HEAVEN AND HELL

[muthagoose]

RONNIE JAMES DIO Says HEAVEN AND HELL Will Do 'A Year Of Touring'

Legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) has revealed to Classic Rock magazine that HEAVEN AND HELL — the new band featuring Dio alongside original BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — will likely headline next year's Monsters of Rock festival.

Monsters of Rock returned to the U.K. festival scene at Milton Keynes Bowl this past summer, with DEEP PURPLE as headliners. Now it looks like it will return in 2007, with HEAVEN AND HELL on the bill.

The following is a brief interview Classic Rock conducted with Dio at Monday's (Nov. 6) Classic Rock Roll of Honour event in London:

Classic Rock: Speaking of Tony Iommi, there are of course rumors that you will be reuniting with him, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward as HEAVEN AND HELL next year.

Ronnie: They're absolutely true. We'll probably be doing a year of touring together. And it's looking like you'll see us at the Monsters of Rock festival, then shows in America. And after that we'll come back to the U.K. for eight or nine more shows.

Classic Rock: That's amazing news. More amazing still was that Ozzy Osbourne wished you well with HEAVEN AND HELL.

Ronnie: Yes, he did. Bless Ozzy. He's a special, special person. He's one of the creators of heavy metal music. He deserves wondrous applause, he's a wonderful man and I hope he and Sharon's lives are very, very happy.

Ronnie James Dio recently spent time in the U.K. "kicking around ideas" with Tony Iommi for a couple of new tracks to be included on SABBATH's forthcoming box set, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years". In addition, according to Ozzy, a BLACK SABBATH tour with Osbourne, Iommi, Butler and Ward will kick off late 2007 to coincide with the group's first new studio album featuring that lineup since 1978's "Never Say Die!"

Dio was honored with the "Metal Guru" award at the Classic Rock Roll of Honour event, which was organized by Classic Rock magazine.

[Ponyone]

It's Official: DOWN To Tour North America With HEAVEN AND HELL, MOTÖRHEAD

DOWN — the acclaimed New Orleans band featuring CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), bassist Rex Brown (ex-PANTERA), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ex-PANTERA) — has confirmed rumors that it will tour North America in March as the opening act for HEAVEN AND HELL and MOTÖRHEAD. DOWN will play a total of 10 shows as part of the package and will also perform four headlining gigs on the East Coast.

The HEAVEN AND HELL / MOTÖRHEAD / DOWN tour will kick off in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 3 and play at least seven shows across Canada, including Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City. An exclusive New York City date is also planned. ***Unconfirmed*** tour dates so far are as follows:

Mar. 03 - [To Be Announced] - Vancouver, BC
Mar. 22 - Air Canada Center - Toronto, ONT
Mar. 25 - Bell Centre - Montreal, QUE
Mar. 26 - Colisee - Quebec City, QUE

HEAVEN AND HELL — the new band featuring legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) alongside original BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, plus drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH) — will then likely play South America, Japan, Korea, Australia and Europe before returning to North America for a U.S. tour in August or September.

HEAVEN AND HELL confirmed European festival appearances so far:

Jun 6-9 - Sölvesborg, SWE @ Sweden Rock
Jun. 09 - Tampere, FIN @ Sauna Open Air
Jun. 22-23 – Balingen, GER @ Bang Your Head!!!

The upcoming Dio-era BLACK SABBATH anthology, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years", will feature three new songs ("Shadow of the Wind", "Devil Cries" and "Ear in the Wall"), and is tentatively due this spring.

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HEAVEN AND HELL To Play Only DIO-Era BLACK SABBATH Songs On Tour

HEAVEN AND HELL — the new band featuring legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) alongside original BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, plus drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH) — has confirmed to TotalRock that it will only be playing songs from the Dio era of BLACK SABBATH on its upcoming world tour. The group will put together its live show from the "Heaven And Hell", "Mob Rules" and "Dehumanizer" albums, plus three new songs written and recorded for the upcoming compilation album "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years".

HEAVEN AND HELL's world tour will kick off March 11 in Vancouver, British Columbia and will play at least ten shows across Canada, including Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg and London. An exclusive New York City show has also been scheduled but has yet to be announced. DOWN — the acclaimed New Orleans band featuring CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), bassist Rex Brown (ex-PANTERA), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ex-PANTERA) — will be the opening act for at least 10 of the dates. Then HEAVEN AND HELL will likely play South America, Japan, Korea, Australia and Europe before returning to North America for a U.S. tour in August or September.

HEAVEN AND HELL tour dates so far:

Mar. 11 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Pacific Coliseum
Mar. 13 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Mar. 14 - Calgary, AB @ Saddledome
Mar. 16 - Regina, SK @ Brandt Centre
Mar. 18 - Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Mar. 20 - Sault St. Marie, ON @ Steelback Centre
Mar. 22 - Toronto, ONT @ Air Canada Centre
Mar. 24 - London, ONT @ John Labatt Centre
Mar. 26 - Montreal, QUE @ Bell Centre
Mar. 27 - Quebec City, QUE @ Colisee Pepsi Arena
Mar. 28 - Ottawa, ONT @ Civic Centre
Jun 6-9 - Sölvesborg, SWE @ Sweden Rock
Jun. 09 - Tampere, FIN @ Sauna Open Air
Jun. 10 - Helsinki, FIN @ Jäähallissa
Jun. 22-23 – Balingen, GER @ Bang Your Head!!!

The upcoming Dio-era BLACK SABBATH anthology, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years", will feature three new songs ("Shadow of the Wind", "Devil Cries" and "Ear in the Wall"), and is tentatively due on April 3 via Rhino.

In a recent interview with Revolver magazine, Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi were asked if fans could expect a HEAVEN AND HELL album in the future. "Well, I'm not going to give up the DIO band," Ronnie said. "And I think touring for a year with this band will be long enough. But I would hope that we'll still be speaking to each other after that and that some other plans might be able to be made." "At this point, nothing is written in stone," Iommi added. "Anything could happen."

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HEAVEN AND HELL: Official Tour Announcement Coming Next Week

BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL guitarist Tony Iommi's official web site has been updated with the following message:

"The wait is very nearly over! The final pieces of the jigsaw are being put in place ahead of an official [HEAVEN AND HELL] tour announcement early next week with full details of all confirmed tour dates and support acts. However, for those keen to get a preview of what's happening, you can tune into Eddie Trunk's radio show 'Friday Night Rocks' which airs live from New York on Q104.3 tonight, Friday 19th January 2007, from 11pm to 2am (EST) for a special announcement. Listeners around the world can tune in live via the station's website www.q1043.com."

HEAVEN AND HELL is the new band featuring legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) alongside original BLACK SABBATH members Iommi and Geezer Butler, plus drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH). The band's schedule is shaping up as follows:

Mar. 11 - Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
Mar. 13 - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
Mar. 14 - Calgary, AB @ Saddledome
Mar. 16 - Regina, SK @ Brandt Centre
Mar. 18 - Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
Mar. 20 - Sault St. Marie, ON @ Steelback Centre
Mar. 22 - Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
Mar. 24 - London, ON @ John Labatt Centre
Mar. 26 - Montreal, PQ @ Bell Centre
Mar. 27 - Quebec City, PQ @ Colisee Pepsi Arena
Mar. 28 - Ottawa, ON @ Civic Centre
Jun. 2-3 - Milan, ITA @ Gods of Metal
Jun. 6-9 - Sölvesborg, Sweden @ Sweden Rock Festival
Jun. 09 - Tampere, Finland @ Sauna Open Air Festival
Jun. 10 - Helsinki, Finland @ Jäähallissa
Jun. 19 - Warszawa, Poland @ Torwar
Jun. 20 - Katowice, Poland @ Spodek Hall
Jun. 22-23 - Balingen, Germany @ Bang Your Head!!! Festival

[muthagoose]

HEAVEN AND HELL: More Tour Details Revealed

HEAVEN AND HELL members Ronnie James Dio (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) and Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH) were interviewed by radio personality/VH1 Classic VJ Eddie Trunk on his "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM last night (Friday, January 19). According to Joe Siegler of the BLACK SABBATH fan site Black-Sabbath.com, the following topics/points were covered on the show:

* The first U.S. gig for the HEAVEN AND HELL tour will be March 30 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. There will be no opening act for this show; it's just HEAVEN AND HELL. The band is expected to play an extra-long set at this concert. Tickets are priced between $54.00 and $74.00 and go on sale Friday, January 26 at 10:00 a.m.

* There will be other U.S. dates, but not before August. No further information is currently available on which cities they might hit.

* After the Canadian tour and the New York City date, HEAVEN AND HELL will play South America before heading over to Europe for the summer festival run. A full U.S. tour will take place in August, to be followed by U.K., Japan and Australia.

* Both Geezer and Ronnie said that it is pretty likely there will be no Ozzy-era tracks played during the HEAVEN AND HELL shows. The setlist will consist exclusively of material off the "Heaven And Hell", "Mob Rules" and "Dehumanizer" albums, plus the three new songs written and recorded for the upcoming compilation CD, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years".

* Tour rehearsals start roughly two weeks from now.

* "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" will be released April 3 through Rhino.

* All three newly recorded tracks ("Shadow of the Wind", "Devil Cries" and "Ear in the Wall") will be on the "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" album. It was previously reported that only two of the songs would make the final cut, but Geezer confirmed that all three will now be included on the collection.

* There are no keyboards on the newly recorded tracks.

* Keyboards on the HEAVEN AND HELL tour will be handled by Scott Warren from the DIO band.

* Geezer did not contribute to the songwriting for any of the three new songs, and neither did Bill Ward and Vinny Appice; these tracks were written by Tony and Ronnie. Side note: DIO bassist Rudy Sarzo said in a recent interview that two of the three new SABBATH tracks contain ideas Ronnie had put forth for the next DIO album, but which ended up being used for the SABBATH collection instead.

* According to Ronnie, this was never intended to be a full-fledged reunion when it started; it was only supposed to result in a couple of new tracks being written and recorded for the upcoming compilation. He did say, however, that the opportunity to dust off the old Dio-era SABBATH tracks in a live environment was too great to pass up. Finally, he said that history has shown they can't plan too far ahead for this, and that they do not intend at this point to carry on past the tour. However, he left open the possibility for further activity once they have fulfilled their touring obligations.

* Part of the reason this project is being called HEAVEN AND HELL and not BLACK SABBATH is that they all felt that the original SABBATH (with Ozzy Osbourne) has been "back together" for awhile now, and since they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with that lineup, they wanted to avoid any confusion and decided to call this something else instead.

* Ronnie said that after the HEAVEN AND HELL touring cycle is finished, he will go back into the studio with DIO to record "Magica II" and "III" and then tour "with a stage show worthy of the story."

[muthagoose]

DIO On HEAVEN AND HELL: People Deserve To Hear Those Songs Performed Again

On Wednesday, January 17, Artisan News conducted a short interview with legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio about HEAVEN AND HELL — the new band featuring Dio alongside original BLACK SABBATH members Iommi and Geezer Butler, plus drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH).

On the name HEAVEN AND HELL:

Ronnie: "They're gonna call us SABBATH anyway. It doesn't really matter. We can call it HEAVEN AND HELL or the BOYS ON THE BLOCK. It doesn't matter. That's what we were, that's what we always will be. I think they're trying to make a definitive line between them being inducted into the Hall Of Fame. It kind of ended that era again. They've been doing Ozzfest for the last four or five years. So now it's something a bit more fresh. It's still the same band we were when we were SABBATH with Ronnie Dio. We're back again. The name doesn't matter really. Everyone's still gonna think it's just what we were, SABBATH with Ronnie."

On whether it was good to work with his old SABBATH mates:

Ronnie: "Absolutely. Absolutely, it's gonna be a joy. They're such monsters, and they're such bashers. From Vinny to Tony to Geezer and to me, we only think about one thing, 'Check this out!,' but then we do the nice thing like 'Children of the Sea' and 'Sign of the Southern Cross'. It's gonna be a great show with songs that people deserve to hear again and we deserve to play again."

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HEAVEN AND HELL: 'The Devil Cried' Single To Go For Radio Adds In Early March

The new HEAVEN AND HELL track "The Devil Cried" has been selected as the first single off the group's forthcoming "best-of" collection, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years". The song is scheduled to go for radio adds on March 12-13.

[Ponyone]

HEAVEN AND HELL Live CD/DVD Coming This Fall

According to a flyer that was handed out at HEAVEN AND HELL's concert at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Sunday night (March 11), a HEAVEN AND HELL live CD/DVD is being planned for release in the fall. No further details are currently available.

HEAVEN AND HELL — which is made up of BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, singer Ronnie James Dio, and drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO) — will wrap its Canadian tour on March 28 in Ottawa, featuring opening acts MEGADETH and DOWN. A U.S. trek with support from MEGADETH and MACHINE HEAD will launch April 22 in Phoenix, Arizona.

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RONNIE JAMES DIO: SABBATH With OZZY To Celebrate Band's 40th Anniversary Next Year

David Glessner of the Express-News recently conducted an interview with legendary heavy metal vocalists Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN AND HELL, DIO, RAINBOW). A few excerpts follow:

On Dio's universally recognized forked-fingers devil-horn salute:

"You see it at Britney Spears concerts now and that's when you know you've lost it. I certainly didn't invent it, but I've become synonymous with it. It's cool to do a show and not (flash the horns) for a while, because everyone in the audience is just waiting and waiting for it."

On comparisons to the Ozzy-fronted version of SABBATH:

"As you said, I think (both versions of BLACK SABBATH) are two distinct entities. In listening to 'Heaven and Hell', I find very few flaws in it. If you've got a great band playing great songs that defined an era, you've got something really special. Some of the people who discovered SABBATH at that point didn't even know there had been a SABBATH with Ozzy."

"This is not a me-versus-Ozzy thing. SABBATH with Ozzy invented heavy metal. They deserve the credit they've been given. I just brought something different, because I came from a more musical place. We kept the integrity of the heaviness, but musically, there were a lot more places for Tony and Geezer to go."

On Dio's original departure from SABBATH after the 1982 live album, "Live Evil", parts of which were recorded in San Antonio:

"There were too many people whispering behind too many other peoples' backs. Truth be told, Vinny and I were waiting for Tony and Geezer to come to the studio and they never did. Things got blown out of proportion."

On the "Dehumanizer" album, which Dio describes as "one of the great, underrated albums of the metal genre:

"About a week into the American tour, I was told we were going to be the opening act for Ozzy for two shows. I said, 'No, I won't do that.' At that point, so much dirty water had gone under the bridge and I knew SABBATH was going to reunite with Ozzy anyway, so I just refused. They got Rob Halford as a late replacement for me to do those two shows. I did what I believed in and I still think it was right."

On Dio's determination to make sure the gates of HEAVEN AND HELL will be locked before the legacy is pillaged:

"Had I been bright enough, I would have used your exact last words. If you get into the cycle of an album and a tour, and then another and another, at some point you're forced to do something you don't want to do. We all have other commitments and the guys are going to have their 40th anniversary with SABBATH next year, so I'm sure they'll do something with Ozzy."

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OZZY OSBOURNE Talks HEAVEN AND HELL

Launch Radio Networks reports: Ozzy Osbourne has nothing but good wishes for HEAVEN AND HELL, the BLACK SABBATH offshoot featuring founding members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, along with the man who replaced Osbourne in SABBATH, Ronnie James Dio. Ozzy, who's toured in recent years with the original SABBATH, says he's long past holding any grudges.

"I have no axes to grind with 'em anymore," he said. "I mean, people keep saying, 'We all know they're really BLACK SABBATH but they're going out as HEAVEN AND HELL.' Hey, if they're having fun, who am I to say no? I don't hate anyone. I mean, Ronnie James Dio is a great singer. I mean, I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't pissed off when I got fired from BLACK SABBATH. I thought my career was over. In actual fact it was the best thing that ever happened to me, you know."

Ozzy recently said that the original BLACK SABBATH will record a new album next year, but recording plans for the legendary band have been announced and abandoned before.

HEAVEN AND HELL is currently touring the U.S. and plays on Saturday (May 5) in the Chicago area.

Ozzy will release his new solo album, "Black Rain", on May 22. The singer will perform on ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" the evening of the album's release.

The prince of darkness is headlining this summer's "free" Ozzfest, which will start on July 12 in Seattle.

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HEAVEN AND HELL And JUDAS PRIEST To Join Forces For Summer Tour?

HEAVEN AND HELL — the band featuring BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, singer Ronnie James Dio, and drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO) — and JUDAS PRIEST are rumored to joining forces for a summer tour. It should be noted, however, that this information has not yet been corrobated by an official source and should be considered a rumor only at this point.