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Ronnie James Dio Rejoins Sabbath in Heaven and Hell

2007 is the year of the reunion and one of the most exciting ones for metal fans is the reteaming of Ronnie James Dio with Black Sabbath, who are touring under the moniker Heaven and Hell. Dio, who replaced Ozzy Osbourne as the band's vocalist in the late '70s, was the voice behind the classic album 'Heaven and Hell,' as well as 'Mob Rules' and 'Dehumanizer.'

All of those albums are being drawn upon for the band's current tour, which hits a sold-out Radio City Music Hall Friday night. Subsequent shows are enjoying similar success. Did the band members have any idea there would be this kind of a demand for them to reunite? "For a few years now people have said, 'Do you think you'll ever do this lineup again?' But you never know what to expect when you do something like this," guitarist Tony Iommi tells Spinner. "It's marvelous for us to see all these places full."

While Iommi may have had an inkling, Dio, who says he's asked more often about reuniting with Rainbow, was totally caught off guard. "I was as surprised as everyone else," he says. "Especially when Radio City Music Hall went on sale. That, to me, was the benchmark for everything that has come [since]."

The initial reunion came about when Iommi and Dio got together to write three new tracks for an upcoming retrospective, 'Black Sabbath: The Dio Years.' And while it had been 15 years since the two had played together, Dio says it was like no time had passed. "It was instant and always has been. We never disliked each other, ever," he says. "You just start back on that foot again -- same laughs, same jokes we probably told 15 years ago. We had that rapport when we first started and that same rapport is there."

Whether that will lead to more beyond this is another question. "We're enjoying what we're doing," Iommi says. "We said we'd do it until the end of the year, then we don't know. We've all got different commitments so we'll see what it brings."

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DW

I saw Sabbath with Dio in the 80's and they kicked ass. ROCK ON!!

April 17 2007 at 6:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ronnie

that rocks guys, ozzy rocks!

April 09 2007 at 2:15 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Steve

And so the story goes.....thanx, guys!!

April 03 2007 at 5:10 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ramon

ozzy is BLACK SABBATH lommi is nothing with out ozzy dio sucks any ways

April 02 2007 at 10:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ramon

ozzy is and will always be black sabbath lommi is nothing with out ozzy

April 02 2007 at 10:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kurtstecker

Amen, brother!

March 31 2007 at 6:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bryan Shingleton

This is the "real" Black Sabbath. Ozzy Osbourne is hugely talented, but for me this is what I would expect to hear from a band called Black Sabbath. I get chill bumps everytime I hear the new single. Ronnie James Dio has a voice that just gets better as he gets older. His lyrical prowess is as razor sharp if not more so than ever. I would see this incarnation of Black Sabbath over Ozzy ANY chance I get. I WILL TRAVEL FAR AND WIDE to see this show. KILLER!!! Tony, Geezer, Ronnie, and Vinnie you've outdone yourselves, please do another album.

March 31 2007 at 3:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
CandiceClay

Hell yeah!

March 31 2007 at 11:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply