Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath Thread

[mrlee]

According to NME.com, OZZY OSBOURNE will play the following European dates during May/June:

May 27 - Moscow, Russia - Olympissky Stadium
May 29 - St. Petersburg, Russia - New Arena
May 31 - Riga - Arena Riga
Jun. 02 - Lithuania - Siemens Arena
Jun. 04 - Estonia - Saku Arena
Jun. 06 - Helsinki, Finland - Hartwell Arena
Jun. 08 - Norway - Lerkendal Stadium
Jun. 10 - Norway - Spektrum Arena
Jun. 13 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Forum
Jun. 15 - Sweden - Hultsfred Festival
Jun. 17 - Holland - Fields Of Rock Festival
Jun. 19 - London, UK - Wembley Arena
Jun. 22 - Spain - Monsters of Rock
Jun. 24 - Belgium - Graspop Metal Festival
Jun. 26 - Prague, Czech Republic - Saska Arena
Jun. 28 - Munich, Germany - Olymialle
Jun. 30 - Milan, Italy - Idropark Festival

shame he doesnt do actual tours of countries now, especially his homeland england.

[mrlee]

According to NME.com, OZZY OSBOURNE will play the following European dates during May/June:

May 27 - Moscow, Russia - Olympissky Stadium
May 29 - St. Petersburg, Russia - New Arena
May 31 - Riga - Arena Riga
Jun. 02 - Lithuania - Siemens Arena
Jun. 04 - Estonia - Saku Arena
Jun. 06 - Helsinki, Finland - Hartwell Arena
Jun. 08 - Norway - Lerkendal Stadium
Jun. 10 - Norway - Spektrum Arena
Jun. 13 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Forum
Jun. 15 - Sweden - Hultsfred Festival
Jun. 17 - Holland - Fields Of Rock Festival
Jun. 19 - London, UK - Wembley Arena
Jun. 22 - Spain - Monsters of Rock
Jun. 24 - Belgium - Graspop Metal Festival
Jun. 26 - Prague, Czech Republic - Saska Arena
Jun. 28 - Munich, Germany - Olymialle
Jun. 30 - Milan, Italy - Idropark Festival

Are these tickets out to purchase yet?

[Malcolm]

No they were just announced about an hour ago...Will prolly go on sale early feb

[Red1]

Presale tickets were onsale for London, Wembley earlier today.

Standing - http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/22003E37EB3A74F2

Seated - http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/event/22003E37EB457546

Enjoy!

[Malcolm]

HEAVEN AND HELL's sole U.S. concert this spring, which is scheduled for March 30 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, has officially sold out less than two hours after tickets went on sale this morning (at 10:00 a.m.).

[F*ck Fear]

I got my floor tickets for Heaven And Hell in Toronto So fucking awsome.....DOWN!!

[Malcolm]

Congrats man...I dont know much of Ronnies stuff so im not going....I might have if Canada got Motorhead instead of Megadeath though.....I will say this is an amazing package theyve put together though

[F*ck Fear]

Congrats man...I dont know much of Ronnies stuff so im not going....I might have if Canada got Motorhead instead of Megadeath though.....I will say this is an amazing package theyve put together though

Yea I'm not to familiar with anything from Dio to be honest. I'm only going to see Down anyhow

[lennonisgod]

Is anything post-Ozzy era Sabbath REALLY worth a listen???  I'm only asking because I don't think I've heard a Sabbath album without Ozzy before. People I know that like Sabbath usually listen to the first few albums they did, which have Ozzy on vocals.  I'm interested in hearing Sabbath without Ozzy because I've always been a fan of Toni Iommi's work , and was just curious what, if any, are the best songs\albums to look for... so any info is appreciated!!!!!!!!

[JohnMorrison73]

my cousin suprisingly got me a black sabbath cd for xmas, and it is unlistenable.. 

[BLS-Pride]

my cousin suprisingly got me a black sabbath cd for xmas, and it is unlistenable.. 

Which album?

[JohnMorrison73]

uh its like a 2 cd best of thing

[TAP]

Is anything post-Ozzy era Sabbath REALLY worth a listen??? 

Depends who you ask The first two with Dio - Heaven and Hell, and Mob Rules - are both really good, as is the next one with Ian Gillan - Born Again. I can't listen to anything else after that these days even though I own them all. There are die-hard Tony Martin fans who think those albums are as good as the early stuff, but to me it's just lifeless 80s metal. Iommi went from being innovator to follower.

Born Again is probably closest in spirit to the Ozzy stuff, but none of it really compares to the first 6 albums.

[freedom78]

Is anything post-Ozzy era Sabbath REALLY worth a listen???  I'm only asking because I don't think I've heard a Sabbath album without Ozzy before. People I know that like Sabbath usually listen to the first few albums they did, which have Ozzy on vocals.  I'm interested in hearing Sabbath without Ozzy because I've always been a fan of Toni Iommi's work , and was just curious what, if any, are the best songs\albums to look for... so any info is appreciated!!!!!!!!

Heaven and Hell is a masterpiece.  Buy it now.

Mob Rules is good, but I find it a bit overrated.

I also happen to like TYR, which is Sabbath going in a very power metal direction (w/ Tony Martin)...this surprises me, because I'm not much of a power metal fan, in general. 

Born Again I like, but I could see why some don't.

[Malcolm]

Jeb Wright of Classic Rock Revisited recently conducted an interview with BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL bassist Geezer Butler. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Classic Rock Revisited: When did you first hear about [the possibility of a HEAVEN AND HELL tour]?

Geezer: I knew that Tony [Iommi] met Ronnie [James Dio] and that they had written two or three songs. We are going to be putting out the anthology CD of the Dio years of SABBATH. Rhino asked us if we could come up with some new stuff to put on it. Ronnie and Tony wrote three new songs. Word got out about it and we started getting tour offers. We started putting a tour together to go with the album release. I went over to England and put the bass down on it and that was that. The album will come out in [April].

Classic Rock Revisited: Are there future plans yet or are you going to see how the tour goes?

Geezer: It is just a year-long thing. Because of things that happened in the past we don't want to press our luck. Everyone is happy with a year-long tour.

Classic Rock Revisited: Bill Ward was going to be involved.

Geezer: Bill was involved originally. Bill was in the studio when I went over there but he didn't want to tour so he didn't go any further with it.

Classic Rock Revisited: You played together back in the '80s and the '90s and the band was called BLACK SABBATH. Now you are HEAVEN AND HELL. Why is the name different this time around?

Geezer: Back then SABBATH was dead and buried, as far as Ozzy is concerned. The record company insisted on calling us BLACK SABBATH and we were contracted that way. I think Tony wanted to carry on with the name BLACK SABBATH anyway. Due to the restoration of the original SABBATH now, we couldn't go out that way. We didn't want to confuse everyone by going out this time as BLACK SABBATH with Ronnie and then next year going out as SABBATH with Ozzy. Both things are hopefully going to be ongoing.

Classic Rock Revisited: SABBATH is still alive?

Geezer: Yeah. With the original BLACK SABBATH lineup that did the reunion, we have really only played North America and a few European places. We have always wanted to do a world tour.

Classic Rock Revisited: You have not visited the Dio-era SABBATH material for some time. Has it been easy for you to revisit those songs?

Geezer: No, it has been really hard. For this tour we are doing strictly Dio-era songs. Apart from "Neon Knights", "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules" ? which we have done live before ? we have not done a lot of the others live. There are several songs we have never played live. We are playing a lot of stuff for the first time since we recorded it. It is hard to remember what you played on a lot of these songs.

Classic Rock Revisited: Are you just putting the CD on and playing along with it trying to figure out your parts?

Geezer: Absolutely. The stuff that we have played a lot before is not a problem but there is a lot of stuff on "Dehumanizer" that we never played. I don't even remember recording half of it. Those songs have a lot of tempo and time changes which make it quite hard to do them. For the last two weeks I have been going through all these songs at home. We are going to be getting together for two weeks of rehearsal soon. Everyone is doing their homework right now and then we will get together and bang it out.

Classic Rock Revisited: You will play no Ozzy-era material at all?

Geezer: No, we are not doing any of that. The Ozzy thing is still ongoing so I think it is best to keep them totally separate.

Classic Rock Revisited: Were there any hard feelings from Ozzy when you guys wanted to do this?

Geezer: I think he got a bit upset at first when he thought we were going to go out as BLACK SABBATH. When I told him that we were not going to do that then he was fine with it.

[Sparksry]

just bought 3 ickets at the john labatt centre yesterday for march 24th

[Malcolm]

Together for a short but memorable time-a trio of studio albums, a classic live album, and a couple of tours-the second coming of BLACK SABBATH began in 1979 when founding members Tony Iommi and Terry "Geezer" Butler were joined by Ronnie James Dio. The former singer of ELF (and later RAINBOW and DIO) added his fiery, demonic howl to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group's crushing mix of iconic riffs, gloomy grooves and doom-soaked imagery.

In late 2006 Dio, Iommi and Butler, joined by drummer Vinny Appice, reunited to record three new songs for Rhino Records' era-spanning collection, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years". These recording sessions went so well that the quartet ? billed as HEAVEN AND HELL ? will launch a highly anticipated world tour this spring. The group will play a dozen dates in Canada in March before taking the stage of the famed Radio City Music Hall in New York City on March 30 to play their only U.S. date until the band launches a full tour of the States later this year.

The first comprehensive introduction to the band's legacy, "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" features a dozen classic studio recordings, plus one live track ? "Children Of The Sea" from 1982's "Live Evil". The collection also contains the three brand-new tracks ? "The Devil Cried", "Shadow Of The Wind", and "Ear In The Wall". The disc will be available April 3 at all physical retail outlets and at www.rhino.com for a suggested list price of $18.98. The album will also be available at all digital retail outlets for a suggested retail price of $11.99.

Arranged chronologically, the compilation spotlights Dio's time with BLACK SABBATH and draws heavily from the lineup's 1980 debut and 1981 follow-up, "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules" respectively. Recognized as back-to-back metal classics, the albums feature such signature songs as the title tracks, "Neon Knights", "Die Young", "Turn Up The Night" and "Voodoo". "The Dio Years" also features "After All (The Dead)", "TV Crimes" and "I" from the singer's brief reunion with SABBATH for the "Dehumanizer" album and tour.

On May 1, Rhino Handmade will release "Black Sabbath: Live At Hammersmith Odeon", which features Dio, Iommi, Butler and Appice getting hot one December night in London during SABBATH's 1981 tour for "Mob Rules". Previously unreleased, the concert spotlights SABBATH as they storm through 14 of the Dio-era's best including "Neon Knights", "Heaven And Hell", "Children Of The Sea" and "Country Girl". The band also performs several pre-Dio classics, including "Paranoid", "Children Of The Grave" and a white-hot version of "War Pigs". The album will be available from Rhino Handmade as an individually numbered limited edition of 5,000 copies, available only at www.rhinohandmade.com for a suggested retail price of $19.98.

"Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" track listing:

01. Neon Knights
02. Lady Evil
03. Heaven And Hell
04. Die Young
05. Lonely Is The Word
06. The Mob Rules
07. Turn Up The Night
08. Voodoo
09. Falling Off The Edge Of The World
10. After All (The Dead)
11. TV Crimes
12. I
13. Children Of The Sea - Live
14. The Devil Cried*
15. Shadow Of The Wind*
16. Ear In The Wall*

* Newly recorded tracks


"Black Sabbath: Live at Hammersmith Odeon" track listing:

01. E5150
02. Neon Knights
03. N.I.B.
04. Children Of The Sea
05. Country Girl
06. Black Sabbath
07. War Pigs
08. Slipping Away
09. Iron Man
10. The Mob Rules
11. Heaven And Hell
12. Paranoid
13. Voodoo
14. Children Of The Grave

All selections previously unissued

[Malcolm]

Really great read and interview by Toni Iommi here http://www.metaleater.com/interviews-heavenandhell022007.php
To long to post but its really cool

[F*ck Fear]

Cool read, thanks man

[TAP]

http://geezerbutler.com/

Tour rehearsals started TODAY in Los Angeles.  In other tour news, Heaven & Hell are looking at touring the States sooner than the original late summer plans (August) they had originally made.  No dates or other confirmation is available at this time, but we thought you'd enjoy this short tidbit about the tour.