HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM TONY IOMMI

The great heavy metal guitar master is seen here on his YouTube Channel discussing his accomplishments in 2021 and wishing all his fans the best for the new year.

SMELLS LIKE BLACK SABBATH

I've always thought that Tony Iommi is one helluva cool guy, and when I heard he was marketing a new unisex perfume, Scent of Dark, I knew he was a sophisticated gent as well!

Two versions of the product are offered HERE.

Tony Iommi and Sergio Momo.

"It's something I've always been interested in, ever since the early days of products like Brut and Old Spice, which I'd always get given for Christmas," remembers Tony. "Once I started touring the world with SABBATH though, I started discovering different sorts of fragrances from other countries and began collecting them on tour.

"I met Sergio (Sergio Momo of Xerjoff) through another friend of mine Jimmy Crutchley (who plays bass on 'Scent Of Dark') and Sergio kindly sent me a box of his fragrances and asked if I'd be interested in creating my own, which I certainly wasn't expecting," laughs Iommi. "I had no idea how that would work, but Sergio suggested I come up with a list of things I like the smell of, which I did. He developed some different samples made up from my suggestions and I picked the one I liked; the project moved forward from there."

"Sergio is a really creative chap, he plays great guitar on 'Scent Of Dark' and has one of my collectable models, the 64 Gibson with the cartoon monkey image," Tony says. "He said it would be great to incorporate that, and he's even managed to get it onto one of the bottles."

"I wouldn't put my name to something that I haven't been involved in and didn't personally like or use," he explains. "That's been the same with all of the projects I've done from guitars onwards, this is no different."

The Xerjoff Blends Rock Edition sees Black Sabbath’s legendary guitarist, Tony Iommi, unify his monolithic riffs with Xerjoff’s esteemed expertise to create the first multisensorial interaction between music and perfume in an unexpected olfactory venture. “Sound, taste, and image change and contaminate each other. In samsara of creative confusion stimulated by creative minds that turn the senses, from the smell to sight, to hearing, into their exciting playground”. Sergio Momo, CEO and Founder of Xerjoff Tony Iommi Signed Crystal by Xerjoff Blends is available as a 50ml Parfum as a limited edition.

Tony Iommi Signed Crystal by Xerjoff is a fragrance for women and men. This is a new fragrance. Tony Iommi Signed Crystal was launched in 2021. Top notes are Rum, Geranium, Bergamot and Passionfruit; middle notes are Singapore Patchouli, Leather, Cinnamon and Bulgarian Rose; base notes are Caramel, Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Labdanum, Ambergris and Tonka Bean.

Hear the song, "Scent of Dark":

More on Tony and Black Sabbath HERE.

You have been reading . . .

TONY IOMMI: SABBATH'S AXE MAN

I described in a post here last week that I bought the first Black Sabbath LP when it first came out at Tower Records in Westwood Village, CA. When I first put needle to vinyl, I was immediately transfixed by the sound that blew my head apart, uttering "What is this that plays before me?"

Few records did that for me in the classic rock era -- others I remember were the Allman Brothers' "Beginnings", Van Halen's first, Boston's second, and of course, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". I wore the grooves down on these, and for good reason: they are classic recordings.

With Sabbath, though, the sheer power of their sound was equal only to Led Zepplin at the time. Bassist "Geezer" Butler (nicknamed because he called everybody that in school) would come up with the dark, foreboding lyrics for the songs. But it was guitarist, Tony Iommi who was responsible for coming up with the monster riffs that are forever indelible in rock music. From the crushing three-note intro to their title song to the two-note bend that portended the smash hit, "Iron Man", Iommi was a constant source of the sound that brought heavy metal into the forefront of the world.

It took a few years, but I finally saw them live at 1974's CAL JAM at the Ontario Speedway soon after the release of SABBATH, BLOODY SABBATH. It was a great set, albeit with Ozzy's ridiculous (maybe not for then) fringy costume and also odd to see Iommi with a clean-shaven face (leading one person on the YouTube site to comment: "I thought Tony was born with his moustache (!)".

Now, fifty years later, the band has fragmented into parts with Iommi the only original member still on the roster. Here, in this interview from the March 2020 issue of GUITARIST, he opens up about his career and his famed "axe", a Gibson SG (used by many other talented guitarists of the day, including Carlos Santana, John Cippolina of Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Robby Krieger of The Doors).

NOTE: I just checked the page views for this post -- as of Monday morning the number stands at 666! Yow!

HEAVY METAL MONSTER DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER

I think I've made mention that, along with being a dyed-in-the-fur Monster Kid, I'm also a bit of a musician. A rock guitarist to be exact, with enough keyboard knowledge to work out a tune on the black keys. Being a Monster Kid you probably also have an idea of what type of music I like, too. Well, you'd be right if you said Classic Rock --although I'm also an avid jazz and classical listener as well.

But Rock is where my heart and soul is. That's why I was saddened to hear that one of my guitar heroes, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath fame, has just recently been diagnosed with early onset lymphoma. Now, no cancer is a cakewalk to shake, and lymphoma can be pretty tough. Nevertheless, Mr. Iommi has been reported as "upbeat".

There is more than a touch of irony here, because he has finally joined his bandmates for the first Black Sabbath studio album featuring the original line-up in 33 years. Ironic as well, that he was featured on the cover of RUE MORGUE #118.

I consider myself fortunate to have purchased the first Black Sabbath album (that's right, vinyl!) from the Tower Records store in Westwood the week it was released, and to have seen the original Black Sabbath tear the lid off the sky at the California Jam held at the Ontario Motor Speedway on April 6, 1974. And, while Ozzy pranced around in his purple fringe -- later shirtless -- my gaze was fixed mainly on Tony Iommi, pounding out the heavy metal madness on his tricked-out Gibson SG.

Get better and rock on, Tony Iommi!