Heaven & Hell was a British-American heavy metal supergroup active from 2006 to 2010, featuring guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice.
The four members of Heaven & Hell recorded and toured together as Black Sabbath from 1980 to 1982, and 1991 to 1992. Dio had replaced founding Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne and Appice had replaced founding drummer Bill Ward. The decision to call the group Heaven & Hell was made to differentiate the project from the Osbourne-led Black Sabbath line-up. The name of the group is derived from the 1980 album Heaven and Hell, the first Black Sabbath album to feature Dio as vocalist.[1]
Background[]
Following the release of his tenth and final studio album, Master of the Moon, it was announced by Ronnie James Dio in October of 2005 that he planned to reunite with Tony Iommi to tour and work on a new project, titled The Dio Years. Shortly after, the duo recruited Geezer Butler to reprise his role as the band's bassist, and hoped to get Bill Ward on board as well, but he declined, citing musical differences.[2] Instead, they got Vinny Appice, drummer on Mob Rules, Dehumanizer and many of Dio's solo albums.
History[]
Formation[]
Heaven & hell was formed in 2006, and not long after, embarked on a world tour, titled the Heaven and Hell 2007 Tour. Later that same year, the band releaseed The Dio Years, a compilation album with three new songs, "The Devil Cried", "Shadow of the Wind", and "Ear in the Wall". Additionally, a radio edit of The Devil Cried was made, shortening the song from 6 minutes and 1 second, to just 4 minutes and 22 seconds.
Name Change[]
Tony Iommi found himself in legal trouble with the Osbourne family over the Black Sabbath name. He was be sued by Ozzy Osbourne, and forced to split the rights of the Black Sabbath name between Ozzy and himself, thus forcing the Dio fronted band to rename, which they did in 2008. Another reason for this rebranding was confusion among fans, who were disappointed not to hear any Ozzy era songs on tour. So the band could exlcuisvely focus on Black Sabbath's content with Dio, they renamed so fans would no longer expect to hear songs from other eras of the band.
The Devil You Know[]
Though the group planned to part ways after 2007, so that Dio could return to his own band to record the follow-up albums to Magica, they ultimately chose to stick around, and on April 28, 2009, released their first and only studio album, The Devil You Know, containing the single "Bible Black". The subsequent promotional tour, the Bible Black Tour, from May 5 to August 29 and featured supporting act Coheed and Cambria. Unlike the albums the group did with Dio under the Black Sabbath name, The Devil You Know took on more of a doom metal sound, resembling the band's early works with singer Ozzy Osbourne, more than anything else they did with Dio.
Bible Black Tour[]
Named in honor of the album's lead single, the Bible Black Tour saw stops at the Sweden Rock Festival, the Hellfest in France, the Wâldrock Festival in the Netherlands, the Wacken Open Air and the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, UK. The tour's final show in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA would prove to be Dio's final public performance. Several months prior, Dio has been diagnosed with stomach cancer and later died from this illness on May 16, 2010 at 67 years old. The three surviving members performed a final Heaven & Hell set in tribute to Dio at the High Voltage Festival on July 24, 2010 with two guest vocalists: former Black Sabbath and Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes and Norwegian singer Jørn Lande of Masterplan fame. Phil Anselmo, former Pantera and Down vocalist, also made a brief appearance in the song "Neon Knights".
Aftermath[]
In March 2011, after Heaven & Hell's dissolution, Appice joined Kill Devil Hill along with former Pantera and Down bassist Rex Brown. In November 2011, Iommi and Butler reactivated Black Sabbath with original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, announcing plans for a world tour and new record with producer Rick Rubin the following year. The resulting Black Sabbath album 13 was released in June 2013.
The group someday hoped to record a second album if Dio never passed away, but since he did, the idea was scrapped, as were Dio's planned solo albums, Magica II and Magica III.
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
- The Devil You Know (2009)
Live Albums[]
- The Dio Years (2007)
Singles[]
- "Bible Black" (2009)
- "Follow the Tears" (2009)
- "Eating the Cannibals" (2009)
Videography[]
- "Bible Black" (2009)
