![Adam Jones [Left] wears sunglasses and plays his signature Gibson Flying V as he performs with Tool; [Right] Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath is pictured in a black leather jacket with his customary SG with cross inlays.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/X4KLTgVPy829SMjLkpazyW-1920-80.jpg.webp)
Like many guitarists before him, when Tool’s Adam Jones describes his early experience with Black Sabbath, he recalls the fear – and excitement – the foursome of Osbourne, Butler, Iommi and Ward elicited.
“I always wanted to do a compilation of music that scared the shit out of me when I heard it for the first time,” Jones says.
“Black Sabbath was like that for me. I loved horror movies, and [Sabbath] had the same temperature to me. There’s just something romantic about it. I feel lucky that there are so many songs I’m obsessed with. I still put that music on today, and I get the same thing I was getting out of it when I first heard it. I can’t say that about a lot of bands.”
Tool signed on to the festivities of Black Sabbath's Back to the Beginning extravaganza late, and like most of the other acts on the bill, as of this writing, they aren’t sure what they’ll be playing. No matter; Jones is just happy to be there.
“I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to it,” he says. “I pinch myself every day. You go, ‘When I was 16, did you ever think you’d meet these guys? Did you ever think you’d open for these guys? Did you ever think you’d have your own guitar line with Gibson? Did you ever think you’d have four Grammys?’ My life’s good, man. It’s good, and on that day, it’ll be even better.”
What led to your involvement with Back to the Beginning?
“It came through Tom Morello. The four of us [in Tool] were on the phone, or texting – I can’t remember – and someone went, ‘I don’t think I can do it.’ Someone else went, ‘Okay, yeah, I think I’m gonna do this other thing.’ I think I even went, ‘Yeah, let’s not do it.’ But it was really an honor that they asked us.”
You weren’t going to do it, but then you changed your mind?
“Months later, Tom contacted me and said, ‘Would you be down to play something with me?’ I was like, ‘Hmmm, that could be fun. Yeah!’ He goes, ‘It’ll just be me, you and Billy Corgan.’ He was thinking we could play a tune, so I said, ‘Yeah, that’s fine. But if plans change, I won’t feel bad if you decide that you don’t want me to do it – but let’s do it.’”
Ultimately, Tool – the whole band – signed on for the show. How’d that happen?
“I was again talking to Tom, and I went, ‘Yeah, I’m sorry we all couldn’t do it.’ He goes, ‘Well, you know Dan [Carey, Tool’s drummer] is playing with these guys, and Maynard [James Keenan, Tool’s singer] is playing with these people…’ I went, ‘I didn’t know that…’ It hit me, and I said, ‘If the three of us are there – and I know Justin [Chancellor, bass] will want to do it…’ I went back to our people and went, ‘Why don’t we just do it? We’re all going to be there.’ That’s how it happened – and why it was announced later.”
How far back does your personal Sabbath fandom go?
“To when I was young. We had different [radio] stations in Chicago that were my main source of music. And I have an older brother and sister who influenced my early taste. It goes way back. I think everyone has the same story of how wonderfully haunting and attractive that music was, how they were innovators and influenced so many people.”
How did Tony Iommi shape your guitar playing style?
“You’re talking, like, ’70s headphones turned up all the way – and air guitaring! [Laughs] Learning later in life that he’s missing parts of his fingers was inspiring because when you’re a kid, and you’re playing guitar, you go, ‘I could never be as good as a real rockstar,’ and here’s a guy that is a professional, a rockstar and amazing, and he’s missing parts of his fingers. It’s inspiring. It makes you feel like, ‘I can do that.’”
Has Tony’s style impacted your riff writing?
“It’s why I’m obsessed with drop D. The stuff he did – the tone, the playing the notes and then pulling off, you know, the open D, or whatever tuning they had that’s comparable – it was just haunting, and the riffs were so good. I could play them, but there’s a vibe, and it’s wonderful. And if you don’t hear it in Tool, you probably aren’t really into Black Sabbath.”
There’s a nuance in Tony’s playing that can’t be duplicated.
It’s his emotion and his approach. Maybe there’s stuff he can do with his handicap that other people can’t. It’s fascinating
“That’s any good guitarist that’s doing their own thing. It’s that thing where they have such a unique style, emotion and passion in their playing. If he picked up any guitar and any amp… I don’t know what the right analogy would be.
“Sometimes I bitch about my equipment, and Buzz Osborne from the Melvins goes, ‘A poor carpenter blames his tools.’ It’s kind of the same concept; it’s [Tony Iommi], it’s his style. It’s very passionate. What I was saying earlier, you know, it’s simple, but I don’t mean it’s simple, I just mean it’s stuff I could play. Do you know what I mean?”
Absolutely. There’s just something about the way Tony plays that can’t be explained.
“Yeah. It’s his emotion and his approach. Maybe there’s stuff he can do with his handicap that other people can’t. It’s fascinating. It just goes to those things where there’s some stuff they can’t teach in school. You have to experience it. You have to feel it. You have to do it on your own. It’s nothing that you’re gonna learn in a book.”
Have you talked about what songs Tool would like to play at the show?
“There are so many. We’re waiting because a lot of them are taken. I don’t know if it’s official yet, which songs we’re supposed to do. I hope they tell us soon because I’d like to do a good job and learn it! [Laughs] To have the [Black Sabbath] band members watch us while we’re playing, I just want to make sure we fucking kill it.”
As a fan and a peer, what does it mean to you to help send off Ozzy and Sabbath?
“It’s exciting. To honor them, and play their music in front of them, and then for them to turn around and do the same thing, but back to the fans and musicians that admire them so much, is really overwhelming. I’m going to be a part of this collective fanbase that’s going to be in Birmingham to share with that. It’s going to be awesome.”
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
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