Legendary heavy metal vocalist
Ronnie James Dio recently spoke to
Revolver magazine about the upcoming album from
HEAVEN AND HELL — the band featuring
BLACK SABBATH members
Dio,
Tony Iommi (guitar),
Geezer Butler (bass) and
Vinny Appice (drums). The group's first LP since
SABBATH's
"Dehumanizer" (1992) is being recorded at
Rockfield studios in Wales, U.K. (where
"Dehumanizer" was also tracked).
"It sounds great,"
Ronnie said of the self-produced set which he co-wrote with
Tony Iommi and
Geezer Butler during sessions in Los Angeles and England. "It's a real cross-section of everything we've done, from
'Heaven and Hell' through
'Mob Rules' and
'Dehumanizer'. I think there's a lot of
'Dehumanizer' in it, but a lot of other things, too, a real good blend of what this band has represented."
HEAVEN AND HELL has scheduled the following European tour dates:
May 30 - Moscow, RUS @ B1 Maximum
May 31 - Moscow, RUS @ B1 Maximum
Jun. 02 - Helsinki, FIN @ Icehall
June 3-6 - Sölvesborg, SWE - Sweden Rock
Jun. 04 - Oslo, NOR @ Spektrum
Jun. 08 - Gießen, GER @ Hessenhallen
Jun. 09 - Berlin, GER @ Zitadelle
Jun. 10 - Bamberg, GER @ Jako-Arena
Jun. 13 - Burgum, NETH - Waldrock
Jun. 14 - Karlsruhe, GER @ Europahalle
Jun. 16 - Bonn, GER @ Museumsmeile
Jun. 17 - Zürich, SWI @ Volkshaus
Jun. 19-21 - Clisson, FRA - Hellfest
More shows will be announced soon.
Two years ago,
Dio,
Iommi,
Butler and
Appice reunited to record a trio of new songs for
Rhino's
"Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" before launching a highly anticipated and greatly acclaimed world tour under their new moniker
HEAVEN AND HELL. Revitalized by the reunion, the lineup is back in the studio now recording the first-ever full-length studio album from
HEAVEN AND HELL. To whet the fans' appetites for the new album,
HEAVEN AND HELL returned to the road this past summer for a short stint on the
Metal Masters Tour, a month-long North American trek with
JUDAS PRIEST,
MOTÖRHEAD, and
TESTAMENT.
Regarding the band's decision to continue to operate as
HEAVEN AND HELL rather than
BLACK SABBATH,
Iommi told
Billboard.com earlier this year, "It really is
BLACK SABBATH, whatever we do. We just choose to go out as
HEAVEN AND HELL so everyone knows what they're getting [and] so people won't expect to hear
'Iron Man' and all those songs. We've done them for so many years, it's nice to do just all the stuff with did with
Ronnie again."
