Black Sabbath crowned Metal Hammer's 2017 Golden Gods

6 June 2017

Black Sabbath have been crowned Metal Hammer's 2017 Golden Gods.

Black Sabbath

The legendary rock band's guitarist Tony Iommi will pick up the coveted Golden God Award at the ceremony, held in association with Orange Amplification, at London's IndigoO2 at The O2 on Monday (12.06.17) on behalf of his bandmates.

The 69-year-old rocker - who is joined by Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler in the 'Paranoid' group - has dedicated the prestigious accolade to their fans, without whom he said they would not exist.

He said: "Thank you for this award. It is good to know that after almost 50 years Sabbath is still relevant, and has importance in the history of music.

"I want to thank our fans who have been with us along the way, without them there would be no Sabbath."

The publication chose Sabbath as one of the pioneers of the heavy metal genre.

During their career spanning more than five decades, they've sold more than 75 million albums and have inspired their peers including Slash from Guns N' Roses and James Hetfield from Metallica.

Metal Hammer magazine's editor, Merlin Alderslade commented: "Black Sabbath are quite simply, the Ground Zero for heavy metal. Without them, heavy music wouldn't exist as we know and love it today, and it only seems right that in a year where we are celebrating the power of our scene, we acknowledge the influence of the Mac Daddies themselves. We can't wait to blow the roof off The O2 on Monday June 12 for the biggest party of the summer."

This year's ceremony will take be hosted once again by Fozzy frontman and WWE star Chris Jericho and will feature performances from the likes of Mastodon, Clutch, Avatar and Orange Goblin.