THE BEAST

‘There’s a Nuance’: Jake E. Lee Explains Why Tony Iommi’s Guitar Parts Were More Challenging Than Randy Rhoads’ — Despite Being 'Not Difficult'

Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee has paid tribute to the subtle genius of Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, explaining in a recent Guitar World interview why Iommi’s guitar parts were more difficult to capture than those of the late Randy Rhoads — even if, on the surface, they seem simpler.

Lee, who famously joined Ozzy Osbourne’s band in 1982 following the tragic death of Rhoads, was tasked with a monumental role: honoring the work of not one, but two legendary guitarists. On the Speak of the Devil tour, he found himself playing a set split between Black Sabbath classics and Rhoads’ newer solo-era Ozzy material. And while Lee would go on to carve his own legacy with Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986), the early days demanded reverence and precision.

“I joined in the middle of the Speak of the Devil tour,” Lee recalled. “Half of the set was Black Sabbath, and half was the stuff with Randy, so I just tried to get as close as I could.”

Interestingly, while Lee took some liberties with the Sabbath material, aiming to “modernize it or put a little bit more of me into it,” he approached Rhoads’ parts with a different mindset. “With Randy's, I tried to keep it pretty close because that was fairly recent,” he noted.

When pressed on which material was more challenging to play, Lee gave an unexpected answer.

“To be honest, probably Tony's,” he admitted. “It’s not difficult; nothing he plays is really that different except for those trills. I don’t know how he plays those trills so fast — but there’s a nuance.”

And that nuance, according to Lee, lies in Iommi’s approach to note bending and phrasing.

“A lot of times, when he bends a note, especially the lower notes, he doesn’t go all the way to pitch-perfect. He makes it a little bit flat, which makes it sound more menacing and kind of evil,” he explained. “That’s part of the genius of his playing.”

Lee’s comments underscore what longtime Sabbath fans have always known: Iommi’s riffs are not just iconic — they’re atmospheric, textured, and filled with subtle tonal choices that evoke darkness and tension. It's not just about technicality; it's about feel.

This acknowledgment came just days before Jake E. Lee returned to the stage for a special performance at the Back to the Beginning farewell show for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath — an event that proved to be as historic as it was heartfelt. Lee took part in an all-star ensemble that delivered powerful renditions of “The Ultimate Sin” (alongside Nuno Bettencourt, Mike Bordin, David Ellefson, Lzzy Hale, and Adam Wakeman) and “Shot in the Dark,” this time with Bordin, Ellefson, Wakeman, and Disturbed’s David Draiman on vocals.

The farewell show — which raised over $190 million for charity — was not only a final bow for the Godfathers of Heavy Metal, but also a tribute to the incredible musicians who helped shape and evolve their sound across generations. In the eyes of Jake E. Lee, Tony Iommi’s brilliance remains as mysterious as ever — deceptively simple, yet impossible to replicate.

“That’s part of the genius,” Lee said — and metal fans everywhere would agree.