The past couple of years have been quite eventful for the godfather of metal, Mr. Tony Iommi. The guitarist has seen the reunion of his band Black Sabbath with original singer Ozzy Osbourne and the release of their first album together in 35 years, the impressive 13. That album’s opening track, “God Is Dead,” went on to win the band their first ever Grammy for “Best Hard Rock or Metal Performance” in 2014.

Iommi’s personal life has been no less eventful. He was diagnosed with cancer during the recording sessions for 13 and has been undergoing treatments while also undertaking a massive world tour. It has been a grueling process for Iommi, who recently celebrated his 67th birthday. It hasn’t been all bad news for the six-string legend though; he was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Coventry University “in recognition of his contribution to the world of popular music.”

And now as we all celebrate the 45th Anniversary Of Black Sabbath’s debut album this month, Iommi is the subject of a new VH-1 animated short about the origins of his unique iconic riff mastery.

Watch the animated short, The Complete History of Heavy Metal: Fingers Bloody Fingers, here below.

In the short, Iommi recounts how his mother was inadvertently responsible for the loss of his fingertips in an industrial accident which led to the young guitarist having to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, when it came to his playing technique. The resulting sound was the thunder heard round the world that we now refer to as heavy metal. Who knows what might have happened had Mrs. Iommi not insisted that her son return to work to finish off his final shift in the factory?

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[Source: VH-1 via Blabbermouth]