Heaven and Hell (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Heaven and Hell | |
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 Heaven and Hell at Sauna Open Air Metal Festival.
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| Background information | |
| Genre(s) | Heavy metal |
| Years active | 2006 - present |
| Label(s) | Rhino (US) SPV (Europe) |
| Associated acts | Black Sabbath Dio Rainbow |
| Website | Official Website |
| Members | |
| Ronnie James Dio Tony Iommi Geezer Butler Vinny Appice |
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Heaven and Hell is a Black Sabbath cover band featuring Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler along with former members Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice. The four members of Heaven and Hell recorded and toured together as Black Sabbath from 1980-1982 and again from 1991-1992. In 2006, while the foursome reunited to record three new songs for the compilation album, Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, they decided to embark on a 2007 - 2008 tour. This was facilitated by the fact that current/founding Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne was slated to perform a solo tour during that time frame.
Because of the projected continuation of the band's original lineup (Iommi, Butler, Osbourne and Bill Ward) and the 2006 induction of the original lineup into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Iommi (owner of the Black Sabbath name) decided to call the touring group Heaven and Hell.[1][2] The moniker was taken from the first Dio-fronted Black Sabbath recording, Heaven and Hell.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation
In an October 2005 interview with the program "Masters of Rock", aired on BBC Radio 2, Ronnie James Dio revealed the fact that he would be writing with Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi once again. Dio mentioned that two songs would be penned, and were to feature on a "project" entitled Black Sabbath - The Dio Years.[3]
[edit] Ward's departure
Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward (who performed on the 1980 Heaven and Hell album and the first half of the tour) was originally slated to be band's drummer, but dropped out before they recorded three new tracks.[4] Ward's departure made way for a reunion of the classic Dio-fronted Black Sabbath line up featuring drummer Vinny Appice. It was Appice who replaced Ward midway through the original Heaven and Hell tour in 1980 and remained the Black Sabbath drummer for two years coinciding with Dio's tenure in the band from 1980-1982 and again when Dio reunited with the band in 1991 and 1992.
Additionally, while Black Sabbath has historically included Geoff Nicholls on "behind the scenes" keyboards, those off stage duties were performed by Scott Warren of Dio during the tour.
[edit] Future Plans
Even before the beginning of the tour, the members had said that the Heaven and Hell 2007 tour was a one-off and had expressed their plans to go their separate ways. Dio would return to his band (Dio), having stated his desire to produce Magica II and Magica III, sequels to Dio's 2000 album Magica. Meanwhile Iommi and Butler looked forward to a continuation with the original line up of Black Sabbath. However, in a March 2007 interview, Dio and Iommi expressed that while they were both tied to separate contractual commitments in 2008, neither would discount the possibility of future collaborations[5]. Appice had yet to disclose his definitive plans regarding his post Heaven and Hell activity - but appears he will continue working with his latest band, 3 Legged Dogg.
In October 2007 www.blabbermouth.net reported that the band members had decided to continue their collaboration and record and release a new album in 2008. This information was confirmed by Ronnie James Dio during an interview with the website Komodo Rock published on November 1, 2007. [6]
Recently it has been announced Heaven and Hell will be taking part in the Metal Masters Tour alongside Judas Priest, Motorhead and Testament. [7]
[edit] Personnel
with
- Scott Warren - keyboards (tour, offstage) (2007-present)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Live albums
- 2007: Live from Radio City Music Hall (CD & DVD)
[edit] Studio albums
[edit] References
- ^ http://metalman.skynetblogs.be/archive-month/2006-11 site reports "During his weekly radio show, "Friday Night Rocks", on New York's Q104.3 FM (Friday, November 24), Eddie Trunk offered the following recap of his chat with the members of HEAVEN AND HELL"
- ^ http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/music/poprock/369443,WKP-News-heaven04.article
- ^ RONNIE JAMES DIO To Collaborate With TONY IOMMI On New BLACK SABBATH Project. Blabbermouth.net (2005-10-23). Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Bill Ward not participating in Heaven & Hell. Billward.com (2006-11-26). Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (2007-01-16). Heaven And Hell: Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi Speak Out. Ultimate-Guitar.Com. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Elliott, Mike (2007-11-01). Komodo Rock Talks With Ronnie James Dio. Komodo Rock. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
- ^ Judas Priest Head Up The Metal Masters Tour With Heaven and Hell, Motorhead and Testament - antiMUSIC News
[edit] External links
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