Tony Iommi's Guitar Stolen

I've received a request from Tony's management to post a news story.

"Sadly, my RED CUSTOM SHOP IOMMI SG was stolen at the tribute show Heaven and Hell performed at High Voltage on July 24th. If you have any information or leads please let us know, we are offering a reward" - Tony

They've also sent over a picture of the guitar that was stolen, too.

Dying for Love Fan Video

I was taking a stab at my inbox this afternoon. Not much has happened with it, I got seriously backlogged yet again (this email was sent on Nov 16th last year!). Anyway, I found this pretty cool little gem. It's a fan made video (by John Belantakis) for the Cross Purposes track, "Dying for Love". Check it out:

If you've never checked out the Cross Purposes album, you should. It's a lost gem in my mind, and while it's currently out of print from IRS, a little birdie has told me it's in line to get re-released eventually when the non Ozzy/Dio Sabbath albums are remastered and re-released. :)

If you'd like to discuss this video, you can do so here on my forums.

Video from the High Voltage Festival

Here's Heaven & Hell Black Sabbath doing "Heaven & Hell" with Jorn Lande & Glenn Hughes on vocals at the same time. Interesting tradeoff thing they do here.

You can QUITE CLEARLY see it was videotaped. This better get released somewhere. For one of Ronnie's charities - all proceeds go there.

Also, that's not Vinny Appice's usual kit, it's significantly smaller than what he usually plays.

Sabbath on the Biography Channel

If you get the Biography Channel here in the US, you'll want to tune in this Thursday night the 15th. They're running a couple of Biography episodes on both Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath.

It does not appear they're new (at least in the case of the Ozzy one), but if I get any info to the contrary, I'll update. Check out these listings on the Biography website regarding the specific episodes:

Black Sabbath Episode

Ozzy Osbourne Episode

Win a free copy of the new Paranoid DVD!

1970 was a prolific year for Black Sabbath. They put out not one, but two of what are considered founding slabs that the basis of all hard rock and heavy metal were founded on. A few months back was the 40th anniversary of "Black Sabbath". This coming September is the 40th anniversary of the Paranoid album. It's a landmark. "War Pigs", "Paranoid", "Iron Man", "Hand of Doom".... it's just a freakin fantastic album!

Anyway, to that, Eagle Records has a new DVD/Blu-Ray coming out next week (the 29th). It's entitled, "Classic Albums: Black Sabbath Paranoid". It's the history of the album from the making the band's perspective. It's got all new interviews with Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, & Bill. It's got old archival footage that you'll probably enjoy. Eagle Rock has done a bangup job on several Deep Purple collections over the years, it's about time they put out a Black Sabbath one. While I haven't seen it yet (my promo copy has not arrived yet), I can say if it's like their Deep Purple discs, it'll be freakin' fantastic.

Basically if you are reading this on my Black Sabbath site, I don't need to tell you about the Paranoid album. You know it. Enough of my blathering about the album. You'll probably dig the DVD, too.

This will also be broadcast on television, too. It will be on VH1 Classic as part of their "Classic Albums" series. Thing is though that the DVD/Blu-Ray will have way more footage than will be on the TV version. There's about 40 more minutes of additional material available here than you'll be able to see on VH1C, so you'll definitely want to check out all this extra stuff.

The disc will be available on Tuesday June 29th in both standard DVD and Blu-Ray! Available for pre-order now, you can pick up either at a quite reasonable price. Check out these ordering links:

• Standard def DVD from Amazon.com
• Hi-Def Blu-Ray from Amazon.com
• Standard def DVD from Amazon.co.uk
• Hi-def Blu-Ray from Amazon.co.uk

A few notes about the discs themselves. I'm told the standard def DVD is region encoded, so you can't import the US version from the UK and play it. However, the Blu-Rays will play anywhere. Not sure why one format is play anywhere and the other is not, but that's what I was told by the record label.

And yeah, I'm here with yet ANOTHER in my long standing series of giveaways. You will be able to win a free copy of this DVD.

As per my contests in the past, you'll need to answer a few trivia questions about the band. If you get them all right, you'll be put into a drawing for a copy of the new CD. Here are the questions you need to answer:

1. What was the original name of the Paranoid album?
2. What was the original name of the War Pigs song?
3. What solo album from one of this album's musicians had a visual portrayal of one of Paranoid's song titles as it's cover art?
4. Who sang Planet Caravan?
5. What real world event caused the execs at Warner Brothers to request the album's name be changed?

You need to send your answers for the questions and your name and address to paranoid@black-sabbath.com. There's two important things here. First the email must go to this address. Second, you have to include your name and FULL shipping address (this is especially important if you are not in the US, as I frequently get addresses that are outside of the US that make no sense to me - make sure it is ALL THERE!). IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THESE TWO SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS, YOUR SUBMISSION WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. The contest will run through Monday morning the 28th of June at 10AM Central Time (my time, which is the Central Time Zone in the US). You also need to send in your choice of standard def DVD or hi-def Blu-Ray. If you do not choose, you will be sent the regular DVD. Also, due to the fact that the DVD is region locked, we're going to recommend that you not enter if you're not from the US/North America region due to the region locking of the DVD. If you enter from outside these areas, you need to be aware of this issue.

To finish off, here's a few screen grabs of the lads from the interview footage.

UPDATE: I forgot to post that the winners were selected, and their prizes were mailed out the day after the contest was scheduled to be over. If you were not contacted, then you didn't win. :)

Here's the answers:

1) War Pigs
2) Walpurgis
3) That would be the Geezer Butler (GZR/Geezer/whatever) album "Black Science", where the hand was meant to be "Hand of Doom"
4) Ozzy
5) The Vietnam War

Winners of Ozzy's Scream Contest!

Hey, Ozzy's new album "Scream" is out today. I've also closed the contest where you could win a copy of it. Your copies are being sent from Sony records today if you were one of the winners, who were notified via email earlier this morning. The winners were:

1. Marc Guerette - Quebec Canada
2. Daniel Drago - El Mirage, AZ
3. Jim Watson - Heidelberg, PA
4. Ryan Snyder - Whitinsville, MA
5. Simon Elliott - Riverside, CA

If you didn't win, you can pick up a copy of the album today. Here's some ordering links for you:

US: Amazon.com's physical CD page
US: Amazon.com's MP3 Download Page
UK: Amazon.co.uk's Page
UK: Amazon.co.uk's MP3 Download Page
US: iTunes Ordering Page

And finally, here are the answers to the trivia questions:

1. Q: "The producer of Scream also produced one of Ozzy's other albums. Which one was it?"
   A: For some reason many people answered the actual NAME of the producer, but the question asks what other album did Scream's producer produce, and the answer is "Black Rain".
2. Q: "Which music video did Vinny Appice's brother Carmine appear in for Ozzy?"
   A: The answer is "Bark at the Moon" where he appears as a pall-bearer (and a drummer). Carmine was briefly Ozzy's drummer during the Bark at the Moon tour, before Tommy Aldridge returned.
3. Q: "All of Ozzy's guitarists except for one have either appeared on a studio or live album, or have a writing credit on a studio album (despite not appearing on it). Which is the only one not to have either?"
   A: Now this one is tricky. I basically asked which of Ozzy's guitarists had neither a song writing credit or an appearance on any album. The obvious ones are the ones that appeared on an album, either studio or live. Those being Randy Rhoads, Brad Gillis, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde, or Gus G. The ones that were lesser known were Steve Vai, who worked on an album of material with Ozzy before it was tossed in favor of what became Ozzmosis. The song "Aimee" from the released version of that has a co-write credit with Steve Vai. The other one was Joe Holmes, who has some songwriting credits, and does appear on the Ozzfest live 97 album. The actual answer I was looking for was Bernie Torme, who initially replaced Randy Rhoads after Randy died. However, after I started the contest, folsk reminded of a guy named "Alex Skolnick" who played a handful of gigs in 1995. I had forgotten about him, so I did not penalize anyone who answered with his name.
4. Q: "Which bassist in Ozzy's band was famous for playing with a cheese grater stuck to the back of his bass guitar that he would use to cut himself with?"
   A: The answer is Don Costa, who used to intentionally bloody his hands while playing on a bit of cheese grater stuck to the back of his bass. Google for "Don Costa Ozzy grater" and you'll find some stories about it. :)
5. Q: "Which former member of Ozzy's band was also a member of Black Sabbath & Deep Purple?"
   A: That would be Don Airey, who played in early incarnations of Ozzy's band. He also played keyboards on the 1978 Sabbath album "Never Say Die!", and is the current keyboardist in Deep Purple.

Win a free copy of Ozzy's Scream!

It's giveaway time again! Next week is the release of Ozzy Osbourne's 10th studio album, "Scream". And you can win one - free! I'm here with another in my long series of giveaways by trivia contest. Sony records has been kind enough to send me over five copies of the album to give away to you, the site visitor!

If you don't win one of the free ones in my contests, please go support the label and the band by buying copies. In fact, even if you do win one, I say you should go buy one anyway and give one to a friend (especially since Amazon.com is selling the CD new for $7.99 at the moment!)

ALBUM ORDERING INFO: First are some links you can use to order the album.

US: Amazon.com's physical CD page
US: Amazon.com's MP3 Download Page
UK: Amazon.co.uk's Page
UK: Amazon.co.uk's MP3 Download Page
US: iTunes Ordering Page (Exclusive track if you pre-order, extra track goes away next Tuesday)

As per my contests in the past, you'll need to answer a few trivia questions about the band. If you get them all right, you'll be put into a drawing for a copy of the new CD. Here are the questions you need to answer:

1. The producer of Scream also produced one of Ozzy's other albums. Which one was it?
2. Which music video did Vinny Appice's brother Carmine appear in for Ozzy?
3. All of Ozzy's guitarists except for one have either appeared on a studio or live album, or have a writing credit on a studio album (despite not appearing on it). Which is the only one not to have either?
4. Which bassist in Ozzy's band was famous for playing with a cheese grater stuck to the back of his bass guitar that he would use to cut himself with?
5. Which former member of Ozzy's band was also a member of Black Sabbath & Deep Purple?

You need to send your answers for the questions and your name and address to ozzyscream@black-sabbath.com. There's two important things here. First the email must go to this address. Second, you have to include your name and FULL shipping address (this is especially important if you are not in the US, as I frequently get addresses that are outside of the US that make no sense to me - make sure it is ALL THERE!). IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THESE TWO SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS, YOUR SUBMISSION WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. The contest will run through Tuesday morning the 22nd of June at 10AM Central Time (my time, which is the Central Time Zone in the US). You don't have to be in the US to be eligible to win.

Ronnie James Dio Tribute Concert Announced!

Today I'm proud to bring to you the details of the Ronnie James Dio tribute concert that have just been announced. Heaven & Hell have issued a press release (shown below) of the one off tribute show they're doing for Ronnie. It will be held on Saturday July 24, 2010 at the High Voltage Festival in London.

This actually was a gig that Heaven & Hell had planned to play with Ronnie, but it was canceled with the rest of the dates a few weeks before Ronnie died. It apparently has been revived, and there's some details available now as to what's going on for this gig. This will be billed as "Heaven & Hell", and the lineup will be:

• Tony Iommi - Guitar
• Geezer Butler - Bass
• Vinny Appice - Drums
• Glenn Hughes - Vocals
• Jorn Lande - Vocals

First, while the press release doesn't mention it, I'd assume that Scott Warren will play keyboards. When I first read the press release, I wondered with a lot of fans who the heck "Jorn Lande" is. From the PR, "Norwegian Jorn Lande is best known in the UK as the vocalist for power metal band Masterplan, he has also released many solo albums including a tribute to Ronnie." I had never heard of him before, so I looked him up. Holy crap is this guy good. I saw him do some covers of old Dio era Sabbath tracks, as well as Dio tracks, and he nailed it. What's amazing is he can mimic other singers too. Heard him do Ian Gillan on Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers" - holy crap, he nailed it. I've included a few Youtube videos here with Jorn to check him out. I really dug what I heard from this guy today, made an immediate impact on me. You might also want to check out this link about Jorn, too. :)

If Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell ever wants to give it a go with another singer, I vote for Jorn Lande. Wow.

Anyway, I have no information at the moment regarding tickets, whether there will be more sold, or it's just people who already had festival tickets or whatnot. Hopefully more info on that comes out soon, at which point I'll announce it too.

I'd love to be able to fly over there for that, but no way I can afford to. If you're going to be at the concert, you blimy bastard. :)

I'm also trying to find out if they're recording this. If it's a charity thing, I would think DVD & CD sales would be a way to benefit that too. But as of right now, I don't know for sure.

Here is the full press release as sent to me by Heaven & Hell. Enjoy!

If you're like to discuss this on our forums, you can do so here.

On the 16th May 2010 Ronnie James Dio passed away and the world of music mourned the loss of the greatest voice of heavy metal.

Dio was a truly iconic figure in music, whose work with Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and most recently Heaven & Hell defined a genre.

Heaven & Hell were set to be on the road in Europe this summer when news came through that despite the amazing progress he was making Ronnie wouldn't be well enough to tour and those shows were canceled. But now, remaining members Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice are set to play a one off show to celebrate his life and work. The band will be completed by Glenn Hughes and Jorn Lande who will both contribute vocals. Former Deep Purple / Black Sabbath star Glenn Hughes was a close friend of Ronnie's for many years and performed a musical tribute at Ronnie's funeral service in Los Angeles. Norwegian Jorn Lande is best known in the UK as the vocalist for power metal band Masterplan, he has also released many solo albums including a tribute to Ronnie. It promises to be a fitting celebration to a man that the metal scene owes so much.

"It's going to be a very emotional occasion. Ronnie loved his fans like no-one else I know - and they loved him. It will be a privilege doing a gig in honour of his memory, and to help towards his charity. Above all, I hope it encourages people to have regular check-ups for this disease. Early detection is vital, and greatly improves the chance of a cure. I know everyone has heard that a million times before, but seeing one of your best friends die because we all think we're immune from this disease, really brings it home. Do it for yourself, your family, your friends. Ronnie would be proud of you." Love & Peace, Geezer Butler

Tony Iommi says "Ronnie's passing has left a huge hole, we hadn't anywhere near finished what we set out to do as a band together. He was so looking forward to the European tour and we hope this appearance will go some way to fulfilling that."

The Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up And Shout" Cancer Fund Program Description

*The fund is committed to the early detection and prevention of cancer through facilitating access to medical screening and medical educational programs.

*The fund supports programs designed to integrate medical knowledge into local communities such as cancer screening programs, education on nutrition in cancer prevention, exercise and overall wellness."

*The goal of the fund is to reduce the risk of developing life threatening cancers by offering access to preventative medical services."

*Furthering the commitment for patients to access to quality medical care related to cancer, the fund seeks to assist families burdened by the cost of caring for loved ones with cancer."

For further information on the Fund and to make a donation please visit www.ronniejamesdio.com

Tickets for High Voltage festival are priced £135 (for weekend tickets) and £75 (for day tickets). There is no booking fee for Classic Rock Presents High Voltage tickets. Other VIP packages available alongside standard tickets from www.highvoltagefestival.com or 24hr cc ticketline 0871 230 5582.

Please check the websites below for further updates
www.highvoltagefestival.com
www.classicrockmagazine.com

Jamie Mallender's "Return to Bass" Review

When I first agreed to review this, I did it because Jamie's a friend, and I wanted to help promote his album. Then after I did that, I thought "There aren't a lot of instrumental bass driven albums", so I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting myself into. First off, it's not "all" bass. It's not like we have 9 songs that are just "Big Bottom" here. When I started listening to it, I thought this album would fit into the 70's well. I'm not sure what angle (if any) Jamie was going for here, but the opening riff kind of makes me feel like I'm in the 70's. It's hard to quantify why I feel that way, but when I start off listening, that's the vibe I get. As far as I understand it, Jamie grew up with those kinds of tunes, so it's not terribly surprising if that was the intent.

When I saw Joe Satriani in concert once, he said "I wrote a charity song for the rainforest problem. Not that you'd know it." I wanted to point that out, as the second song on here, "The Bass Player Answers Back" is Jamie's response to the canceled Tony Martin Band tour of the USA. He had posted on Facebook not long after that happened he went into the studio and came up with this. There's some angry sounding parts of the song for sure. But since it's an instrumental it's impossible to know that. Jamie says that the songs are all reactions to some part of his life. That's the best way to write, IMO, as the stuff comes from the heart, which is always where the best tunes come from.

Jamie's own quotes about the album go thusly:

"In making "Return To Bass" I have ignored every formula in the book, every critic with an opinion of any kind and every opportunity to make it more commercially accessible. I have skipped from one genre to another and spliced musical styles together, always avoiding the obvious route. This album was not written to please anyone but me. Each track expresses how I felt at the time of recording, and goes on a musical journey that I enjoyed taking. It was not recorded to make a lot of money, or to make me famous. This album is my one finger answer to a music industry that needs a good old shake by the throat, and to all people who are happy to be spoon-fed manufactured music."

The album definitely has a "funk" to it. But that seems to me to be the norm when it's mostly bass influenced. A lot of Glenn Hughes' music is like that. But to label this album just "funk" is unfair. There's several different styles on here. There's the hard rock influence (which is obvious given Jamie's work with Tony Martin). There's also parts where I hear some Jazz overtones, and some "classic rock". It's a really broad variety, which is cool. Otherwise it could run into one long song if there was no variety to it - due to the lack of lyrics.

Speaking of lyrics, I sometimes get bored with instrumental albums because there's no lyrics for me to hold onto. This didn't happen here. The varying styles kept me interested past my usual point of "Oh, another instrumental". I think you'll like this album if you're a fan of rock music, and in particular bass guitar.

It's also short. The album has nine songs on it, totaling just 35 minutes. Which truly does harness the spirit of the 70's, when several rock albums were shorter. Don't let that affect you. There's some nice emotion here. When I listened to it first, it was with headphones in the dark, which was a cool way to get "into" the album. Perhaps it's because I know Jamey, but I would hope the emotion of the pieces transcend that and let you enjoy the album the way I have.

My personal favorites are "Captain Blake vs the Lion", and the title track "Return to Bass". "Layla's Funk" is also a cool tune. If you want to try something new, give this a shot. You'll like it. Oh yeah, the subwoofer gets a workout listening to this. :)

You can reach Jamie directly by hitting his Facebook page at this link.

Additionally, the album is available for purchase from several outlets. Here are some links for you to check out.

• Amazon.com MP3 Store
• Amazon.com CD
• Amazon UK MP3 Store
• iTunes
• CD Baby

My Tribute to Dio

Back in early 1982 (or was it Christmas 1981 - I don't remember now), I was leafing through the pages of one of the rock rags at the time (either Circus or Creem), and saw the cover art for the Mob Rules album in a magazine. I wondered what kind of music would go with that kind of artwork. So I headed down the record store, and bought a pre-recorded cassette tape of "The Mob Rules". Brought it home, stuck it in, and heard the opening riffs of "Turn up the Night". I was stinkin' blown away. That was my introduction to the world of Black Sabbath at all. It was my first Black Sabbath album, so the Dio era has a special significance to me. The Ozzy era is what it is, and we wouldn't have the Dio era without that. But the Dio era seemed much stronger musically to me on a ton of levels. Whether it was the writing or the lyrics or what, I don't know. But Ronnie James Dio had a big part in the music I listened to.

Sadly, Black Sabbath had just left Philadelphia (where I was living at the time) - they played there in early December 1981 (although Joe K saw 'em!), and as such I had to wait quite awhile to see Black Sabbath with Dio (slightly over a decade). Sadly, the Dio era of Black Sabbath was to fold before too long, and I was pretty sad about that. The first thing Black Sabbath released after I got into the band was the Live Evil album. At the time, I thought it was pretty cool, but over time it seems flat. It was supplanted by the Live at Hammersmith album, but enough of the history of Sabbath. It's supposed to be about my thoughts.

When it was announced that Ronnie was coming back to Black Sabbath in 1991, I was rather overjoyed. I was looking forward to seeing him with Black Sabbath finally. I'd seen Ronnie several times with Dio inbetween his first two Black Sabbath stints (5 times), and enjoyed the heck out of the show in August 1992. Sadly, that broke up again not long after that. I continued to follow Dio through the various Dio incarnations, and his third stint in Black Sabbath (more commonly known as Heaven & Hell).

I finally met Ronnie for the first time face to face in 2007 when I was backstage after the Dallas concert on that tour. I had been talking to Tony & Geezer before that, partially about a practical joke I ran back in April of 2007 about Dio quitting the band yet again. When Ronnie came out, he was in part of his stage garb, and was carrying a glass of wine. I waited my turn, and introduced myself, leading off with a story about how I crossed his wife and was sorry about that. Ronnie replied, "Well, we've all been there, no worries on that." We chatted about some of his pre Elf material, I talked about my Sabbath website, we exchanged pleseantries. Nothing in the conversation that in and of itself was anything totally epic in scope. Just the fact of WHO I was talking to. I also joked with him a bit about George W. Bush (someone he strongly did not like), and referred to him as "your buddy". Ronnie replied with "He's not MY buddy - fuck you too!" We had a laugh about it, and shook hands and parted on nice terms. I didn't have a stopwatch with me, but we talked probably for about 10 minutes, which is an eternity to talk to any one person backstage, let alone a fan like myself.

I saw Ronnie face to face one other time on the Metal Masters tour in 2008. For me personally, that wasn't nearly as good as the 2007 gig, because I had to spend most of my time hanging around backstage at the Starplex in Dallas. I got to see most of the bands at point blank range, and after the Heaven & Hell gig (which I watched from the stage) I went back to my spot. The band showered off, changed, and went to a meet & greet with the fans. They didn't spend any time with me save for the few minutes that they spent walking from one side to the other passing me. Ronnie did make me feel cool even in that micro amount of time, as when he walked by he waved, and said "Hi Joe", which was surprising. Since Ronnie's death, I've read a lot about him and his memory. That he remembered me from that 10 minute chat the year before was a surprise, given how many people he runs into in his life. Tony too had something to say, but that's a story for another time. Ronnie made me feel cool - which I'm told is a common thing.

Sadly, I never ran into him face to face other than those two times. Of course, if you want to count concerts, that's different. I've seen Ronnie a bunch of times. Not nearly as many times as someone like Tapio, but I've seen Ronnie live more than any other artist. Here's my list of Ronnie gigs.

1. 1983 - Dio / Holy Diver
2. 1983 - Dio / Holy Diver (a second time)
3. 1984 - Dio / The Last in Line
4. 1985 - Dio / Sacred Heart
5. 1986 - Dio / Intermission
6. 1992 - Black Sabbath / Dehumanizer
7. 1994 - Dio / Strange Highways
8. 1996 - Dio / Angry Machines
9. 2000 - Dio / Magica
10. 2002 - Dio / Killing the Dragon
11. 2002 - Dio / Killing the Dragon (a second time)
12. 2004 - Dio / Master of the Moon
13. 2007 - Black Sabbath - Heaven & Hell Tour
14. 2008 - Black Sabbath - Metal Masters Tour

So that's a bunch there. I retrospect, I wish I would have seen him in Rainbow too, but that was before my concert going lifetime. Before picking up Mob Rules originally, I wasn't listening to much in the way of rock music. I had AC/DC's Back in Black and their For Those About to Rock albums, but not much else in the way of rock music. Certainly not metal. The Mob Rules album cemented my foothold in the genre of hard rock/heavy metal/whatever you want to call it music. If it wasn't for Ronnie being there, I wonder where I would have been musically.

Ronnie's records always stood for something. They stood for quality. Even if you didn't like the songs, they had a production value that was sometimes missing on other bands and their records. All these years later, I still have the original cassette tape I bought in 1981 for "Mob Rules". It's beat to hell, and I'm not sure if it's even playable anymore, but I still have the thing. It's emeant a lot to me over the years, and even more so now that Ronnie's gone.

As a "goodbye" present from myself and Damian here at black-sabbath.com I wante to present this piece of video. It's something shot on the final gig of the 2009 "The Devil You Know" tour. I had tried to do this for the Metal Masters tour, and it couldn't be put together in time, so it was for the TDYK tour. At the time, Damian and his cameraman John thought they were just filming the band, did some interviews, and that would be it. Little did they know they'd be filming Ronnie's last live concert ever. I was finally given permission to use this video today. I wanted to make sure that Ralph Baker, Gloria Butler, & Wendy Dio were all on board with me using it. The band itself did not film the concert, nor did they record it. This video stands as the only recorded footage of Ronnie from his last ever concert. Oh, there's a few fans who put iPhone videos on Youtube and all that, but the quality there is dubious at best. I'm happy to present this video for you to see as part of my tribute, and again, a huge thanks to Damian, John, Ralph, Gloria, and most especially Wendy for letting me bring this to you. I hope you enjoy it. Below the video is some cool behind the scenes stuff from Damian on his experiences filming in Atlantic City that day.

I started this website in July of 1995, and 15 years later I still get a kick out of it. It's been my pleasure to help bring Ronnie's music (both in Sabbath or Dio) to the attention of fans worldwide. That I gained a small amount of notoriety from doing so is unimportant to me. Some won't believe me, but it's the truth. Ronnie was a great guy and didn't nearly get the credit for certain parts of his life like he should have (like his involvement with Children of the Night for one). But it was a blast bringing his music to the world. Just sad I won't get to do it anymore.

God Bless Ronnie, and especially his family who has been left behind.

Enjoy the video,
Joe Siegler
Webmaster - black-sabbath.com

P.S. As one final personal little tribute to Ronnie, when I put together the tribute image that's on the front page of the site (at least right now), and in use in this tribute, I wondered what font I should use in the Rainbow lyrics there. The font I settled on for the picture seemed to fit Ronnie. It was called "Dragonmaster". ;)

Me and my cameraman were stoked. We were in Atlantic City, NJ on August 29, 2009, at the last show of the current Heaven and Hell tour, representing Joe Siegler on behalf of Black-Sabbath.com. We had just filmed the band Halestorm (Heaven and Hell's warm-up act) with two cameras while they performed and then checked our work backstage, and the footage looked GREAT. We had all-access passes, so we had stationed ourselves on opposite sides in front of the stage, in that gap area between the stage and the front-row fans, where the still photographers and security guys hang out. We had just pulled off a dry-run with the opening band, literally two feet away from them, and were now ready to get awesome up-close footage of Heaven and Hell's entire set.

After Halestorm finished, we ducked backstage with our cameras to check our batteries and white-balance levels one more time, when I noticed Ralph Baker, Tony Iommi's manager and probably the most important person in almost any room he enters, motioning for me to come over. "How long were you planning to film for?" He asked. I replied, "Well, we were just going to film until we ran out of tape". He smiled and slowly shook his head. "Media is only allowed to take pictures for three songs, but we can't let you stay out there that long. You can stay and film one song". I was so disappointed. But then I thought, well, we'll shoot the opener, The Mob Rules, and it will be really up close and cool-looking and that's still a great thing, so fine.

We headed back into the venue and made our way to our stage-front spots. Heaven and Hell was about three minutes away from beginning their set. My cell phone rang. Its Ralph Baker. "Damian, the boys don't want to see any video cameras, you can't film from under their noses like that." I could barely hear him because the crowd was getting raucous now, so I just said "OK, Ralph, but I'm already set up and the show is about to start, where are we supposed to go?" He replied with "I don't care where you go, but you can't film from the front of the stage and don't let them see the cameras!". Click.

The place was packed, and we had less than two minutes to go find somewhere to set up two video cameras. I told my cameraman to go find a clear spot on the floor way in the back of the House of Blues, and then I took my Canon GL1 and ran up the stairs to the balcony, found an empty luxury box to the extreme right side of the stage and sat down. Immediately the lights dimmed and E5150 was weaving its way through the speakers. A security guard came rushing at me from the aisle and at the last second I saw him and flashed my all-access pass, which he grabbed and took a very hard look at before leaving me alone and walking away. Lights, Camera, Action!

So this is why the two camera angles might look strange, and bootleg-gy in nature, but in a way it worked out, and the exchange between Ronnie and the idiot who threw a shirt at him was captured nicely. I remarked to myself while filming it that Ronnie still had cat-like reflexes and in light of what he was beginning to go through it makes it look even more amazing.

Such a crazy night, and one that ended up being historic, for the most tragic of reasons. This is a gift from Joe and I, to everyone who was moved by Ronnie's music. May he live on in our hearts and minds forever.

-- Damian
black-sabbath.com

You can discuss this story on this thread on the Black Sabbath forums here.

Ozzy Scares His Fans

This is pretty darned funny. Was taken at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York City. Made me laugh several times.

Geezer Butler Speaks out on Ronnie James Dio

Geezer Butler has posted a statement on his own website regarding the death of Ronnie James Dio. It's no secret that I've done Geezer's website for awhile, and during this time, I've learned that he's a pretty private person. When you get to know him, he's pretty cool, but generally he's a pretty private man. That's why the statement he posted on his site is extremely cool, as it goes into a lot of detail regarding Ronnie's last days, and Geezer's own thoughts on Ronald (I never heard Geezer call him Ronnie).

Anyway, due to the stress placed on Geezer's site, I'm copying the entire statement here. I should have a tribute of my own up in a day or so with something very cool in it, provided I can get clearance to use it. More on that later. Read what Geezer had to say.

If you want to discuss this statement, you can do so on the forums here on this website by clicking here.

IN RESPONSE TO THE MANY REQUESTS FOR A STATEMENT HERE GOES:

It's impossible to express in mere words the relationship Ronnie and I, Wendy and my wife Gloria had. He was much more than a friend, fellow musician, band mate. If I have a soul, then he is part of it. I truly believe God, fate, destiny, whatever it's called, brought us together again in 2006, after not seeing each other for 14 years, to do one final tour, which turned into 3 major tours and an album. We were having a blast together, enjoying each other's company more than we had ever done before, talking about maybe doing one more album, when fate intervened again. We were planning on doing a 2 or 3 part North American tour, after having toured South America and Europe in Spring /Summer 2009, but on the first leg of the North American tour, Tony's hand ligaments were in a bad way, Vinny's shoulder became dislocated, and Ronnie was having terrible stomach pains. We decided to cut the tour, get healthy, and carry on the following year. Tony and Vinny had successful procedures to fix their ailments, but Ronnie's stomach pains were worsening. I saw him at the Dio Halloween party, but he wasn't drinking, unusual for Ronnie who liked his tipple. He was telling me he had made an appointment with a specialist, to see what it was.....

Wednesday, 12th May 2010.

Wendy invited Gloria and I to lunch in Santa Barbara. A few close friends of Ronnie and Wendy, Omar, Simon, Paul, Tim, and Diana, had dropped by. Ronnie had no appetite whatsoever- the disease and the chemotherapy were taking an immense toll. As usual, we talked sports and had a laugh together- it would be the last time. That night, I had a beautiful email from him, that I will treasure forever. I sent him an email saying I'd see him during the following week.

Friday, 14th May 2010.

Wendy called to say she had taken Ronnie to hospital. The pain had become unbearable. We got to the hospital around 2 p.m. The doctor eventually sedated him. More and more friends were coming to visit- we took it in turns to hold Ronnie's hand, and whisper our thoughts to him. Wendy wouldn't leave his side- she stayed curled up on his bed the whole night. Gloria's assistant, Debi, kept her company. I emailed Tony to prepare him for bad news.

Saturday, 15th May 2010.

There was no mistaking Ronnie's room. There were around 25 to 30 friends outside his room. We knew the end was imminent. We all wanted to say our goodbyes. It was a day filled with tears and reflection. In the evening, the chaplain came, and we all gathered around Ronnie's bed and prayed. Ronnie wasn't going easily. At 11 p.m., most of us left, leaving Wendy her privacy to say her last farewell. The devastation was palpable.

Sunday, 16th May 2010.

7.46 a.m. As we were preparing to leave for the hospital, Gloria called Wendy to see if she wanted a coffee or any breakfast- she broke the sad news. Ronnie had just passed away.

Wendy Dio has been a true saint through all this. She has been with Ronnie every step of the way. Her courage has amazed us all. Even as I write, she is ensuring Ronnie has the finest send off possible. God bless you, Wendel.

Most people who were there for those last days chose to keep their thoughts private. I wanted to keep my thoughts private, too, but I've been overwhelmed by emails, and requests from the media and fans for comments.

I can truly say I've never known anyone to have such loyal, loving friends, fans, and family as Ronnie. He really was a special person, blessed with a unique voice and presence. He loved his fans- he would stay meeting and talking to them until the early hours of the morning. One of my fondest memories of him comes from last year, at the Sonisphere Festival,Knebworth. He noticed my sister and her husband at the side of the stage. During our opening song, he took the time to go over and hug them. Just a little thing like that made him special to me. Of course his music will live on forever, as will his influence. I have never seen so many tributes from so many musicians and fans, so many good wishes, no cynicism, just pure love and appreciation for a great man.

God bless you Ronald - thank you so much for the wonderful memories.

Love ya,
Geez

Ronnie James Dio has Died

This was confirmed to me within the last half an hour by both Wendy Dio and Geezer Butler. He died this morning - May 16, 2010.

More details shortly.

UPDATE: Here is the official note from Wendy Dio:

Message from Wendy Dio

Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.

- Wendy Dio

You can leave your condolences on Facebook

-----

My forums are back up after being down earlier due to the crush of traffic. You can visit this link to get to the Ronnie James Dio memorials area on my forum.

Pre-Order Ozzy's "Scream" Album

Coming next month is Ozzy's 10th studio album, entitled "Scream". Fortunately renamed from the awful working title it had (Soul Sucka), this album is the first with a new guitarist in over 20 years. As you may recall a few years back, Ozzy toured with a guy by the name of Joe Holmes, and tried recording with Steve Vai, but neither was released. It's been Zakk Wylde since around 1988, and now it's a guy by the name of Gus G (a Greek guitarist, whose real name is Kostas Karamitroudis).

Anyways, the album comes out in the US on June 22nd (and in Europe on June 14th, according to Amazon's UK site). The track listing is below, and as with the last studio album isn't without some controversy. Here's the track listing:

1. Let it Die
2. Let Me Hear You Scream
3. Soul Sucker
4. Life Won't Wait
5. Diggin Me Down
6. Crucify
7. Fearless
8. Time
9. I Want it More
10. Latimer's Mercy
11. I Love You All

That's the standard disc track listing. However, it doesn't end there. There are two additional tracks that won't be as widely distributed. They are:

One More Time - This track will only be available if you pre-order the album through iTunes. Once the album comes out, that track goes away. This happened on Ozzy's last album, too. Black Rain had an iTunes pre-order track called "Love to Hate".

Jump the Moon - This track will apparently only be on the Japanese version of the album, and nowhere else. Now every time I bring up Japanese CD's I get a fresh round of emails on this, so I'll try and answer the question first. Why does that happen? Well, it's apparently way more expensive for Japanese consumers to buy their own native product than import it from elsewhere. To avoid that, the Japanese record labels have struck deals for ages for bonus material to appear on the Japanese only versions to make them more palatable to local customers. That's why.

One other thing about these two tracks. They probably will be available later in the year. If Ozzy/Sharon follow the pattern they had with Black Rain, they'll show up later. About six months after Black Rain was released, there was a two disc "Tour Edition" come out - and on Disc 2 were all the pre-order and Japanese tracks. Now I have no idea if this will happen with Scream too, but I can't rule it out.

I'm hoping to be able to do my usual giveaway for the album, but my contact at Sony Records just quit, so I'm hopeful I'll get hooked up again with someone new who will take care of me (us). Whether that happens or not, here are the pre-order links you can use.

Buying the album from either Amazon.com or Amazon UK give me a small (very small) cut of the sale, so I'd appreciate it if you could order through there. It's particularly important to me now as I'm still unemployed from losing my job last year. Sigh.

Oh yeah, almost forgot.. You can hear a full song streaming version of the first single, "Let Me Hear You Scream" by clicking play below.

Ozzy's Blizzard & Diary Albums - 30th Anniversary Editions

While I don't have any details as as to what will make them a special "30th anniversary edition", there is one mega huge thing I found out today about these new re-releases coming later this year.

Bob Daisley & Lee Kerslake's tracks are being restored!

I don't know the two of them have settled with Ozzy/Sharon, or if they're just bowing to fan pressure, or Ozzy just said "Fuck it - put 'em back on" or what.. But I just heard today that the two albums are being released later this year in "30th Anniversary Editions", with the proper tracks restored.

More details when I get them.

Heaven & Hell 2010 Tour Canceled [UPDATED]

This text comes from the Tony Iommi website:

"We have to announce that all forthcoming Heaven & Hell European shows have been cancelled as sadly Ronnie isn't well enough to tour this summer. We hope that everyone understands and want to thank fans and industry colleagues for their continuing support at this time." Heaven & Hell - May 4th, 2010

That's sad, but I can't say completely unexpected. I will continue to pray for Ronnie's speedy recovery, but stomach cancer is not a simple thing to be toyed with. If he wasn't ready to go, then it's probably best he not try.

I floated the idea to Tony Iommi's management that they get Ian Gillan to play instead of Ronnie, but they didn't want to go for that. :) hahahaha

Our best to Ronnie.

UPDATE:

Ronnie himself has issued a statement about the cancellation of the tour. It is:

I would like to voice my great disappointment on the cancellation of the Heaven And Hell summer tour. Wendy, my doctors and I have worked so hard to make it happen for all of you, the ones we care so much about, that this set back could be devastating, but we will not let it be. With your continued love and support, we... will carry on and thrive. There will be other tours, more music, more life and much more magic. RONNIE JAMES DIO

Happy Birthday Tony Martin!

  
  

A lot of Black Sabbath sites/pages talk about the time with Ozzy Osbourne. Most of them talk about the Ronnie James Dio era, too. It's very few that talk about the Tony Martin era, let alone celebrate it. Not this place. I'm a fan of the Tony Martin era of the band. Despite a lot of "stick their head in the sand and go Ozzy or nothing" Black Sabbath fans, there's more to the band's legacy than that.

There's some fantastic music in these albums (5 studio, 1 live). While most of the albums are currently out of print, I've been told that eventually they will all be remastered and re-released, so the music will get heavily pushed here, as most of them are forgotten gems.

Tony Martin turns 53 today, and in honor of his birthday, I say you get out your Tony Martin era Black Sabbath albums, and give 'em a spin. Or better yet, get his 2005 solo album, Scream out and give that a listen. If you have never heard it, go buy it. Another overlooked gem.

Guitar Hero 5 Black Sabbath Giveaway

Back in January, I announced that three master tracks of Black Sabbath's (After Forever, Sweet Leaf, & Into the Void) were going to be released for the Guitar Hero 5 game back in February. That didn't happen (for reasons I never found out), but I'm writing to say that the tracks will now be released two weeks from today, on April 29th, 2010.

Today I'm also here to tell you that thanks to Activision, I'm going to be giving away five copies of the track pack. The prize will be in the form of a downloadable code you will be emailed if you win the contest. The prizes are for the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 - no other platforms. Anyway, I'm going to be running one of my traditional trivia giveaways for this. Please make sure to pay attention to the submission rules. If you don't, your entry will not be counted.

CONTEST RULES:

• Send in your answers to the trivia questions only to the email address guitarhero5@black-sabbath.com - Emails sent to any other address will be ignored.
• The contest runs through Thursday April 29th, 2010 at 11:59PM Central Time.
• You must send in your name and address with your entry or it will be ignored.
• You must send in your console preference (360 or PS3) with your entry. You cannot get both. Only one.
• According to my contact who gave me the codes to give away, this contest is only open to those in US/Canada. Sorry about that, guys, but there's nothing I can do.

CONTEST QUESTIONS:

1. What was the first Guitar themed game to have a Black Sabbath song released for it?
2. What album are the Guitar Hero 5 tracks from?
3. What was the first name of the new Ozzy Osbourne solo album due this June?
4. What is the only Ozzy era Black Sabbath track to have a drum machine on the released version of the song?

Here is the formal press release for the track pack:

GUITAR HERO® 5 AND BAND HERO™ ROLL INTO APRIL WITH HOT NEW ROCK ADDITIONS TO THE GUITAR HERO MUSIC LIBRARY

Gamers to Get Black Sabbath Master Tracks for the First Time Ever, as Well as Music from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Fall Out Boy, Blur, The All-American Rejects, Saving Abel and Phoenix

SANTA MONICA, CA - March 31, 2010 - Activision Publishing, Inc.'s (Nasdaq: ATVI) April lineup of downloadable songs is sure to satisfy with huge rock bands and popular tracks for Guitar Hero® 5 and Band Hero™ players this month. With the addition of tracks from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Fall Out Boy, Blur, The All-American Rejects, Saving Abel, Phoenix and Black Sabbath, the Guitar Hero music library continues to evolve and expand, providing hours of entertainment for fans of all music genres.

Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd kicks off the month of downloadable music on April 1, with a three song track pack featuring the rock anthem that first brought the band national attention, "Free bird." In addition, gamers will also get the popular singles "Simple Man" and "Gimme Three Steps" off Lynyrd Skynyrd's 1973 debut album.

On April 8, gamers can let the good times roll with the Fall Out Boy Track Pack, which contains three hits from their certified-platinum album Infinity on High. "Thnks fr th Mmrs," "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" and "The Take Over, The Breaks Over" will have players rocking out to the creative lyrics and catchy tunes that helped garner the band mainstream success.

Gamers looking for more great songs to expand their music libraries are in for a treat as Guitar Hero throws three hot singles into the mix. "Gives You Hell," the 2008 hit single by The All-American Rejects, "There's No Other Way" by alternative rock band Blur and "Addicted" off Saving Abel's debut self-titled album will be available as downloadable singles starting April 15.

On April 22, the stage is set for Grammy Award winning French alternative rock band, Phoenix, to make their Guitar Hero debut. "Everything Is Everything" from Phoenix's 2005 album, Alphabetical, will join "Lisztomania" and "1901," from their award winning 2009 album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, to give fans of the band a new way to experience the music they know and love.

Driving home the broad selection of rockin' Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero downloadable music is heavy metal pioneer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Black Sabbath, on April 29. The unforgettable and intense experience that is Black Sabbath comes to music gaming fans, as master tracks, for the first time, featuring "After Forever," "Into The Void" and "Sweet leaf," three tracks off their double-platinum album Master of Reality

The Lynyrd Skynyrd, Fall Out Boy, Phoenix and Black Sabbath track packs will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points, on the PlayStation®Store for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system for $5.49 and for Wii™ for 550 Wii Points™. All songs in each track pack, as well as The All-American Rejects, Blur and Saving Abel tracks, will also be released as downloadable singles for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 160 Microsoft Points, PlayStation 3 system for $1.99 and Wii for 200 Wii Points each. In addition to the in-game music store and the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360, Xbox 360 owners can expand their Guitar Hero music library using the Guitar Hero VIP Pass Music Store, available exclusively on Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network.

For more information about Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and their entire line-up of downloadable songs, please visit www.guitarhero.com.

If you do not own Guitar Hero 5, here are some ordering links for the software:

New Ozzy Single - "Let Me Hear You Scream"

Noticed this morning that the new Ozzy Osbourne single is floating around out there. The track name is "Let Me Hear You Scream". The album is entitled "Scream" (which was way better than the unfortunate first choice of "Soul Sucka").

The album is due out June 15th, and while it's not available for pre-order yet, the official Ozzy site is taking names for a list you can get on an "exclusive pre-order". I'm sure the usual places will have it shortly too, and when they do, I'll have links to them here.

Anyway, check out the single. It was premiered last night on an episode of CSI: New York. I don't have any word regarding whether you can buy it as a single or not, but you can check out a streaming version of the song here, which I think is a badass leadoff track. Hopefully the rest of the album is as good.