Loudwire Music Awards Fará Tributo À Tony Iommi

Exclusive: Inaugural Loudwire Music Awards to Pay Tribute to Tony Iommi

Fozzy singer/WWE personality Chris Jericho will host Oct. 24 event in Los Angeles 

Hard-rock/metal website Loudwire is presenting its first-ever Loudwire Music Awards ceremony and concert on Oct. 24 at The Novo Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. The preliminary lineup, which will feature exclusive performances, will be announced July 19.

Black Sabbath member Tony Iommi will be honored with the Courage Award, which recognizes both his musical output and his bravery in his battle with cancer. The guitarist was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, and is currently in remission. Going forward, the award will be called the Iommi and presented to future generations of courageous artists.

Iommi is not only receiving an award — he literally is the Loudwire Music Award. His hand served as the original mold for the official Hand of Doom trophy that will be presented to all winners and honorees.

“Of all the funny things that I've done in my life, this was another one. I was asked if I would do a mold of my hand so that they could make it into an award,” says Iommi. “I was very honored.”

The hand that has played Black Sabbath’s classic riffs for nearly 50 years was almost immortalized in a manner that he didn’t expect. “I was asked to put my arm into this big bucket full of this colored gel. All was going fine until it set, and then I found that I couldn't get my arm back out!” explains Iommi. “My hand started to cramp up, and I thought, ‘Oh no, what now?’ After a considerable amount of pulling and twisting, it eventually came out, and the cast looked amazing; so much detail. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished award. Thanks, Loudwire — what's next?''

Watch of clip of Iommi dunking his hand into the molding gel below:

WWE personality and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho, who has hosted such genre-related events as the Metal Hammer Golden Gods, will be the MC. "I'm so stoked to reclaim my crown as the greatest rock’n’roll awards show host of all time,” says Jericho. “The Loudwire Music Awards is going to be the biggest awards show in American heavy-metal history, with the biggest bands, biggest performances, biggest trophies and the biggest bar tabs.”

Created and produced by industry veteran Josh Bernstein, co-creator and producer of events like the Revolver Golden Gods Awards and the Alternative Press Music Awards, the Loudwire Music Awards will enable Loudwire.com readers to vote for several award categories, including album and song of the year, beginning Aug. 15.