Posted on 10/30/2009 2:37:59 AM PDT by markomalley
It may not surprise parents that the head-banging, string-shredding world of heavy metal can seriously damage your health. But now Tony Iommi, the British guitarist who helped to invent the genre, has revealed that he is undergoing stem-cell treatment to save the hand that inspired a generation.
The number of rockers suffering from repetitive strain injuries is on the increase, and medical specialists have warned that their careers will come to an end unless they seek professional help.
As a founder member of Black Sabbath, the Birmingham rockers fronted by Ozzy Osbourne, Iommi, 61, hit on the distortion-heavy riffs that powered the group to fame. But more than 40 years of working a plectrum has taken their toll on Iommi, who has been forced off the road to undergo treatment.
“I’ve had this problem with my hand and I’ve had this stem-cell treatment on it,” Iommi told the BBC Radio 2 Radcliffe and Maconie Show. “The cartilage [was worn out between] the joints, and the joints [were] rubbing on the joints. It was bone to bone and it was getting a bit painful.”
Iommi has worn a hand guard to protect the injury but after taking painkillers and anti-inflammatories, he has turned to adult stem cells, which can restore defective muscles and help to regenerate cartilage growth. “This is the latest thing, so we’ll see if it works,” he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at entertainment.timesonline.co.uk ...
Progressive rock just isn’t my thing. You’ll likely roll your eyes over what is my thing: DEATH METAL!!! (Well at least most people roll their eyes.) I can’t get enough of it.
But I am fairly diverse in my tastes. I also like thrash metal, black metal, speed metal, and the occasional playing of plain old heavy metal.
I like almost anything except rap and death metal-—but I do appreciate the incredible musicianship. Those guys’ speed, both guitars and drums, are beyond what I thought possible in the 1970s. And I liked BS, but that night, Yes just “out-musicianed” them 100%. We left halfway through BS’s set, it was so boring.
Tony Iommi ping.
I would never consider Tony Iommi lame. Tony maybe didn’t revolutionise the instrument, but he revolutionized heavy metal. You can give him that.
I saw an old EVH video where he was on Letterman and was struggling with the Paul Schaeffer Band. EVH was revolutionary with the stuff he did with his music, but he doesn’t jam so well on other people’s stuff. He was interviewed and even admitted this weak point of his.
To me I have much respect for them as they are still putting out heavy stuff. They are putting out better music in their 60s than most bands of their genre in their 20s.
Here they are from June 16th 2009 in Germany doing a great version of Falling off the Edge of the World. Sounds pretty damn good no matter what their age. Dio's vocals still sound strong.
Their new album "The Devil You Know" is pretty heavy too so I would consider this anything BUT boring. Here are my 5 favorites from it:
HMMM hope this works for him. I’ve had carpal tunnel surgery once already and all it did was releive the pain for a while. It would be nice to find something like this that could really fix the problem.
Oh I like some thrash metal too. I like all kinds of metal especially from the 80’s and 90’s.
We went specifically to see Sabbath, and only knew Yes from “Roundabout,” and were hugely disappointed with a) their lack of energy after two songs, and b) their sameness. As I said, there were four or five of us-—all musicians, none of whom knew Yes-—and all of us looked at each other after about four Sabbath songs and said, “Let’s go.”
Can you answer the other questions I posed to you as far as liking Black Sabbath after Ozzy left. You didn’t bother to listen to the links I posted? I wanted your feedback about those songs specifically.
Don’t recall your specific songs, and I’m not going back to find them, but I did like Dio, and really liked his drummy Vinny Appice. But since I’m not a “devil head,” I couldn’t in good conscience support Dio’s music. When he was in DP, it was different. Other than that, the issue wasn’t Black Sabbath AFTER Ozzie. It was one concert where I and everyone around me (four other people, none of them predisposed) thought Sabbath sucked and Yes was incredible.
Dio was never in Deep Purple, Ian Gillan was. Dio was in Rainbow and ELF before that. Sounds like you're a little confused.
Also Black Sabbath were known for having some sloppy shows back in the 70's due to drugs, alcohol and Tony Iommi's old Gibson SG going horribly out of tune. I'd like you to click the link in post 26 called Falling off the Edge of the World and tell me that they suck or are boring. Please. I have some tasty crow for you to eat. I'm waiting.
But I never said Sabbath as a band was boring. I said the show we saw was boring and that Yes blew them off the stage. Don't get all defensive. Personally, I didn't like Iommi as a guitarist, and thought their drummer was extremely straightforward and uninventive. The concept about "devil music," "underworld," etc. was what was novel at first and that's what made their first album so appealing. But it got old very quickly. So, no, I didn't bother to follow them after the first album or two (if there was a second---can't remember).
As for "Falling off the Edge of the World," doesn't do anything for me. I like the guy's drum set, but the music doesn't grab me at all. It's, well, . . . boring.
What I would recommend is the "in concert" video of Jeff Beck at . . . (dang, I forgot---some club). With the exception of two guest vocalists and two songs where Eric Clapton sits in, it's all instrumental but astounding.
I can just take this to different tastes then. Sure Jeff Beck is a great player but to be honest I can’t say I’d want to listen to more than 1 or 2 songs at a time. That to me is boring. It’s not quite shredding like Joe Satriani, but yet it isn’t heavy either. It’s like listening to Hendrix which I can respect but it’s not my cup of tea. Taking this into consideration I can honestly say I wouldn’t consider you a Black Sabbath fan then or now.
Very odd you don’t find Iommi interesting or inventive. He was probably the biggest influence on me before I started playing guitar. You said you are a musician, I’d like to hear your influences.
By the late 1960s, my favorites were Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus---where he was absolutely at his best), Ginger Baker with Cream (didn't care for his "Air Force" work), and Cozy Powell with Jeff Beck. Despised Keith Moon and Neal Peart---they just overplayed. Mitch Mitchell was ok, but too jazzy, but I liked the guy with Deep Purple who played in that same genre.
Jeff Beck's drummer today is stunning. Carmine has completely lost it---you can barely tell it's him any more. There is some session guy I don't know who plays on a lot of Christian albums particularly "Point of Grace" and is a master of understatement, with power---kind of a new Ringo.
And for the umpteenth time, I never said I was a Black Sabbath fan, ever. I said, we went to their concert. I had a couple of their albums. I thought they had a neat gimmick-—but that was all. But I think in any poll of the top 10 most influential guitarists, Beck’s name would come up in the top 2-3 in almost every poll, and I’d wager Iommi wouldn’t crack a single one. And, for the record, Clapton was once asked who was better, him or Hendrix, and he said, “he plays a lick, then I play a lick, but Jeff Beck beats us both.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.