10 Rock Music Guitarists Who Outshone Frontmen

Most of the early metalheads can bring you back to the exact moment that they heard Black Sabbath for the first time.

Outside of being one of the dirtiest takes on the blues ever conceived, this was the sound that was going to take over the world and introduce rock into the true realm of darkness. But who gives a sh*t about someone like Ozzy Osbourne when you have Tony Iommi in your corner?

Though Osbourne's stage presence was beyond compare during the eras of albums like Paranoid and Master of Reality, most of the draw from Sabbath's early shows came from just how dark and evil the guitar sound was, especially when Iommi would tune down low to suit his fingers.

For a guy who had his appendages chopped off in a sheet metal factory, the magic hadn't gone away, with Paranoid and Iron Man being so iconic that you can practically sing the riff a lot better than you can sing the lyrics.

By the end of Ozzy's run with the band, he had pretty much given up hope at being the leader of the band, oftentimes having Iommi take center stage while he hung in the background where the guitarist should normally be. Though the Prince of Darkness has carved out his place in history, Sabbath belongs to Iommi and any substitutions should be ignored.