Tony Iommi says he has “four or five hundred” unused riffs on his phone

Tony Iommi
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Tony Iommi is responsible for some of the most influential heavy metal riffs ever written. But he's got plenty more in the tank, apparently.

In a new interview with Neil Jones of Planet Rock (transcribed by Blabbermouth), the Black Sabbath veteran reveals that he's got around “four or five hundred” riff ideas recorded on his phone.

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Sam Roche

Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.