Great to meet Mats and Esben today and receive an amazing replica of the Iommi fossil! And thanks to Mike Olley and Steve at The Velvet Music Rooms. pic.twitter.com/8vgr99Tx7n

— Tony Iommi (@tonyiommi) July 3, 2023

Widely considered to be one of the greatest guitarists of all time and primary song writer for what most metal fans would consider the seminal and greatest ever band in the genre-Black Sabbath-Tony Iommi has accomplished pretty much everything there is in the world of rock superstardom. Perhaps that is why, when palaeontologist Mats Eriksson discovered a 469 million year old fossil, he thought of the Birmingham based virtuoso-although it probably doesn’t hurt that Eriksson is an avid metal fan himself.

The new species, a pre-historic eel like marine creature, has been dubbed Drepanoistodus Iommii, in honour of what Eriksson considers his all time favourite musician. Eriksson then found himself heading to Birmingham-the home of Iommi and origin of Black Sabbath to present Iommi with a life-size replica model of the fossil.

Iommi himself expressed some shock that a scientist would name a fossil after him but he was also equally humbled by it as well. Speaking about the naming, Iommi said, “when I first heard about this, it was a real shock to hear that a fossil’s been named after me! I’ve had a bit of abuse from from my friends about it who’ve enjoyed calling me an old fossil, but I think it’s great, a real honour. This has to be the weirdest thing that’s ever been named after me but I’m really proud of it and I wanted to thank Mats and his team in person for being such brilliant fans.”

Although Iommi is the latest heavy rock musician to be esteemed in such a way, it’s also not the first time Eriksson has bestowed the honour upon metal musicians with Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse, King Diamond and Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead also enshrined. Other fossils have been named after metal music or musicians in the past as well.

Iommi, who was diagnosed with early stage lymphoma over a decade ago, recently described his health as being all in all good and has claimed that his busy lifestyle has kept his overall health in shape. He also recently revealed that a Black Sabbath reunion, with all original members, is not off the table and that perhaps, if everything is right, a show could happen in future. Metal fans will eagerly await that news, should it come to pass.

He first made the writing of his book public in March last year. He announced that he had started writing a memoir of his life, in order to pass his many intriguing stories down his bloodline, after having realised how little he actually held close to him about his parents. He explains this in an interview with Cleveland “I don’t really know much about my mum and dad, ’cause they were always just there. So, I started writing a memoir for my grandkids to read, and that’s been fun going through stuff”. 

Having been in such a pioneering group for the music we see shaped today, no doubt will the book be a must read for, not only the metalheads, but for all who have a general interest in the sector. Butler will have the chance to give us an insight of his upbringing in Birmingham living in a working class environment, where he first co-founded Black Sabbath in 1968 as a teenager, alongside his mates; vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tommy Iommi and drummer Bill Ward.

Originally, he was a guitarist in another band called Rare Breed. But eventually, when they formed Black Sabbath, he passed onto playing bass when Iommi made it very clear he did not want to play beside another guitarist. As a matter of fact, Geezer Butler admits that the first time he ever disturbed anything out of a bass was on stage, using a borrowed one from a mate which only had three strings on it.

The English icon has come to spill his character and music building experiences on paper and the public couldn’t be more excited. Expecting to receive first hand insight of what Black Sabbath music was originally formed by. He will delve into all his stories, from a working class Birmingham in the 1960’s consisting of grimy pubs and drunken fights, the forming of the band and how it got its name, gigs with lethal endings, the reflection of what they have achieved in the last five decades and the rest of it.

In an interview he reflects “It’s a great achievement to still be relevant 50 years after we recorded our first two albums. We honestly thought we’d last a few years, then be forgotten about. Fifty years ago any form of popular music was seen as a passing fad”, allowing himself the rekindling of a lifetime of rewarding memories.

Click here to pre-order.