed on "Goodbye Lament," a song that captures that elusive trippy vibe of "Planet Caravan" and bludgeons your skull with it. The mighty Henry Rollins shows his demonic side on the evil "Laughing Man." Anyone who has heard his spoken word spiel on the first four Sabbath records knows that "Hammering Hank" has done his homework. Even '80s refugee Billy Idol steps up and belts out the suprisingly good "Into the Night." Damn, the guy can actually sing. Who knew? Of course the track that everyone is going to fast forward to as soon as they get the plastic off is Ozzy's (and Bill Ward's) "Who's Fooling Who." To hear the guys together again and rocking this hard makes this track alone worth the price of admission. Buy it! Turn it up LOUD!

For anyone who knows Black Sabbath well enough, you know what to expect on this disc: Thick, Memorable, Epic guitar riffs. Add to that a side of metal & rock music's finest vocalists. And that's how you get Iommi, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi's solo debut.

There are a lot of good surprises on here. Most of all from Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters on "Goodbye Lament," which is undoubtedly the best song on here, very well pieced together. "Patterns" with Serj Tankian from System of a Down is another one I liked, Serj's voice sounding weirdly like Ozzy's in some sense's, basically a major change from anything System of a Down have done before. "Black Oblivion" is another highlight of the album. I think Billy Corgans vocals compliment Tony's riffing very well. Henry Rollins fits in perfect on "Laughing Man (In the Devil Mask)." "Time Is Mine" sounds a little too much like Pantera's cover of Sabbath's "Electric Funeral," but is still a great song on it's own. "Just Say No To Love" featuring Pete Steele of Type O Negative is another favorite of mine, the downtuned guitars add to Pete's eerie voice and make a true standout.

If you are one of those people who calls Wes Borland a great guitarist, WAKE UP! Listen to this and you will never think the same way again.

You can't go astray with this album because it has something for everyone: first it's Iommi who is (obviously) from Black Sabbath, then it has emotional (NOTE: NOT EMO!)gods like Billy Corgan mixing with hardcore ...kings Pantera's Phillip Anselmo, and the ever depressing but beatiful in it's rite Peter Steele of prog-rock Type-O-Negative fame, with balls out rock'n'roll Henry Rollins, and the energetic Dave Grohl: oh and Mr. Bungle wanabee System of A Down. The only people missing are Chino from Deftones, Cedric from At the Drive In, and Planes Mistaken for Stars, and maybe Thom Yorke; but who the hell would think Tony would meddle with him? Interesting thought none the less. Get it and you can't go wrong.