EDDIE VAN HALEN, TONY IOMMI Interviewed For GUITAR WORLD's 30th-Anniversary Issue

November 3, 2009

Eddie Van Halen (VAN HALEN) appears with Tony Iommi (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL) on the cover of Guitar World's 30th-anniversary (2010) issue, available at newsstands November 17.

Catch up with two of rock's living legends and most admired musical pioneers inside this special collector's issue as they talk shop about the past and present, music, guitars and life.

Iommi told BBC News that he is making a good recovery after receiving stem-cell treatment on an injured hand.

"It's coming on alright actually," the acclaimed guitarist told the BBC at the Classic Rock Awards on Monday.

"I've already had the stem-cell treatment, so I've just got to wait now. It's been six weeks but it's feeling great."

Iommi had been in pain after problems with his right hand joints.

He told the BBC Radio 2 "Radcliffe and Maconie Show" in October that the cartilage had worn out between the joints.

"It was bone to bone and it was getting a bit painful," he said.

Eddie Van Halen told Rolling Stone that he underwent the hand surgery due to a bone spur, a twisted tendon, and a cyst in the joint of his left thumb. He explained that the hand problems first popped up during VAN HALEN's last tour, saying, "During the last leg of our tour, I started developing pain in my thumb and my pinky. I didn't think much of it at the time. It got progressively worse to the point that about three months ago I wasn't able to play at all. My pinky and my thumb were totally locked up and felt like there was something broken."

He sought help from hand specialists in Dusseldorf, Germany, who at first were treating him for arthritis before further examinations showed the extent of the problem: "They said the only way to fix it was surgery, which of course scared the shit out of me, but I was told it was the only way to fix it. Surgery was a success, now I just have to let it heal. I am totally jazzed that they found the problem, fixed it and in about four months my hand will feel like I am 18 again. Thank God."

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