Gibson TV Announce Limited Series On Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath performs on stage at Hammersmith Odeon, London, January 1976. (Photo by Erica Echenberg/Redferns)

Redferns

Tony Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal is a new limited series arriving this autumn that will explore the creative mastermind behind heavy metal, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. The new series is being produced by Gibson films and will be debuting on Gibson TV – the guitar company’s youtube channel.

“Parents hated it. Their kids loved it,” a radio host proclaims in a trailer for the upcoming series. “After the Summer of Love began to fade, an ominous new sound emerged from the smokestacks of Birmingham, England Tony Iommi was the architect of that sound—the man responsible for the genre-defining riffs of Black Sabbath and a sound that would take over the world.

“More than just a new style of music, heavy metal became a way of life—connecting millions through a spirit of rebellion, passion, and a relentless sound that refuses to fade.”

Based off the trailer for Tony Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal, the series will feature an array of legendary icons giving commentary on Iommi and the impact he had on their music careers. Everyone from Ozzy Osbourne’s Zakk Wylde, Pantera’s Rex Brown, Queen’s Brian May, to Metallica’s Kirk Hammett among others, sat down with Gibson to discuss all things Black Sabbath and Tony Iommi.

The announcement for this show comes only a month after the passing of Ozzy Osbourne. It’ll be interesting to see if there are any episodes featuring the Prince of Darkness or any of the other members of Black Sabbath in the series, possible even some of the band’s former vocalists like Tony Martin or Glen Hughes.

Regardless, Gibson’s new series seems rather ambitious. The trailer takes a glimpse at the many sub-genres Iommi helped spawn as a result of his pioneering work in Black Sabbath. It’s possible the series will be more than just an Tony Iommi biopic, and more of a general heavy metal documentary that details how Iommi’s unique songwriting impacted the litany of sub-genres under the heavy metal umbrella.

More will be revealed when the series debuts. There’s still no release date for the show, though it’s expected to arrive in the coming months.