‘Iron Man’: The Black Sabbath song that Tony Iommi thinks will always stand the test of time
With the death of Ozzy Osbourne, one thing became clear. Black Sabbath had done it. They’d achieved the pinnacle all artists are pushing for. As fans of different generations flooded the streets of Birmingham for the singer’s funeral, or shared their messages of gratitude for the music on line, it was obvious – Black Sabbath are timeless.
I like the band just as much as my dad does, or did. It’s not even in spite of the heaviness, as really, it’s the rage and power that seem to fuel the music’s endurance. The electrifying rebellion of the group as they sat on the cutting edge of a heavier moment in musical history still sounds just as sparking today. The songs haven’t lost even a drop of power as Osbourne’s vocals during his tenure, paired with Tony Iommi’s huge riff, were a match unlike any other, and a match that hasn’t been bettered yet.
The enduring power of that spark undeniably comes back from the moment the flame was first lit. The band have several stories of those moments where they were battling and battling with a new song, trying their best to get a new album off the ground and underway as the context and chaos of their lives seemed to make it even harder. But then, eventually, it would click. A match would light, something would glow, and it has stayed glowing and fiery since.
The most vivid flame came the moment ‘Iron Man’ was born, and that’s why Iommi always knew that song would stay bright throughout the years. It was a song they struggled with a lot. “Technically, we had real problems getting it right in the studio,” drummer Bill Ward recalled, as they knew they needed the song to be loud and intense, but their mics couldn’t keep up with them.
“The trouble was that the microphones available to us in 1970 just weren’t up to the task of capturing the power and depth of the sound. I played very loud back then, and wanted a powerful bass drum sound; that’s what the song needed. Yet all I could get was a dull thud,” he said, adding ironically, “Today it would be so easy for a band to get the proper sound on a song like this, because the technology exists,” knowing that any song of its kind would only now be made possible by ‘Iron Man’.
But despite the difficulty, everyone in the room knew they needed to persist, especially when the moment came that Iommi suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, crafted its signature riff. “Most of the riffs I’ve done I’ve come up with on the spot, and that was one of them – it just came up,” the guitarist said, as the spontaneity wasn’t the uncommon thing.
What was uncommon and special was how vivid the sound of the riff was in his head. It took on an almost haunting characteristic as he added, “I just saw this thing in my mind of someone creeping up on you, and it just sounded like the riff.” As if he was being hunted down by the sound, he said, “In my head I could hear it as a monster, so I came up with that riff there and then.”
Perfectly paired with Osbourne’s own comment that the early instrumental of the track sounded like “a big iron bloke walking about”, all the parts fell perfectly into place. All working in perfect unison, driven by the same forces, or whatever the power from above is that makes these moments happen, everything fell into place to create the ultimate Black Sabbath song that Iommi always knew would live long.
