Heaven and Hell (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Heaven and Hell | ||
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 Black Sabbath lineup in 1981, which is the current lineup of "Heaven and Hell". Left to right: Tony Iommi, Vinny Appice, Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler
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| Background information | ||
| Genre(s) | Heavy metal | |
| Years active | 2006 - Present | |
| Associated acts |
Black Sabbath Dio |
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| Members | ||
| Ronnie James Dio Tony Iommi Geezer Butler Vinny Appice |
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Heaven and Hell is a music collaboration featuring current Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler along with former members Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice (who post-Sabbath worked together in Dio playing songs from their Black Sabbath era together at times). The group was named Heaven and Hell as the original lineup of Black Sabbath (featuring Butler, Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne) is still together but on hiatus. Ward was originally part of the Heaven and Hell line-up, but it was announced on [his official website] that he was standing aside for Appice. Bill Ward rehearsed and tried demos for the new songs with the band before making his decision.
This is the second time this lienup has reunited, the previous time being for Black Sabbath's 1992 Dehumanizer album.
The possibility of a reunion of the lineup which created the Black Sabbath album Heaven and Hell in 1980 was first announced on the Spanish site Rafabasa on September 28, 2006 [1]. Once Ward announced his non-participation in the project and Appice joined, it became a reunion of the 1980 Heaven and Hell touring band and the lineup that recorded the albums Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer (1992). Appice also joined Black Sabbath briefly in 1998 (with Ozzy Osbourne on vocals).
Dio had previously announced that he and Iommi had written a new track for a proposed Black Sabbath box set consisting of music from the two periods in which he was present in the band. This set, Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, will now be a single-CD release featuring three new tracks, 'Shadow Of The Wind', 'The Devil Cries' and 'Ear In The Wall'.
None of the new tracks feature keyboards, yet Scott Warren of Dio will be the project's touring keyboard player.
The group have begun a 2007 world tour. A live CD/DVD of the group's 3/30/07 show at Radio City Music Hall in New York City is scheduled for a Fall 2007 release.
