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“I wouldn’t be able to do it”: The guitarist Tony Iommi admitted was on another planet to everybody else
Tony Iommi said Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing was so technically distinctive that he could not replicate it, describing the late musician as operating at a level apart from other players. The article highlights the mutual respect between two influential hard-rock guitarists and presents Van Halen’s technique as a major force in changing modern guitar playing.
Iommi recalled touring with Van Halen early in the band’s career and later jamming with Eddie Van Halen, who had learned Black Sabbath’s ‘Into the Void’. While Iommi corrected Van Halen’s version of the Sabbath song, he said he did not ask how Van Halen performed his own material because he would not have been able to play it; he particularly noted Van Halen’s technical tapping style.
In short
- Tony Iommi regarded Eddie Van Halen as an exceptional technical guitarist.
- Iommi said Van Halen’s playing was beyond his own style and ability.
- The pair remained friends after touring and playing together.
Explained simply
Tony Iommi is the guitarist and co-founder of Black Sabbath, the influential British heavy metal band that formed in Birmingham in 1968. Eddie Van Halen was an American guitarist who became a major figure in rock music after his band Van Halen achieved success in the 1970s.
The two musicians operated in overlapping worlds of heavy rock and metal, and their bands toured together early in Van Halen's career. Van Halen admired Black Sabbath's work and had learned to play some of their songs, demonstrating his respect for Iommi's influence on the genre.
Eddie Van Halen revolutionised how the guitar could be played, particularly through an innovative finger-tapping technique that expanded what musicians thought possible on the instrument. His influence on modern rock and metal is considered profound, with his distinctive style fundamentally changing how the genre developed.