When it comes to heavy metal, I'd also say Tony Iommi was the genuine first. Page and Blackmore weren't in metal bands. Hard rockin' bands, yeah, but not metal.
Tom's great! He's the perfect example of less-is-more. It gets old hearing all these new guys today blitz away on 128ths and 256th (512ths? hahaha!)...sometimes it's cool, and sometimes it sounds a little too unmusical, or they're just masturbatin' their fretboards! Tom coaxes all sorts of sounds from his axe...sounds the likes of which I haven't heard from other more "proficient" guitarists.
