Ozzy solo, Black Sabbath w/ Dio mid-year stretch

July 11th, 2007 | Music Guru | Music News, Rock

With Ozzy Osbourne on tour promoting his solo album, Black Rain, his Black Sabbath bandmates have mapped out another round of dates with singer Ronnie James Dio under the name Heaven And Hell.

Set to launch on September 5 in Binghamton, NY, Heaven And Hell’s tour will stop in many cities not included on their previous leg and will feature special guest Alice Cooper on all but one date, with Queensryche serving as the opening act for all shows. The tour wraps on October 6 in Irvine, CA.

Heaven and Hell is a music collaboration featuring Black Sabbath members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler along with former members Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice (who post-Sabbath worked together in Dio playing songs from their Black Sabbath era together frequently). After returning to record new songs for a Dio-era Black Sabbath compilation CD, the foursome decided to embark on a tour in 2007, while actual Black Sabbath vocalist Ozzy Osbourne did a solo tour.

The group was named Heaven and Hell as the original lineup of Black Sabbath (featuring Iommi, Butler, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne) is still together but on hiatus. Ward was originally part of the Heaven and Hell line-up, but it was announced on his official website that he was standing aside for Appice. Bill Ward rehearsed and tried demos for the new songs with the band before making his decision.