Good friends Brian May of Queen and Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath have long talked about recording together, but nothing has materialized.
However, the two have collaborated on a new British series, Great Guitar Riffs, in which they talk about some of the classic riffs they created on their six strings.
Iommi is particularly known for coming up with some legendary ones, leading May to ask about the one he came up with for Black Sabbath's "Paranoid."
Iommi says, “We didn’t have enough songs to fill the album, so the producer said, ‘We need another song.’
“We went, ‘We don’t have another song!’ [The producer said], ‘Well, can you come up with one? It can’t be any more than two-and-a-half minutes.’ We’ve never written anything less than bloody five minutes.
“The others had gone out to have something to eat. I came up with this riff, so when they got back I played them this idea of 'Paranoid'. It’s basic. It’s not technical by any means. What I’ve always done is, not try and play anything that’s flash. I play things that I think is right for the song.”
And with that he played the riff before May joined in, playing lead on top of it, but not before saying, "I’m going to commit sacrilege by joining in!”
When finished May smiled and said, "It is a good riff. It will go far.”
Greatest Guitar Riffs – a three-part series by UK’s Sky Arts channel - is streaming on NowTV.com.