TESTAMENT Guitarist Recalls When He Smoked A 'Sweet Leaf' With TONY IOMMI

June 4, 2012

To celebrate the arrival of Metal Hammer's immense 172-page BLACK SABBATH tribute, the magazine asked TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson to name his favorite BLACK SABBATH tracks.

"BLACK SABBATH are one of my favorite bands of all time," he said. "It's so hard to pick a favorite track… I guess 'Into The Void' is my favourite because it kicks into this high gear and then has all these crazy time changes; it's where the elements of thrash metal started. I also love 'Heaven And Hell' because they really reinvented themselves and made it work. You can't forget about 'Symptom Of The Universe' either!

"You can sing all their riffs, that's how amazing they are.

"Can you imagine a world without BLACK SABBATH? We'd still be psychedelic, groovy and far out, man! They got rid of all the peace people. [Laughs]

"We just finished doing shows with IRON MAIDEN on the 'Fear Of The Dark' tour and then got invited to do some shows with BLACK SABBATH on their 'Dehumanizer' tour. We got to do something like 15 shows in the U.K. I didn't even know you could play that many shows in the U.K., which was amazing.

"BLACK SABBATH were so cool. On the first night, we walked around backstage and bumped into Geezer [Butler, bass] and Tony [Iommi, guitar]. They shared a joint with us! I was literally shaking… I couldn't believe I was about to smoke the same 'sweet leaf' as Tony Iommi. I think I dropped it, got on my knees and told them I wasn't worthy!

"[They are] still the coolest guys, really humble and down to earth after all these years."

Ahead of BLACK SABBATH's history-making Download festival appearance, the massive, 172-page new issue of Metal Hammer is a tribute to the legendary heavy metal act, paying homage to one of the greatest, heaviest and most influential bands to ever walk this earth. Metal Hammer talks to SABBATH members themselves as they look back on an unmatched legacy as the most influential and innovative band in metal's history, and looks to some of the biggest names in rock music to help them commemorate the masters' return. Members of METALLICA, SLAYER, MACHINE HEAD, PANTERA, MANOWAR, MASTODON, DIMMU BORGIR, DEVILDRIVER, KISS, RUSH, BEHEMOTH, SLASH, ALICE COOPER, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, RAMMSTEIN, GHOST, STEEL PANTHER and more all join Metal Hammer in gauging BLACK SABBATH's seminal impact on rock 'n' roll, and well as picking their favorite SABBATH hits and memories.

And, to top off the SABBATH worship, Metal Hammer is giving away a free "Sons Of Sabbath" CD with the issue, featuring choice, riff-filled, heavy-as-a-philosophizing-T-fucking-Rex cuts from the discographies of some of the finest bands to have been inspired by the hand of Iommi et al, including ELECTRIC WIZARD, CHURCH OF MISERY, BLOOD CEREMONY, WITCHCRAFT, GRAVEYARD, REVEREND BIZARRE and many more.

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