Tony Iommi's Paranoid solo is one of the greatest guitar solos of all time

Team Rock is absolutely right speaking about Iommi's Paranoid as one of world's greatest solos ever:

"We can’t not choose it. It’s too big, too classic and too… well, good to ignore. Tony Iommi’s distorted, head-swirling yet fiercely hooky technique – combining mystique and heavy-hitting power – has influenced scores of guitarists across metal, stoner, hard rock and other genres and sub-genres. Indeed it feels relatively rare for a present-day rock or metal band to not mention Black Sabbath as an inspiration, largely thanks to Iommi’s involvement. And when it comes to his solos, the one in Paranoid is the most iconic, the most singular in its drive.

If this were a feature on the greatest riffs, it would be virtually impossible to pick one Iommi winner, such is his all-round prowess and pioneering playing style. But more so than any of his other solos, the one in Paranoid sticks out for everyone, not just rock fans – with its fearsome blend of blues scaling, exotic-sounding touches and tasty notes played on bends (probably using Iommi’s then-favoured Gibson SG and Laney amp pairing). It’s clever and colourful without sounding overworked, delivered with grit and energy that somehow makes him sound louche and furious at the same time.

A predictable choice for this list? Maybe, but it couldn’t be more justified. A stone-cold classic.

Q&A with Tony Iommi

When he wasn’t setting bandmate Bill Ward on fire, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi kept himself busy inventing then defining the sound of metal lead guitar. Fuelled by the influence of blues-rock greats such as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck, Iommi used one of the most unique set-ups in rock to create a sound that was way heavier than anything that had come before. Here he geeks out on gear, heroes and how a brown-eyed handsome man taught him how to solo.

-- Can you remember what got you hooked on playing lead guitar?
-- Chuck Berry was the first thing I really liked. In my generation you tended to grasp onto anything someone was playing a solo in. You’d think: “I can learn to play it.” Everybody liked Johnny B. Goode. It was the same type of solo he played in a lot of his songs, but that was the link then. I mean, we all played it, from me, the Stones, probably even Clapton.
-- Which was the first guitar solo you learned to play?
-- It probably would have been a Chuck Berry solo. I can’t actually remember. It’s a bloody long time ago!
-- Which of your solos do you most enjoy playing live?
-- At the moment I’m really enjoying doing Dirty Women [from Technical Ecstasy, 1976] one of the lesser-known tracks. I get a chance to jam in that one. In most of the other songs it’s very regimented because the solos are part of the song; on War Pigs and all those, people can sing the solo. So Dirty Women is a jam and it lasts as long as I want to play. Once I move away from my monitors the band know we’re moving onto another bit."

After the huge North American tour leg, terminated on 24 September at Ozzfest in San Bernardino CA, Tony and the boys are currently relaxing at their homes, awaiting for the next leg, which is going to start in Oklahoma's BOK Center on 8 November, to continue in the countries of Latin America as Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

We wish Tony the best of luck and safe travels! God bless you and protect you, dear Master! 

Ed Mitchell for Team Rock.com, 18 October 2016