Black Sabbath's legendary guitarist Tony Iommi will receive the Gibson Les Paul Award at the 2015 Q Awards.

The heavy metal pioneer - who's played a Gibson guitar for the duration of his career - is receiving the award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to music, pop culture and as part of the 100th-anniversary celebrations of the birth of Les Paul guitars.

In a statement, Tony said: ''I'm very honoured to receive the Les Paul Award, so many thanks to Q magazine and Gibson - I have a long history with the guitar-maker.''

Meanwhile, Q magazine's editor Matt Mason hailed Tony's impact on the genre.

He said: ''Tony is one of those rare guitar players in that he truly defines a genre and a sound.

''His influence is huge but, equally, there is a real finesse in his playing that often gets overlooked. It harks back to his early love of Django Reinhardt - the legendary gypsy-jazz guitarist - who was a formative influence on Tony.

''As with all great musicians, Tony hears the world in a totally unique way, and that is what the Gibson Les Paul celebrates.''

Tony follows in the footsteps of last year's winner Johnny Marr.

The 2015 Q Awards, in association with Absolute Radio, will take place today (19.10.15)