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Post Info TOPIC: A NEW HEAVEN AND HELL
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Date: May 19, 2008
A NEW HEAVEN AND HELL
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COVER STORY: A New Heaven and Hell
May 13, 2008
by Bryan Reesman Summary

  • Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979
  • Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio replaced Osbourne
  • Heaven and Hell, the reincarnation of Black Sabbath, is working on a new album that is scheduled to be released in early 2009
  • Black Sabbath/Heaven And Hell albums produced with Dio at the mic include Dehumanizer, Mob Rules and Heaven and Hell


Second chances are a dicey proposition in rock 'n' roll, especially when a famous band replaces a singer of legendary status. There are countless examples of rock groups that have taken this path and failed to achieve the same level of notoriety.

But, British heavy metal legends Black Sabbath bucked that trend when they enlisted former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio into their ranks after firing the drug-addled Ozzy Osbourne in 1979. Their fortunes were waning artistically and commercially, their magic chemistry had dissipated, and they desperately needed new blood.

"A lot of people felt that Dio joining Sabbath was a mistake on both parts," recalls Malcolm Dome of London-based Internet radio station TotalRock. "Trying to replace Ozzy was an impossible task. But, Ronnie never tried to replace Ozzy. He facilitated Sabbath going in a different direction. The quality of Heaven And Hell won everyone -- well, almost everyone -- over. The shows were packed, and the band got a great response."

The gambit has paid off three times now; first in 1980, again in 1992, and last year with the second reunion of the Dio lineup of Sabbath, rechristened Heaven and Hell after their first and most famous album.

Despite the upheavals that have torn them apart in the past, they keep coming back together, and, as before, this incarnation of the world's most renowned metal group is writing a new album for release in early 2009. This isn't merely about nostalgia; it's about making music that the quartet -- singer Ronnie James Dio, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Vinny Appice -- truly loves.

"It's a difficult band to play in musically, because the music goes to places that no one expects," remarks Dio. "Even we didn't expect it when we started doing it again. Once again, because they really wanted to do this and be proud of another kind of music that they were playing, it made it so much easier. Every time we've seen each other [over the years], nothing has changed. It's almost as if we saw each other the day before, and that's the mark of people who can really get along."

Judging from the band's onstage enthusiasm and interest in discussing their work, which includes forthcoming CD reissues of their four albums together (Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, Live Evil and Dehumanizer), they are psyched to be making music together again.

"When we started rehearsing again, within a couple of minutes it just gelled," declares Appice. "It just locked in like we never broke up, and it got better and better and better. First, we were supposed to do the tour, and that's it." Having toured successfully before making a new album, the quartet is a finely tuned machine that is pumped up to record.

"Everybody over here [in the U.K.] was delighted with Heaven and Hell last year," remarked Dome. "Not only were the older fans pleased to have them back, but they won over a lot of young devotees as well. It was the fact that they were better than ever, and also the way that young bands openly idolized them."

OPEN SPACE

What easily distinguishes Sabbath with Dio is that he has a wider vocal range than his predecessor, which gives Iommi more room to roam as a guitarist.

Iommi points out that Dio was known for doing fast songs while he would often write mid-tempo pieces.

"It opened up that space for me to play more and to come up with a different way of writing," explains Iommi. "You write stuff with the singer in mind as well, and if there are certain things you play and they can't sing it or it's not good for them to sing, then obviously you don't use it. But when Ronnie came in, [the music] went to different places that Ozzy wouldn't go."

Listen to the high-octane "Ear In The Wall," one of three new tracks that Heaven and Hell recorded for The Best of Black Sabbath: The Dio Years prior to their 2007 world tour, and there's that sense of propulsion and aggression found on Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. Iommi once observed that whereas Osbourne sang along with a riff, Dio sang across it.

"The earlier Sabbath stuff came from a lot of jamming," notes Butler, who wrote the Black Sabbath lyrics during the 1970s. "Tony, myself and Bill would come up with the riffs and music side of it, and Ozzy would take care of the vocals and occasionally [offer advice]. But, because Ozzy didn't play an instrument, he found it hard to go over what he meant a lot of times, whereas Ronnie can play guitar and bass, and he could play to you what he meant."

The fluid interaction of this Sabbath incarnation easily found its way back when the group recorded "The Devil Cried," "Shadow of the Wind" and "Ear In The Wall" in 2006. Dio revealed that the band had noteven decided to do anything before those songs were written. He initially just agreed to record two songs that were asked for, because of other endeavors he wanted to embark on.

"I wanted to get it over with, to tell you the truth, because I didnand#146;t know what it was going to be like," the singer admitted. "I went into it positively but a little nervous, probably the same as Tony did." But, their old chemistry came right back when they sat down to write the new songs. "We're so sympathetic towards each other and thinkthe same way."

Two songs quickly blossomed into three. Upon hearing everything at the insistence of the group, Rhino Entertainment agreed to release all three on the compilation.

"We gave them a fast one, a medium one, and a slow one. What more do you want?" quips Dio. "They were brilliant. That's when it came up that we should tour with this, and I think, because of the joy we had writing and recording those three songs, everyone couldn't wait to get on the road and make more things come alive."

The resultant tour certainly shook the foundations of the metal world, and a sold-out gig at Radio City Music Hall in New York was captured on a best-selling DVD.

The synergy between Dio and the band was immediate when they first joined forces 29 years ago. The singer had left Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, with whom he had a successful run in the '70s, over creative differences. Interestingly enough, Dio recalled that he "auditioned" with Iommi in the same way he did for Blackmore years earlier.

When Dio's earlier band, Elf, toured with Deep Purple, Blackmore took an interest in the singer. When the guitarist wanted to form a new band with Dio at the helm, he asked him to come up with song lyrics and vocal ideas overnight to record in the studio. That tune was "16th Century Greensleeves."

"I was writing on the back of an envelope in a hotel room, with the rest of the guys in Elf snoring in the background, then having to present it the next day in the studio without Ritchie ever having heard it before, and not knowing what I was going to do with a backing track already finished," explains Dio. "I guess that was kind of an audition, but I never considered it that."

He soon landed the gig fronting Rainbow. Years later, Dio was working with two new, post-Rainbow bands and had discussed with Iommi the possibility of forming a band with him. The initial plans did not come to fruition as the band went to L.A. for its 10th anniversary and, according to Dio, was contemplating a big resurrection tour and album. After a chance encounter between Dio and Iommi in Los Angeles, Iommi invited him to a rented house in Beverly Hills, where Sabbath had installed a studio to write its next album.

A casual late-night chat lead to Iommi leading Dio into the garage to play him a song without lyrics. Then he asked the vocalist if he could do anything with it.

"I went off in the corner and pulled out the proverbial envelope again and wrote the first verse and introduction to 'Children Of The Sea,'" Dio revealed. "Once again, that was kind of an audition situation, but it was the joy of being with people that played differently from what I'd heard before and being able to write a song with them for the hell of it. A lot of it was to prove to myself that I could still do it. That's when we embarked upon Sabbath as the second big generation."

NEW GENERATION

At thetime, Butler was out of the band, having resigned following Osbourne's dismissal. Elf bassist Craig Gruber filled in on bass until Butler, who would relinquish his lyrical duties to Dio, rejoined Sabbath for the recording of Heaven and Hell.

Former Quartz keyboardist (and occasional rhythm guitarist) Geoff Nichols made his inaugural appearance with the group and played with them on album and in concert (behind the scenes) between 1979 and 2004.

"Part of the reason why Sabbath could go forward was because they were seen at the time as a band in decline," asserted Dome. "They had nothing to lose. Moreover, it had been clear for some while that musically Tony Iommi wanted to be more challenging, and Ozzy wasn't up to the task. Also, Heaven And Hell was a classic album. They needed something of this stature -- and did it. Times were also different back then, and people were more open-minded."

Dio helped bring focus to Sabbath. While he could drink with the best of them, he was not an alcoholic and knew when to work and when to party. He offered balance.

"By the end of the '70s, we'd blown all our money and blown everything, and it was time to get serious again," stated Butler. "I think when Ronnie came into the band, it definitely gave us a new perspective on stuff."

Being in Sabbath, complemented by Iommi's ominous guitar work, was the perfect vehicle for Dio, because that was the place where he always wanted to be. He could explore the darkness he had to evade in his former "honky-tonk" band Elf. He would delve into serious subject matter -- pollution, anarchic upheaval and social class struggles -- while cloaking it in a fantasy milieu.

"I could be as dark as I wanted to," Dio affirmed. "I tried not to go over the top. I didn't get into monsters and nonsensical things. I try to write about people and situations all the time. There is no better subject than humanity, because everybody is so screwed up and has the tendency to do the same thing all the time."

The words that Dio contributed also fit in line with Butler's previous lyrical ruminations. Eventual songs like "Mob Rules" and "Die Young" would walk a line where they seemed to be encouraging something, when in fact they were against it -- just like "Black Sabbath" and"War Pigs" were mistakenly perceived as satanic overtures. Either way, Dio's wordplay added to the Sabbath mystique.

When the group recorded Heaven and Hell at Criteria Recording Studios in Miami with producer Martin Birch, it unleashed an instant classic. Balancing tunes like the turbo-charged "Neon Knights," the grooving anthem "Lady Evil" and the epic rocker "Children ofthe Sea," it found the group tackling the faster numbers that they craved playing. The album would eventually become a platinum seller (one million copies) in America, their first since 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and it went Top 10 in England.

The quartet launched a few shows in Germany and Austria in April 1980 before the release of the album in the U.K. late that month (while the U.S. release was in late May). The fearsome foursome spent the next four months rolling across parts of America, England and Europe, but Bill Ward's poor health, struggles with alcoholism and the loss of his parents took an emotional and physical toll on him.

Dio divulged that during the recording of Heaven and Hell, the group was going to record "Neon Knights" in France as the last track when Ward's mother passed away.

"Then, we discover that the three of them were on the tax situation whereby they could only stay in the country for 30 days, and their time was running out," explained Dio. "None of them were able to go tothe funeral. That was really sad, actually. No one was able to go to the funeral, and Geezer, Tony and I went to the Channel Islands, which is where we could go safely for their tax situation, so it didn't befall that."

Once Ward was out of the picture on tour, they cancelled some shows and regrouped. "We had many gigs we had to make up, because Bill left in the middle of the American tour," said Dio. "Bill just couldn't take it anymore. He was not happy with traveling and hated to fly. We really had to tank him up to get him on a plane."

Thus former Derringer drummer Vinny Appice was brought in to audition. Iommi liked his recorded work with the band Axis, and the new Sabbath configuration quickly clicked. As touring recommenced two weeks later in the U.S. on Aug. 31, Dio and Appice bonded over their Italian heritage and New York backgrounds. The new drummer quickly learned Ward's parts and how to decipher Iommi and Butler's Birmingham accents. ("They understood me, but I probably didn't talk too much back then," he joked.)

Dio noted that while Ward thought of himself more as a percussionist, Appice drove the band more and interacted with it more. Butler differentiated between the two in that Ward was more involved with the writing and had more of a swing feel to his playing, whereas Appice was more straight-ahead and went with what the band was doing. The band loved both players, but Appice turned out to be their anchor.

Virgin Steele frontman David DeFeis, whose band would tour Europe with Sabbath in 1987, saw the group on tour with Blue Oyster Cult at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in October 1980. The show was filmed for the movie "Black and Blue," which chronicled the performances of both bands.

"The earth opened up, and out came this incredible sound that filled the arena with tremendous power and dark majesty," DeFeis recalled. "Dio sang like a fire-breathing wizard of doom. I thought he was a great choice, as he was still all fired up from Rainbow, and those Sabbath albums had a touch of the medieval-style Rainbow thing, which I liked."

Following a gig at London's Hammersmith Odeon in January, the group went into the studio at the request of Warner Bros. to record a song for the soundtrack to the animated cult film "Heavy Metal." They convened at a house that Ringo Starr owned and rented out, and which had previously been occupied by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

The group arrived less than two months after Lennon's assassination in New York. There was an eerie vibe there, and it was a poignant moment for Appice, who had played and recorded with Lennon when he was 16 years old. Butler says that the atmosphere was inspiring, and the song "Mob Rules" turned out to possess a ferociously dark energy.
"We had drums set up in his hallway, and the guitars were in the different rooms," explained Iommi. "It worked out well. We jammedit out, and before we knew what [happened] we had a track."

Indeed, it only took two days to write and record a raw demo that the label loved so much, they immediately decided to use that version for the film.

 



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MOB VIOLENCE

The inclusion of "Mob Rules" in"Heavy Metal" certainly helped keep Sabbath in the public eye (and ear).

"It didn't last very long, did it?" chuckled Iommi. "Asa song in the movie," he clarified. "I think anything like that will help, you know. When we did Mob Rules, we had to re-record [the song]. There was the film version, and we re-recorded with Martin Birch for the album, because he didn't want to use the original track."

After the tour and a short break, Sabbath journeyed to sunny L.A. with Birch, who previously had produced Rainbow, and, more recently, Iron Maiden, at the Record Plant. Much of Mob Rules, their second album together, was written on the previous tour, and the songs were mainly recorded live.

"We actually went in and played them," confirmed Iommi. "I think it is good if you can do that, and this lineup can. The main thing is the drummer [Appice] is keeping it together. If you clunk up on the guitar, you can always replace the chord, but with drums you have to redo it all again."

Another success in England and America, Mob Rules maintained the adrenaline and energy from its predecessor, serving up the chugging "Turn Up The Night," the gloomy, bass-centered instrumental "E5150," the monster epic "Sign Of The Southern Cross" (a favorite among band members), and the snarling title track, which features one of the greatest heavy metal riffs ever written.

The album hit U.S. stores in early October, eventually selling 500,000 copies to attain gold status, with a world tour commencing in Canada by mid-month. Sabbath hit the road, loud and proud, all the way through May, dominating America, the U.K., and Canada, and supported by an unusual series of Southern rock bands, including The Alvin Lee Band, The Outlaws, and Johnny Van Zant.

Spring gigs in Seattle, Dallas and San Antonio were recorded for the subsequent double concert album, Live Evil.

For one of the final gigs of the tour, Canadian thrash pioneers Exciter opened up the Ottawa show. Former Exciter and current Beehler drummer/vocalist Dan Beehler recalled the night that his band gained a wider following.

"We did the whole album [our debut Heavy Metal Maniac] on stage in front of 10,000 people," he fondly reminisced. "We grew up idolizing these guys. We wore the **** out of the Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules albums. They were our heroes, and they were great to us. We didn't even have our first album out yet, and nobody really knew who we were, and yet they treated us really well."

Beehler noted that Canadian headbangers were into Dio at the time.
"I recall hearing stories about Dio having a lot of problems in England at first, because of people who were very loyal to Ozzy, but we flipped out on those albums and accepted it."

POWER STRUGGLE

However things looked backstage in Ottawa did not foretell events to come. A power struggle among Dio and Iommi and Butler was brewing. At the time, Iommi allegedly said that during the mixing of Live Evil, Dio and Appice reportedly snuck in at night to adjust vocal and drum levels.

Bad blood developed once word got out in the press of the feud, and, true or not, the accusations led the singer to part ways with Sabbath, taking Appice with him. Group members diplomatically do not discuss those issues today.

The first run of Dio-era Sabbath may have ended badly, but it was transformative for its members, even on a personal level.

"It was exciting for me, because it was like a new life for me," said Butler. "I was leaving the band I had grown up with. [Then] I had my first child in 1980. It was a total life change for me. I got married, settled down and stopped doing drugs. For me, it was a complete lifestyle change. I concentrated a lot more on what I was doing musically. It was great going out on tour not being smashed of my head every night."

Eight years passed before the ferocious frontman rejoined his musical comrades in Sabbath. Dio launched a successful solo career in the '80s that included playing arenas. Sabbath would go through a variety of singers -- including Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin -- and found their commercial fortunes in decline despite putting out some of their best music ever, including the superlative album The Eternal Idol in 1987. Butler recorded some albums with The Geezer Butler Band and toured with Osbourne in 1988. Then fate changed things.

"Geez turned up one night in Minneapolis," recalled Dio of his 1990 "Lock Up The Wolves" tour. "I got him a bass, and we did 'Mob Rules' and 'Heaven and Hell,' I think. That was something that started the ball rolling again. Geez wanted to do something that he was a bit more proud of, perhaps, so I think he told Tony that I might be interested in doing something. It was all we needed, and we carried on from there. It's never been difficult to get back together with those guys, because we were really always good friends. Geezer and I, at least before Vinny joined the band, were pretty much inseparable. Our wives hung out all the time together and remain good friends."

Recording and writing of Dehumanizer soon commenced. Cozy Powell initially played drums, as he did on the previous two Sabbath outings, Headless Cross and Tyr. According to Appice, a clash of egos, budgetary issues and dissatisfaction were rising, and then Powell "fell off a horse and broke his pelvis, so he couldn't play. So they called [me in]. I went to England, and Ronnie and I got a [rural] house outside of Birmingham. We lived there, and that's where we rehearsed.and#148;
Every day, Iommi and Butler would come over to play.

"We had little f**king amps in the living room," remarks Appice. "It was pretty hilarious. There weren't a lot of places next door, so we could have played louder, but the point was, we wanted to write. Tony had a little Marshall, Geez had a little Marshall, and Ronnie had a little guitar amp for P.A. We would come in in sweatpants and slippers in the living room. I told Tony, 'We should use this as a stage set next tour: the living room and us in our pajamas.'"

The quartet made four-track recordings that Appice cataloged and the band later dissected for ideas. Two sessions of five to six weeks allowed them to finish everything. "This was before computers," the drummer emphasized. "There wasn't anything to lose your focus on.We had a TV, and that was it, man. That used to go off at 12 o'clock. There wasn't a lot to do except concentrate on the music. We were really living that album."

"I remember having AandR guys coming in and telling us [what to do], which, of course, we ignored," added Butler of his recollections. "Then our rehearsal place being burglarized, buying our German producer Mack a Nazi uniform from the local market in Wales, and getting thoroughly pissed on wheat beer in Munich when we were supposed to be mixing. I think there are some extremely good songs on that album. In fact, it surprised me how good they are when it came to choosing a set list for the [2007] tour."

The lineup's first studio outing in a decade, 1992's Dehumanizer took a drastically different direction from the previous two Dio-fronted studio albums, with doom-laden tracks like "After All (The Dead)" and "Master Of Insanity." One of the tracks, the churning "Time Machine," had two versions: one for the "Wayne's World"movie soundtrack and one for the album. Overall the music was heavier and more brutal, without the fantasy bent that the singer normally brought to the table.
"It was darker and more modern," acknowledges Dio. "We've always been ones not to try to repeat ourselves, if we can. With Mob Rules we had to follow the success of Heaven and Hell with some tracks that were a bit more like it, such as 'Sign of the Southern Cross.' With this album, everyone expected it to be Heaven and Hell II. We wanted to do something different than that. It is a lot more modern and futuristic, as much as the attitude of the song 'Computer God' is. There wereno wizards and witches in this one. It's a very different album, and it's one we wanted to make."

Reaction to the album was mixed at the time. "Dehumanizer got a very poor reception," stated Dome. "It seemed to be a band stuck between their heritage and the modern era. It was seen as a poor record by many." The album still managed to crack the U.S. Top 50.

Of Dehumanizer, Bradley Torreano from All Music.com wrote years later, "Ronnie James Dio delivers his strongest performance since the early '80s, and hearing Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi play together after nine years is inspiring. But they cannot seem to overcome the challenge of crafting classic Sabbath material, and it is this issue that haunts the recording from moment one."

The band certainly disagrees. "I love that album," gushed Appice."I think the sound of it kicks ass. It is one of the heaviest albums. The drums are real loud on it. I like the drum sound. Everyone was so aggressive on it and playing their ass off. It's one of my favorite albums."

"I think Dehumanizer is the heaviest album I've ever been involved with," declared Dio. "I think its got brilliant songs onit and is one of the most underrated albums ever. I think the reason for that is because grunge came in and kicked the **** out of everybody. It seemed like a dinosaur moping down the road after all the things people were hearing and wanted to hear. With the touring we've been doing the last year, everyone comes up and goes, 'That's the heaviest albumever! I love that album!' I'm inclined to say, 'Why don't youall buy it and make it a bloody hit then?' But whatever. I've always been very proud of it."

Once again the group embarked on a world tour. While not headlining the arenas that they conquered in their heyday, the rejuvenated Sabbath filled 2,000- to 3,000-seat venues. But, then an auspicious event tore them apart once again.

OZZY COMETH BACK

Supporting his latest solo album No More Lies, former frontman Ozzy Osbourne announced his farewell from concerts with the misleadingly titled "No More Tours" trek, including two nights at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Sabbath agreed to open up both shows, with rumors that Iommi and Butler would reunite with the their former bandmate for a few songs at the end of his headlining sets. Sensing a reunion of the original lineup in the works, Dio balked and refused to perform.

"He wasn't happy about that," corroborated Appice. "They wanted me to do the gig with them."

He was concerned with Dio's reaction, but the singer thought he should do it, then they would soldier on afterward. Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford took Dio's place, and the group had to tackle mainly Ozzy-era material, which the lineup was not used to.

"It was like a new band. We only rehearsed once. Poor Rob. He had to learn all the stuff and had the teleprompter and lyrics everywhere. We were all nervous going on stage, because you don't have the confidence of being on the road for months. We had to think about it, because we hadn't played these songs, but it went well and everybody loved it." (For the record, the original Sabbath only reunited at the end of the second night.)

Halford made sure Dio was accepting of his appearance. "He called, and he wanted to know if I thought was okay," recalled Dio. "He was my friend, and he didn't want to get in the way of anything. That was very nice of Rob. He's a great person."

The Halford-fronted set on both nights certainly shocked and awed many in attendance, although one critic for the Los Angeles Times found the combination a little disconcerting, like Mick Jagger fronting the Beatles.

"It was a dream come true for me, because I've always loved that band so much and what they represent -- the influence that they created and still have today," Halford told Bikini magazine in 1998. "There are very few musicians and artists that still are relevant, and Black Sabbath is one of them."

Years would pass before Dio and Sabbath would reunite again. The vocalist and Appice continued recording and touring. So did Sabbath, who released Cross Purposes and Forbidden with singer Tony Martin, and later, Butler with g/z/r, before rejoining original frontman Ozzy Osbourne in 1997 for years of touring on OzzFest and producing a live album with two new studio tracks titled Reunion.

When Osbourne began working on a new solo album in 2006, and with no new Sabbath material in sight, Rhino Entertainment approached the Dio lineup about producing a compilation with unreleased songs. And that simple request, along with the fact that its members had been contemplating a package tour of their various side and solo projects, inspired Heaven and Hell to reunite again and record new material. Bill Ward originally planned to be a part of the group, but he dropped out, and Appice came aboard once again.

In the end, Iommi's dark, gothic riffs and Butler's fluid bass and lyrical contributions are the true foundation for the band. And it is certainly Iommi's band, especially given the different Sabbath incarnations over the years. Sabbath is perennially unified by its core members.

"What Geezer and Tony do together, what they created together, is playing the same things together that nobody was really doing, with a bass that was really out front and just as important as the guitar," stresses Dio. "You can't in any way, shape or form diminish Geezer's contribution to it all, especially for the fact that he was writing all of the lyrics in most of the early things anyway. It's a two-way street with Tony and Geezer. I think at the end of the day -- and I'm not trying to make any comparisons, because I don't think it's important -- but Tony has always been Black Sabbath. It's always really been his band. Geez will tell you that, too. The leader was Tony, and everyone did what Tony felt was right, and luckily for everyone concerned it was right."

HEAVEN AND HELL TODAY

The strong ticket and DVD sales of Heaven and Hell's 2007 tour cemented their position as heavy metal legends.

"Ozzy is rightly an icon, a great frontman in his own right," noted Dome. "Sabbath in his era were, and still are, a massive force. But Ronnie is, by far, the better singer, and his era also inspired so many. If you were to ask me which incarnation I'd prefer to see today, it would be the Ronnie lineup."

It is readily apparent that Heaven and Hell will be able to produce new material without years of waiting.

"I don't think we've got that many years left to do an Ozzy album," laughed Butler. "Maybe we'll do it in Hell. We could do quite well down in Hell."

Perhaps that is the next step for heavy metal reunions: the Afterlife. Sabbath could be the house band.

But, Heaven and Hell are concerned about this life, and they are making the most of their time together. The group's past squabbles seem to be behind them. Today, they remain diplomatic and vague about the reasons for their last two break-ups.

"This is the smoothest it's ever been between everybody, especially the three of them," noted Appice. "Everybody's getting along great. I think everybody respects the careers that each person has had and their playing and musicianship."

"You walk a little bit more on eggshells when you get back together the second time," admitted Dio, "and the third time was really easy. I just can't do things with people I don't like. I've always been really lucky to like them all. They're such down-to-earth, great people, so talented and determined. That's my kind of band."

"You get to understand more and mellow out more and go along with it," stated Iommi. "Things that used to drive me up a wall, or [I would] get annoyed with things, I really don't get that so much now. Of course, everybody gets annoyed, but I can understand the other side more now."

"I think we are all more up front with each other," offered Butler. "We can all be cranky from time to time, so instead of taking offense and bearing grudges, we give each other space. Before, if we argued or disagreed about something, we'd go off in a huff and bottle things up. Now, I just realize this is the real world. Life isn't a fairy tale. We also have other things to do outside of this. We are doing this for the love of it, rather than necessity. If I ever feel uncomfortable doing this, I'll simply walk away from it, no hard feelings."

It's a great time to be a Heaven and Hell fan. Dio-era album reissues are forthcoming. A new album is in the works. And a co-headlining summer tour with fellow Birmingham metal legends Judas Priest, along with support acts Motorhead and Testament, launches in mid-July. Fans certainly will be driven into a state of euphoria as they hitch along with yet another one of Sabbath's dark rides.

http://preview.goldminemag.com/article/Cover_Story_A_New_Heaven_And_Hell/

 



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I tried posting this message several times...but it wouldn't let me...must have been a max limit or something...but I didn't get a error msg?

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SMC Productions wrote:

I tried posting this message several times...but it wouldn't let me...must have been a max limit or something...but I didn't get a error msg?

TNX Art!



Just face it Scot, for once in your life you're using inferior equipment...LOL You know I'm JOKING!!


 

As for this article, yes thanks Art. I love that white blouse Ronnie's wearing. It would be a fresh look for him on a DIO tour. Last 2 tours I saw several dates on Ronnie wore those *trademark* black tunics and straight leg pants. The white gives him a more *divine* look. Perhaps he's become a Christian biggrin


Funny what we women notice and comment on compared to the guys.



-- Edited by iBeaux at 00:27, 2008-05-21

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SMC Productions


Total Addicted GearSlutz!

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Date: May 21, 2008
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iBeaux wrote:

SMC Productions wrote:

I tried posting this message several times...but it wouldn't let me...must have been a max limit or something...but I didn't get a error msg?

TNX Art!



Just face it Scot, for once in your life you're using inferior equipment...LOL You know I'm JOKING!!


 

As for this article, yes thanks Art. I love that white blouse Ronnie's wearing. It would be a fresh look for him on a DIO tour. Last 2 tours I saw several dates on Ronnie wore those *trademark* black tunics and straight leg pants. The white gives him a more *divine* look. Perhaps he's become a Christian biggrin


If I remember correctly, he wore that 'blouse' at the Radio City Muisc Hall show!

 



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iBeaux


DIO's #1 Lady Bandit

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Date: May 21, 2008
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SMC Productions wrote:

 

iBeaux wrote:

SMC Productions wrote:

I tried posting this message several times...but it wouldn't let me...must have been a max limit or something...but I didn't get a error msg?

TNX Art!



Just face it Scot, for once in your life you're using inferior equipment...LOL You know I'm JOKING!!


 

As for this article, yes thanks Art. I love that white blouse Ronnie's wearing. It would be a fresh look for him on a DIO tour. Last 2 tours I saw several dates on Ronnie wore those *trademark* black tunics and straight leg pants. The white gives him a more *divine* look. Perhaps he's become a Christian biggrin


If I remember correctly, he wore that 'blouse' at the Radio City Muisc Hall show!

 

 



 Ah ha, he very well may have my dear Scot. However, the last 2 tours I saw several shows in were KTD and Magica....LOL Was RCMH a part of KTD or Magica? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm wink Ronnie may have wore the divine blouse during one of the tours I frequented, just not any shows *I* saw.


Maybe the white blouse during H&H tour is a subliminal or subtle statement? Ronnie's the divine part of the Sabbath years and Ozzy the evil.



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Nope


Paul Kersey of usenet

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Date: May 21, 2008
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iBeaux wrote:

I saw several dates on Ronnie wore those *trademark* black tunics and straight leg pants. The white gives him a more *divine* look. Perhaps he's become a Christian biggrin

Funny what we women notice and comment on compared to the guys.



-- Edited by iBeaux at 00:27, 2008-05-21
Geezer, Appice and Iommi are big trolls. Dio is an elf paladin and has to wear white. I know this because I play World of Warcraft.

:0)



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artcinco


Mob Ruler

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Date: May 21, 2008
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SMC Productions wrote:

I tried posting this message several times...but it wouldn't let me...must have been a max limit or something...but I didn't get a error msg?

TNX Art!



I had the same issue. I believe there must be a maximum character limit for a post. When I broke it into two pieces that seemed to work.



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artcinco


Mob Ruler

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Date: May 21, 2008
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iBeaux wrote:

 

SMC Productions wrote:

If I remember correctly, he wore that 'blouse' at the Radio City Muisc Hall show!
 

Ah ha, he very well may have my dear Scot. However, the last 2 tours I saw several shows in were KTD and Magica....LOL Was RCMH a part of KTD or Magica? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm wink Ronnie may have wore the divine blouse during one of the tours I frequented, just not any shows *I* saw.


Maybe the white blouse during H&H tour is a subliminal or subtle statement? Ronnie's the divine part of the Sabbath years and Ozzy the evil.

 



At some point during the RCMH show Ronnie changed from the white blouse to his standard black one.



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SMC Productions


Total Addicted GearSlutz!

Status: Offline
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Date: May 23, 2008
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artcinco wrote:

iBeaux wrote:

 

SMC Productions wrote:

If I remember correctly, he wore that 'blouse' at the Radio City Muisc Hall show!
 

Ah ha, he very well may have my dear Scot. However, the last 2 tours I saw several shows in were KTD and Magica....LOL Was RCMH a part of KTD or Magica? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm wink Ronnie may have wore the divine blouse during one of the tours I frequented, just not any shows *I* saw.


Maybe the white blouse during H&H tour is a subliminal or subtle statement? Ronnie's the divine part of the Sabbath years and Ozzy the evil.

 



At some point during the RCMH show Ronnie changed from the white blouse to his standard black one.


You are correct, sir!

 



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--SMC Productions, LLC. - SMC Studios
"Pushing Beyond The Limits"!
http://www.smcstudios.net/
http://www.facebook.com/scot.m.clayton
http://www.Facebook.com/SMCStudios
http://www.reverbnation.com/smcproductionsllc
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artcinco


Mob Ruler

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Date: May 24, 2008
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Looks like Goldmine has moved their pictures.



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curseofdisobedience


Dehumanizer

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Date: May 24, 2008
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And the new box set is at a cheap price.
For all the material you get that is cheap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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LIFSHINE


The Wereo

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Date: May 25, 2008
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Nope wrote:

iBeaux wrote:

I saw several dates on Ronnie wore those *trademark* black tunics and straight leg pants. The white gives him a more *divine* look. Perhaps he's become a Christian biggrin

Funny what we women notice and comment on compared to the guys.



-- Edited by iBeaux at 00:27, 2008-05-21
Geezer, Appice and Iommi are big trolls. Dio is an elf paladin and has to wear white. I know this because I play World of Warcraft.

:0)




Is it anything like Nuclear Warrior?

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