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EXPLAINED: 2 | Rare Historical Photos

“When I finished, I sent Kirk Hammett a picture and said, ‘Do you want to use it?’ He replied in all caps, ‘YES!’” Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian has spent 4 years learning how to build guitars – and his prized SG was played at metal’s most historic concert

Gueikian has juggled the demands of his CEO role with learning the art of guitar making, and his builds already have some high-profile admirers – including Jason Momoa, Kirk Hammett and Tony Iommi

Guitar World

“The guitar I built in Kirk’s hands… paying tribute to Tony, Ozzy and Black Sabbath, it was amazing and strange, humbling and epic”: The unique SG built by Gibson CEO Cesar Gueikian and played by Kirk Hammett at Back to the Beginning heads to auction

Gibson teams up with Julien's Auctions for Gibson Gives fundraiser, with two of Gueikian's custom builds going under the hammer, plus a heap of signed and stage-played electrics

MusicRadar

“I would have liked to have not chopped the ends of my fingers off. It became a burden”: The Devil, the blues and a factory accident – the story of the Black Sabbath song that kicked off heavy metal

Black Sabbath didn’t plan to start a new genre when they debuted in 1970, but their self-titled track is now seen as the place where metal began

Metal Hammer

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“It's really hard when you're going through that. I like to be able to give something back”: Tony Iommi is raffling off one of his Gibson SGs to support the hospital that treated his cancer

Iommi was treated at the hospital for four years and is now helping fund the refurbishment of its cancer center

Guitar World

“I’m not sure why the tour ended so abruptly. I never got a bunch of my gear returned. People don’t get sacked from Sabbath – they just don’t get spoken to again!” Ask Jo Burt about Freddie Mercury, Brian Setzer and The Troggs – just not Black Sabbath

The veteran bassist on his Queen and Led Zeppelin links, love for fretless, fighting with a Music Man EQ, and Tony Iommi’s smile when Geezer Butler’s Ampeg rig made a bass feel like an animal

Guitar World

"Proud to call this infinitely modest and generous genius my friend": Brian May shares video of surprise Tony Iommi appearance at Black Sabbath ballet

Iommi took to the stage at the climax of a performance of Black Sabbath - The Ballet

Metal Hammer

“He our admiration for his music and our respect for his talent for recognizing guitar genius”: The life and times of Ozzy Osbourne – metal’s godfather and Prince of Darkness

Remembering John “Ozzy” Osbourne, the frontman who breathed life into heavy metal and found some of its greatest guitar players

Guitar World

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“Those seeking pointers on how to tailor a solo to serve the song would do well to investigate their back catalog”: The Scorpions guitarists list boasts some of rock's most electrifying and underrated players – this is what you can learn from each of them

The German hard rock juggernaut's song-focused approach has required their guitarists to showcase their distinctive styles with a concise blend of taste and technique appropriate to the setting

Guitar World

“I walked out and Nuno had the crowd chanting my name. It was overwhelming. I’m surprised I didn’t trip and fall down”: Jake E. Lee on defying expectations, arthritis and gunshot wounds to mend his friendship with Ozzy at Back to the Beginning

In an interview that took place before Ozzy Osbourne's death, the Back to the Beginning standout talks Charvel guitars, next steps and the joy of achieving closure with his former boss

Guitar World

“I couldn't afford a real bass guitar, so I just tuned the strings down on a Telecaster”: How Geezer Butler went from playing bass on a guitar to the ominous riff that defined one of Black Sabbath’s darkest moments

Geezer Butler’s iconic bassline announces this tune from the classic 1970 LP Paranoid

Guitar World

"There’s something incredibly satisfying about playing through this amp": Laney Lionheart Foundry Super 60 112

This Laney might be tube-less, but still manages to deliver the roar we’ve come to expect from its fan-favourite Lionheart combo

MusicRadar

“It was like watching Muhammad Ali shadow box – that intense”: Metallica’s Robert Trujillo on watching Black Sabbath soundcheck at Back To The Beginning

The bassist, who used to play in Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band, compares seeing Sabbath onstage to watching Muhammad Ali in the ring

Metal Hammer

Robert Plant to have knee replacement

Robert Plant is having a knee replacement operation after years of performing on stage took a toll.

BANG Premier

“As soon as he hit the stage, everything changed.” Farewell to Ozzy Osbourne: Metal's first - and greatest - icon

How heavy metal's original madman became a global icon

Metal Hammer

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Metal Hammer

"What does it feel like to be a legend?!?": An awkward encounter with a grumpy, nicotine-craving Ozzy Osbourne

After Black Sabbath's triumphant reunion shows in 1997, a nervous young writer was granted an audience with the Prince of Darkness and his cohorts

Metal Hammer

Paramount Plus to stream feature-length documentary about Ozzy Osbourne’s final years next month – watch the trailer here

Ozzy: No Escape From Now will be streaming from October 7

MusicRadar

"It's unlike any humbucker I've tried before": Gibson Tony Iommi Signature Humbucker review

Gibson's first-ever signature pickup artist returns with a humbucker that could be a dark horse

Guitar World

“My production manager came into my bus. He’s like, ‘That white SG…’ It got stolen right off stage”: Daron Malakian on the time his prized Gibson was swiped from the stage – while System of a Down were headlining Ozzfest

It’s a lesson that your gear isn’t safe anywhere – even when it is onstage with you and you’re at the top of the bill

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Metal Hammer

"It was the four of us against the world." Behind the curtains of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne's historic farewell gig

In July, Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne performed their final show together. Weeks later, Ozzy passed away. Metal Hammer caught up with the band ahead of their final farwell

Guitar World

“The guitar I play live is secretly a Squier. I replaced the neck plate – I was like, ‘I’m too big for this!’” How Frankensteined Fenders and vintage Gibsons supercharged the rise of Jack White-backed rockers Die Spitz

With a yin and yang guitar partnership, rarebreed pedals and a DIY attitude, the Texans’ blend of metal, punk and shoegaze is the latest addition to Third Man Records’ roster

Guitar World

“I can’t feel it. It’s bone on bone. I’ve had to adjust my style. In a way, it’s like learning to play guitar again”: Jake E. Lee on how he has changed his playing – and gear – due to arthritis struggles

The former Ozzy Osbourne shredder has had to change things up to keep on playing

Guitar World

“I was starstruck when I first met Ozzy. He said he had ‘a good feeling’ about me. He just encouraged me to play with my heart”: Gus G on growing up on Black Sabbath, playing with Ozzy Osbourne – and why Tony Iommi’s style was the hardest to master

Gus G reflects on a life-changing moment when he joined the likes of Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde as one of the few to be chosen by Ozzy as his shredder-in-chief

Guitar World

“I always wanted a Les Paul but I couldn’t play them”: Tony Iommi on why he never became a Les Paul player – despite wanting to become one

The Black Sabbath riff lord made the reveal at the launch of his newly revived signature Gibson humbuckers

Guitar World

“Watching Tony Iommi play Iron Man to demo his signature pickup in person was a borderline biblical experience”: All the new guitar gear that caught my eye this week – and is that a new Epiphone double-neck?

New launches from Boss, PRS, Fender and Third Man Hardware headline the biggest guitar gear drops this week

Guitar World

“Tony Iommi didn’t want a song by another guitarist on a Sabbath record.I never saw the money. But hearing Dio perform my song was unforgettable”: Jimi Bell may have lost out to Zakk Wylde in his Ozzy Osbourne audition, but he has no regrets

The drummer turned guitarist remains grateful for what Sharon Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Joan Jett and Randy Rand did for him, as he preps original music from his Deep Purple tribute band

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