Tony Iommi: "I could relate to Django Reinhardt after losing two fingers, and listening to him inspired me to play more"

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The godfather of heavy metal himself Tony Iommi recently sat down with Gibson for an in-depth hour-long interview hosted on the guitar giant's YouTube channel, Gibson TV.

Iommi goes in deep on the early days of Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, telling fascinating stories and imparting wisdom gained over a career spanning over half a century.

Among many other topics discussed, Iommi details the accident that caused him to lose two of his fingers, and how it never halted his drive to play. "While the bandages were on I was trying to learn to play with two fingers," the guitarist recalled.

"I could relate to Django Reinhardt after losing two fingers, and listening to him inspired me to play more."

He also recounts the trouble he had accepting the heavy metal label for years.

"I did an interview with Melody Maker [magazine] and they said, ‘You’re playing heavy metal,’ and I said ‘heavy metal, what’s that? No, we’re heavy rock.' I wouldn't accept the heavy metal thing for years, and eventually, I had to because that's what people described the music as."

You can watch the full interview on Gibson TV, which also plays host to the company's previous feature with Paul McCartney guitarist Brian Ray, where he revealed he has a Les Paul-shaped swimming pool called the - yes - Les Pool.

For more heavy metal goodness, check out Tony Iommi's 10 best Black Sabbath riffs, selected by the man himself.