TONY IOMMI Photo Book Coming From RUFUS PUBLICATIONS

Rufus Publications has announced "Iommi - The Photographs". Tony has collaborated with renowned photographer Ross Halfin to produce a 340-page luxury book encompassing the very earliest days of BLACK SABBATH through to his most recent partnership with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Featuring exclusive written contributions from Sir Brian May, Ozzy Osbourne, James Hetfield and Philip Anselmo, the book will be available in both Standard and Deluxe signed limited editions.

Each copy of the Deluxe signed edition is personally hand-signed by Tony Iommi. This deluxe edition is numbered from 1 to 500 copies worldwide. The book measures 245mm x 345mm, with a luxury slipcase and gold foil embossing, and features a recycled black leather spine. Each book comes with a 3D lenticular suitable for framing. The book sells for £250 plus shipping and, if pre-ordered before July 31, 2024, will be discounted to £200.

The Standard edition features the same content as the Deluxe edition with a printed hardback cover and slipcase. This edition sells for £99 and, if ordered before July 31, 2024, will be discounted to £80 plus worldwide delivery.

Iommi is synonymous with heavy rock; his innovative, de-tuned, dark riffs are considered to be the blueprint for hundreds of bands that followed. As Anselmo says: "With a thick sound and crushing, bending riffs — riffs that paint the insides of our memory banks black with sacred knowledge — Tony changed the landscape of what was acceptable for a mere guitar to sound like."

For the last two years, Tony has been working with renowned music photographer Ross Halfin to compile this luxury 340-page, photographic book of his musical career; from the very early days of BLACK SABBATH through to the opening of the Birmingham Royal Black Sabbath ballet in 2023. This suitably heavy tome is a celebration of one of music's most innovative guitarists and, as Ozzy notes in his exclusive epilogue: "If someone asked me, who was the leader of BLACK SABBATH, it'd have to be Tony, wouldn't it? We all contributed, of course, but without Tony's riffs, we wouldn't have had a chance."

The book is a compendium of carefully selected images compiled from all eras of Tony's career, many from Ross Halfin's own archive, and the book also features further exclusive written contributions from some of music's leading talents and friends of Tony. These include Sir Brian May, James Hetfield and Philip Anselmo. As Sir Brian May notes in his introduction: "Ross Halfin has captured images of Tony in a huge number of settings over the years, as you will see in this book. The pictures show a man of great power and presence, as befits a giant riffmeister."

Iommi himself says: "I really appreciate all the work Ross has put in, both as a photographer and editor of the book. These photographs represent my career and the memories they conjure up remind me what a fantastic journey we've been on. So often I'd look down from the stage and there in the middle of the moshpit would be Ross fighting his corner to get just the right shot. Cheers, Ross, the book is a testament to our long friendship and the many defining moments in my life you've captured."