What's News at Sabbathlive?!

WEBMASTER OFFICIALLY ON ‘SABBATICAL’ FROM SABBATHLIVE

To all of my loyal Sabbathlive readers,

I have greatly appreciated all of the feedback, contributions and support you have offered to me since I began working on this project back in 2002.  I haven’t been marking the years passed or the anniversaries since I started this site, but it does seem remarkable that 5 years have passed already.  I’ve made a lot of good friends along the way, many of whom are now close and valued friends.

I realize this letter might be interpreted as a "goodbye" letter, but that is not my intention.  I am NOT closing down Sabbathlive.  I have invested far too much of myself into this project to simply walk away from it.  The mountain is a steep one, so I have decided to set up a base camp to enjoy the view for a while.  Instead, I simply wanted to take a moment to explain why I haven't been actively working on the site over the past 6 months or more. 

My professional responsibilities have changed over the past 2 years.  I’m now managing a small data recovery lab and simply don't have the free time that I once did.  After many years of answering e-mails and updating web pages, my beloved hobby had begun to feel more like just another job that had to be done.  I suppose it was inevitable that I would start feeling some degree of burn-out having hyper focused on Black Sabbath for so long.  I decided to slow down on the website work and take more out to appreciate the other aspects of my life I’d neglected for too long.

I’ve always felt that taking a vacation was like a building a dam that I hoped wouldn’t break before my return.  Upon checking my Sabbathlive e-mail account, I discovered how right I was.  There were several hundred new messages, most of which were expecting a response of some sort.  I have yet to come with a good solution for handling my Sabbathlive e-mail, as much of the research inquiries and leads require MORE research.  I’ve also prided myself on trying to provide honest and personal responses to each and every message.  If someone is taking their time to help me out with research, I feel they deserve a thoughtful response in return.

The problem for me was that I could receive 10 new messages and spend my lunch hour addressing only half of them.  And the next day would be the same.  My last tally had 300 unread e-mail’s, so please don’t take it personally that I may not have responded to you.  I’m only one person with SO little free time for e-mail.  Who knows – you may get an answer 6 months from now.  (I’m only half kidding about that)  Lately, it seems I'm having to explain my quandary to every other person who writes to me, which is some of the reason I've decided to cover this here.  I'm really OK!  I must admit that I now dread even going into my Sabbathlive e-mail account to see how many more unanswered messages await me.

What began as a research project became a much of a time investment that I had originally anticipated.  In the beginning, I looked forward to sacrificing most of my lunch hours and Saturday mornings to answer reader e-mail’s or add show reviews to the ever expanding database.  My original intentions were simply to provide an accurate accounting of Black Sabbath’s concert history, as well as the live recordings that existed to document these shows. 

My ambitions grew into covering even wider territories that ultimately diverted me from my original goal (such as keeping up with the latest news, cover art galleries, etc.).  It didn’t take me long to realize that I didn’t have the free time or will to maintain a newsletter or forum.  I wisely decided that Sabbathlive should respectfully complement Joe Siegler’s Black-Sabbath.com, which was one of my original inspirations to start a web site.  I’ve only come to respect his contributions to the Black Sabbath fan community after walking alongside him on this same road.  His friendship and research contributions have meant a great deal to me.  There have also been many others who have helped me along the way too, but I don’t want to get too long winded here.  There are ample credits all throughout my website, so those people know who they are!

Therefore, I do want to say officially that I am taking indefinite leave from these responsibilities until further notice.  HOWEVER, I will continue to update my shows and known audio/video sections as time allows me to. 

I may not respond to your e-mail’s in a timely manner, but I will do my best to muster a response when I’m able. 

Please DO NOT write to me if you’re looking for a trade or a particular bootleg, as there are plenty of people on the Sabbathlive Trading Registry to ask.  I am not actively trading at the present time and will only consider shows that are especially rare or uncirculated.

If you do have questions about the current status of Sabbath, Heaven & Hell or its former members, you would be better served by writing to Joe Siegler, as I’m not staying as current on these news items.

For the past 5 years, I have always paid my web hosting fees completely out of pocket.  I have consciously elected NOT to allow advertisers to cheapen my site with click-and-pay advertisements.  I have only posted banners for products that I would buy for myself and not because I had been paid to do so.

I know that a lot of people still use the site for reference and would hate to take it down abruptly.  I have never asked for contributions in the past, but I would appreciate even a few bucks from any of you who would like see Sabbathlive.com remain up in 2008.  If so, you can send me a Paypal donation to robbit@bellsouth.net.  While I certainly don’t expect most people to do this for me, your contributions will have an influence on the future of Sabbathlive.  Again, mega-thanks to everyone who has contributed to Sabbathlive over the past 5 years!

Rob Dwyer

SWEDEN ROCK PERFORMANCE TO AIR ON SWEDISH RADIO IN SEPTEMBER

Sweden's P4 will be broadcasting Heaven & Hell's performance from the Sweden Rock Festival (6/7/2007) two months from now.  For more information, click here.

(Special thanks to Konsta Alander for helping me add this new item!)

NEW BOOKS BY SABBATHLIVE WRITER & CONTRIBUTOR NOW AVAILABLE!

I'm very proud to announce the release of a new book by my close friend, Guillaume Roos.   Guillaume has been assisting me for several years with various aspects of Sabbathlive, including historical research, show reviews & cover art design.  It hardly surprises me that his talents go even beyond what he has offered in the area of Black Sabbath research.  SPEAK OF THE DEVIL is a collection of 12 different short stories that fans of Science Fiction, Horror or Fantasy may enjoy.

A psychiatrist lurks at night in the basement of an abandoned wing of his hospital to meet a two hundred years old creature ; A priest from the north of France chases a serial killer all the way to a small town of Arizona ; A drunk driver dies after accidently killing a woman and waits for his punishment in the anteroom of Death; The chief of security of a mining station watches the apocalypse breaking loose on the population he has to protect ; A hobo, his mind destroyed by a nameless horror, waits restlessly to see the evil that broke him rising from the depth of the Northern Sea... For the first time in English, 12 terrifying stories that will bring you to the edge of imagination. The crypt has been opened, it is time to dream...

For those interested in reading Guillaume's new book, click on the cover art above to purchase a copy from Lulu.  It is available in hardcover format OR as a very reasonably priced PDF download.

And if that's not enough, Guillaume's talents also extend to some excellent drawing work!  He released MASCARADA: THE PIN-UP AND FINE ART OF GUILLAUME ROOS last year and is also available for purchase.  This is a collection of very tastefully done erotic art drawings that I've found to be quite impressive!  Bravo Guillaume!!!

 'HANGIN' WITH HEAVEN & HELL' PREMIERES MARCH 31st ON VH1 CLASSIC

Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi & Geezer Butler stopped by VH1 Classic studios in New York recently to chat about their new album and recent reunion.  Tune in to VH1 Classic at 3 PM EST on Saturday to watch the premiere of this episode.  You can also view and advance sample here.

 NEW CNN ARTICLE - 'BLACK SABBATH, REBORN'

NEW YORK (Billboard) -- The reunion of the Ronnie James Dio-fronted version of Black Sabbath has been a long time coming. But it's not likely to be a long-term affair.

And don't call the band Black Sabbath, either. The combo is hitting the road as Heaven and Hell, a nod to the title of Dio's debut with Sabbath in 1980, a year after original singer Ozzy Osbourne was ousted.

The change was made so as not to confuse this lineup with the reactivated original Sabbath, which intends to record a new album and tour in 2008, delayed from the original plan of late 2007.

"There is only one Black Sabbath," Osbourne's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne said after the Dio reunion was announced last October.

Heaven and Hell also consists of two Sabbath co-founders, guitarist Tony Iommi and bass player Terry "Geezer" Butler, and drummer Vinny Appice.

The first leg of the world tour began March 11 in Vancouver, and will run through March 30 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. It will resume April 22 in Phoenix. Megadeth and Machine Head are opening the U.S. dates.

"We've approached this as really having an ending period. We all have other commitments, and we've had a lot of turmoil in the past. So maybe this is the way to avoid it," Dio said.

But Iommi sounded a more optimistic note. "We haven't locked the doors ... It's one of those 'Let's just see how it goes' (situations)."

Iommi said the tour will feature songs only from the Dio periods of the band, so fans need not shout out for "War Pigs" and "Iron Man." In addition to the platinum "Heaven and Hell," on which original drummer Bill Ward played, Dio appeared on 1981's gold "Mob Rules" and 1992's "Dehumanizer" -- and the 1982 concert set "Live Evil." Heaven and Hell plans to film and record at least one show on this year's tour.

Iommi allegedly referred to the diminutive singer as "little Hitler," and accused him of sneaking into the studio to enhance his vocals.

Dio quit after "Live Evil," launching a successful career at the helm of his own band, and was replaced by Ian Gillan, and then by Tony Martin. He rejoined for "Dehumanizer."

Any past animosities, according to Iommi, have been put to rest.

"These things, they get blown out of proportion," he said. "When you see each other everything gets sorted out, especially with this lineup. We've always sort of got on very well, and it's like we haven't been away from each other. So there's no point in holding grudges against anybody, I don't think -- certainly not at our bloody ages."

Original source - Posted March 20th, 2007

Special thanks to Mrs. Dwyer for pointing this one out!

VIDEO CLIPS FROM EDMONTON SHOW & MORE

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the following reports on the HEAVEN AND HELL tour.  There are are many more interesting news bits, so I'd certainly recommend visiting them other articles of interest.  There's only so many minutes in a day that I can keep up with all of this stuff!  Special thanks to Thierry Bauwens for the heads up.

Several full-length video clips of HEAVEN AND HELL — the band featuring BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, singer Ronnie James Dio, and drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO) — performing last night (Tuesday, March 13) at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada have been posted online at YouTube.com. Check them out at the links below:

"The Mob Rules" (video)
"After All (The Dead)" (video)
"Children of the Sea" (video)
"Ear in the Wall" (video)
"The Sign of the Southern Cross" (video)
"The Devil Cried" (video)
"Neon Knights" (video)
"Lonely is the Word" (video)

According to a flyer that was handed out at HEAVEN AND HELL's concert in Vancouver on Sunday (March 11), a HEAVEN AND HELL live CD/DVD is being planned for release in the fall. No further details are currently available.

HEAVEN AND HELL will wrap its Canadian tour with MEGADETH and DOWN on March 28 in Ottawa. A U.S. trek with support from MEGADETH and MACHINE HEAD will launch April 22 in Phoenix, Arizona.

As previously reported, HEAVEN AND HELL will be the featured guests on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" airing Wednesday, April 11. The live show begins at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET, and fans are encouraged to call in with questions during the program at (800) 344-ROCK (7625). To find a station near you, check out www.rocklineradio.com.

As previously reported, Iommi and Butler, Dio, and Appice will be signing copies of the new BLACK SABBATH CD, "The Dio Years", on Tuesday, April 3 between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. at Best Buy (44th & 5th Avenue) in New York City. Contact the store for further details: (212) 808-0309.

(Thanks: Iommip)

 AUDIO & VIDEO RECORDINGS FROM VANCOUVER!

God bless technology!  Just days after their opening night in Vancouver, there are already several different recordings from the show popping up on the Internet.  Although I've always made it might business to keep up with these unofficial souvenirs, I do realize that this will be an increasingly difficult task in the future.  With so many people using enhanced cell phone technology to record random moments from live shows, it is safe to say the nearly every show will be captured in digital form.  I suppose I may need to change my criteria a bit when listing future shows and stick to cataloging more complete recordings (not just random excerpts).  Anyhow, if I do come across ANY of these bits, I will make my best efforts to mention them.

The first item of interest for you is a 'very good' audience recording of Vancouver 3/11/2007 performance that just popped up as a torrent over the past 24 hours.  I've already listened to half of this show and am VERY impressed with Ronnie's vocals on the opening night.  Hearing this lineup do "The Sign Of The Southern Cross" in its complete form FOR THE FIRST TIME LIVE gave me goosebumps.  You could almost sense the sigh of relief from the audience when they DIDN'T break into "Heaven And Hell" midway through the song.

Anyhow, enough of my teasing.  You can download an MP3 copy of the entire show ("After All" is joined in progress) by downloading this torrent link.  If it doesn't work anymore, please don't message me about it.  I'm only passing along the information while it's available....

And if that isn't enough, you can watch several video excerpts from the show on YouTube!  At last tally, I found 7 different video clips from the show (including one from the opener - Down).

Introduction / "After All (The Dead)" excerpt from Vancouver 3/11/2007 (3:32)

"Die Young" excerpt from Vancouver 3/11/2007 (2:35)

Vinny Appice's drum solo from Vancouver 3/11/2007 (4:02)

 THE 'HEAVEN AND HELL' WORLD TOUR HAS BEGUN!

After many months of wishing and hoping that all of the pieces would fall together, the newly reunited MOB RULES era lineup of Black Sabbath has finally hit the road!  Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice played their first live show together in 15 years!!!  The first reviews from their kick-off show in Vancouver are already beginning to seep in.  This means that it is time for Sabbathlive to emerge from its dormancy to share the news and reports that are coming in!

If you do happen to attend any of the shows, feel free to share your thoughts, memories & photos with other fans here.  I would also encourage you to check out Joe Siegler's tour pages for more timely reviews and updates on the tour in progress.  I don't have as much time to site updates as I once did, but I will make an effort to share the highlights and any interesting items that come my way.

'HEAVEN AND HELL' (THE BAND) TOUR SECTION

DON'T FORGET TO LISTEN TO ROCKLINE ON APRIL 11th

That's right - HEAVEN & HELL will be appearing on this long running U.S. radio program and will be taking calls from fans like YOU.  Be sure to tune in!

THE LATEST 'HEAVEN AND HELL' NEWS AND UPDATES

More dates have been announced and confirmed as of last night.  Ronnie James Dio & Eddie Trunk were interviewed on Eddie Trunk's radio program last night.  During the show, they confirmed the current tour itinerary that I've had up as 'tentative / unconfirmed' dates.  In addition, they've added the 1st confirmed U.S. date at Radio City Music Hall in NYC on March 30th.  Tickets will go on sale January 26th for $74 and $54.  There will be NO support act for HEAVEN & HELL at the NYC show.

Joe Siegler did a nice synopsis of the Eddie Trunk interview which can be read here.  Joe also mentioned to me this evening that Megadeth has been announced as the support act for the Canadian dates as of today.  There is no further word on the status of Down as a support act or whether they will be used for later U.S. dates.

The newest additions on the European itinerary are:

June 19th - Torwar - Warszawa, Poland

June 20th - Spodek Hall - Katowice, Poland

For the latest complete itinerary, click here.  As much as I'd like to call these gigs 'confirmed', any of these dates are subject to change over the coming weeks.  However, it does look as if the schedule is gradually firming up for at least the Canadian tour in March.

NEWS ON OZZYHEAD.COM & SOME UPDATE OZZY TOURING HISTORIES

I was very surprised to learn that Mitch Van Beekum has decided to end his long running web project dedicated to Ozzy Osbourne.  Ozzyhead.com was among the first web sites I'd visited when I first began surfing the World Wide Web back in 1996.  Although Mitch & I were never close friends, I've always considered his site to be one of the best resources for Ozzy fans on the Internet period.  I never envied the task of having to keep up with Ozzy's busy career, preferring instead to leave the finer details to Mitch.  It's been difficult enough to keep tabs on the Sabs!

Although Mitch departed in a very abrupt manner, I can relate to how he might feel in some ways.  He's given up a lot of his own personal time for the benefit of his website visitors and it's time he'll never regain.  After 10 years, I think he's earned his right to take leave any way he wishes.  While the reasons he gave might seem odd to some people, I think that's really his own prerogative.  However, If I do ever decide to pull the plug on Sabbathlive, I will first consider turning it over to someone else.  It's just a shame to see all of the work and research get shelved in such an abrupt way.

Given that Mitch has removed many invaluable reference sources related to Ozzy from his site, I've decided to revisit the idea of posting some listings of Ozzy's touring history.  When Mitch decided to incorporate some of the research that me and Joe Siegler have done into his own lists a few years ago, I also imported his Ozzy solo information into my database.  Until now, I've never felt the need to post it, since there really wasn't any need before.

The first thing I noticed when going through Mitch's lists was how much information was actually missing.  I'd encountered the same issue when I took it upon myself to revise Joe Siegler's original Black Sabbath tour histories back in 2002.  With so much web site work to be done, neither Joe nor Mitch had the time or desire to fixate on the finer details of the touring histories.  Sabbathlive's mission was entirely different in the fact that I was looking to create a definitive listing for reference purposes.  Having a correct list of historical gigs and performances was essential to me in being able to authenticate live recordings, which was really my original mission for this site.

Strangely enough, Ozzy.com decided to utilize Mitch's original lists at some point but never took the time to correct them!  Much of the information on the original site is misspelled or just plain wrong.  This makes it very difficult and frustrating for hardcore fans to research Ozzy's live history.

I plan on giving Mitch's original lists the full SABBATHLIVE treatment, but I'm not so sure I want to get as deeply into the memorabilia and other assorted Ozzy infos.  We'll just have to see how this all goes.  For now, here are my rough drafts for the new updated Ozzy tour histories.  I've corrected most of the spelling and logic errors, but there is still MUCH to do.  With little effort, I was able to add at least a dozen shows that weren't on the original listings.  Plus, there are lots of venue and opening acts to add here as well.  If you happen to know what's missing, feel free to drop me a line at sabbathlive@gmail.com.  I do plan on finishing this out with some more thorough research through Pollstar and a few other sources.  For now, here are the rough drafts!  (I still need to add 2004-2006)

Ozzy's Complete Performance History

Cancelled Shows

Temp Hold Dates (Unconfirmed)

Update - As of 1/23/07, I am still very much hard at work on updating Ozzy's Live Performance History timelines!  I believe I have straightened out a large number of U.S. dates between 1981 and 1983.  Now we will finally have a proper accounting of the cancelled and rescheduled gigs that took place after Randy's accident, as well as the transitional dates for the guitarists who replaced him. 

I can see that my Mailbox is quite full of even MORE updates and corrections.  When I am able to get through these, you will here back from me directly.  All corrections will be noted, but I need to give each my proper attention.  Thanks to Steve Olley, Konsta Alander, Armijn Hemel, & everyone else who's been helping out here.  This almost feels like the early days of Sabbathlive again.  :)

NEW RANT FROM ROB ON SITE UPDATES

I've posted an open letter for my site visitors regarding the lack of frequent updates and e-mail responses.  I'm still alive and well, but not finding so much time for web site work or trading these days.  I am psyched about the HEAVEN & HELL tour though and can't wait to see the boys on stage again!

Open letter from Rob

'HEAVEN AND HELL' APPEARANCE IN GERMANY CONFIRMED

As many of you probably already know, the MOB RULES era lineup (Dio, Iommi, Butler & Appice) have re-united once again, yet under a completely different moniker - HEAVEN AND HELL.  They are currently scheduling various appearances at European festival shows this summer.  I will post further information about these in the coming weeks.

Blabbermouth has posted the following news item about their scheduled appearance at the BANG YOUR HEAD festival in Balingen, Germany:

HEAVEN AND HELL — the new band featuring legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW) alongside original BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, plus drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH) — has been confirmed as the headliner of this year's installment of the Bang Your Head!!! festival, set to take place June 22-23, 2007 in Balingen, Germany. The festival billing is shaping up as follows:

HEAVEN AND HELL
EDGUY
AMON AMARTH
BRAINSTORM
EVERGREY
FINNTROLL
GIRLSCHOOL
MERCENARY
MYSTIC PROPHECY
NAZARETH
POWERMAD
PRAYING MANTIS
STEELHEART
THUNDER

Eight more acts will be announced.  Tickets are limited to 20,000 and are available at ticket-hotline (+49-74 57-94 46 12) and via www.bang-your-head.de.  Prices are 65 euros (plus shipping) at pre-sales.

The HEAVEN AND HELL tour will kick off in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 3 and play at least seven shows across Canada, ending in Toronto.  Then the band will likely play South America, Japan, Korea, Australia and Europe before returning to North America for a U.S. tour in August or September.

The upcoming Dio-era BLACK SABBATH anthology, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years", will feature three new songs ("Shadow of the Wind", "Devil Cries" and "Ear in the Wall"), and is tentatively due this spring.

ARCHIVED NEWS

Here are all of the old news, updates and credits that I've posted here on SABBATHLIVE since it launched in July 2002.  I'm not maintaining any of the hyperlinks found within these pages, so don't bother reporting any bad links you might find in here.  This is the OLD stuff.  Much of the information in these posts has been added and updated elsewhere in the site, but there are also some older links and e-mail's you might find interesting.

2002              2003               2004

    Nov. through Dec. 2004 (New Format)          2005          2006