a complete history of black sabbath (facebook_s only, complete black sabbath page)

7/30/2019 A Complete History of Black Sabbath (Facebook_s Only, Complete Black Sabbath Page)

1/47

Founded October 24, 2005

History by Year October 24, 2005

2005 - 2013 Joseph Paul Anthony Angel

(All information on this page is property of Joseph Paul Anthony Angel, unless cited otherwise.

If you wish to use any information herein, please contact me or at least cite me and the page. )

*** ALTHOUGH THIS TEDIOUS, INFO-PACKED PAGE IS NOT RUN BY 'BLACK

SABBATH' (OR ANY OF ITS MEMBERS) AND IS NOT AN 'OFFICIAL BLACK

SABBATH PAGE', DO NOT BE FOOLED BY OTHER FACEBOOK PAGESCLAIMING

TO HAVE A "COMPLETE HISTORY" OF BLACK SABBATH. ALMOST ALWAYS, THAT

INFORMATION IS COPIED AND PASTED OFF OF WIKIPEDIA AND IS EITHER

INCOMPLETE, BIAS IN FAVOR OF THE 'OZZY CAMP AND ERA', OR FULL OF

INACCURACIES OR ERRORS. MANY TIMES, THERE ISN'T EVEN A SENTENCE OF

INFORMATION BEYOND JUST THE WORDS 'BLACK SABBATH'! ACCEPT NO

IMITATIONS!

This board is run by a huge Sabbath fan and completist with contributions by many other die-hard Sabbath fans, and is dedicated to talk about ALL ERAS of Black Sabbath (beyond just the

Ozzy years and four main known songs that made it to the radio) - one of the most importantheavy rock/metal bands (alongside Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin) to come out of the late 60's

UK heavy rock movement.

~ "With the death of Jimi Hendrix, the climate and sounds of music were rapidly changing .Blues-influenced rock seemed to be drawing to a close. Slide guitar was drowned out by fuzz-

tone and feedback. Stagnant rock was now cranking it's way towards the monster that would be

called 'Heavy Metal'...Black Sabbath...Deep Purple... Iron Butterfly.. and hosts of other oftenformulated bands emerged...inspired by the proto-types of Cream, The Who, and Led Zeppelin."~ History of Rock N' Roll - Summer 1995 ~

Let's talk about the original line-up but also the other Sabbath incarnations starting in 1979, the

other hall of famers the band had behind the mic (Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes,Tony Martin), some of the most versatile blues-and-rock influenced low-enders (Geezer Butler,

Neil Murray of Whitesnake and Brian May fame, and Dave 'The Beast' Spitz of Great White,White Lion, and Nuclear Assault), and last but not least...some of the most respected hardest

hitting drummers who sat in the boiler room (Vinny Appice of Derringer and Axxis fame, CozyPowell of Whitesnake and Rainbow fame, Bobby Rondinelli also of Rainbow, Scorpions, Quiet

Riot, and Blue Oyster Cult fame, and Eric Singer of Kiss and Alice Cooper fame).

And of course, some of Sabbath's Ozzy-less classic but often looked over albums (Heaven &Hell, Born Again, Seventh Star, Headless Cross, Dehumanizer, Cross Purposes to just name a

few).


2/47

This is for BLACK SABBATH talk, not just OZZY SABBATH talk. Understandably so, I havesometimes received emails asking why there isn't more information dedicated to the original

Sabbath line-up, and/or, 'just Ozzy.' I am focusing on Black Sabbath as a whole rocket ship, from1968 to the present day, not just 1968-1978 and the few original (and yes, very important and

perhaps most loved) line-up reunion gigs. Lets give the band and these other tremendous

musicians the credit they truly deserve.

OFFICIAL BLACK SABBATH TIME-LINE AND DISCOGRAPHY (EXCLUDING

BOOTLEGS, VARIOUS UN-OFFICIAL GREATEST HITS PACKAGES, AND SO ON):

****** BLACK SABBATH BEGINS - 1968/1969 ******

* FORMERLY WENT BY THE NAMES OF POLKA TULK BLUES BAND, THEN POLKATULK, THEN EARTH, AND FINALLY BLACK SABBATH *

BLACK SABBATH (RECORDED JULY - SEPTEMBER 1969 - RELEASED FRIDAY

THE 13TH, 1970 AND JUNE 30, 1970 IN THE USA).

~ 'Some might claim that this 1970 debut is the definitive Black Sabbath record. While the gothicovertones of the opening track, "Black Sabbath" (thunderstorms and foreboding church bells

introduce Ozzy Osbourne's howl and Tony Iommi's sludgy guitar), and the raucous defiling ofCream on "N.I.B." were thrilling then (and remain so now), there is too much wanking here to

really qualify the collection as the must-have Black Sabbath record. (That prize would have to goto Paranoid.) But the blues-heavy riffs of "The Wizard," the soon-to-be-famous chord-

progression stylings on "Wasp," and the grunge-boogie of "Wicked World" allow it to stand as asolid testament to the deep and lasting influence the band has had over the years.' -- Lorry

Fleming ~


3/47

* The UK release has the cover song 'Evil Woman' (originally performed by a little-known bandcalled CROW), and the USA release had the song 'Wicked World'. Future re-masters and re-

releases had both songs.

(Wicked World, in my opinion, is by far a MUCH better song. Probably one of the best on the

album - has a sound reminiscent of Zeppelin material).

** Fun fact - during this time, another band conjuring the devil (not literally..) in late '69-ish was

a progressive rock act entitled BLACK WIDOW. Black Widow formed in Leicester, England inSeptember1969. The band was mostly known for its early use of satanic and occult imagery in

their music and stage acts (even before Sabbath was rumored to). They were also often confusedwith Black Sabbath, but the bands were only superficially similar and possessed much different

stylings of music. Widow's one big staple was the song 'Come to the Sabbat', and would mostlyremain an underground type of act with cult following (no, not an actual 'cult', but cult meaning

many types of die-hards) for years on and off, while history would see Sabbath take off and gomainstream. Black Widow member Clive Jones recently contacted me and stated that during the

first few years, both Widow and Sabbath had the same management, and that it "was fun."Thanks for the info, Clive.

Mark I Black Sabbath line-up (1968-1978 not including post 1975 keyboard players):

Ozzy Osbourne Vocals (sometimes misspelled Ossie Osbourne)

Tony Iommi Guitar

Geezer Butler Bass

Bill Ward Drums

PARANOID (1970 (SEPTEMBER - UK) - RELEASED JANUARY 1971 IN USA)

~ 'Though most of Black Sabbath's classic material from this album ("War Pigs," "Iron Man,"

"Fairies Wear Boots," and the title track) can also be found on the collection We Sold Our Soulfor Rock & Roll, Paranoid is essential for the completist. One of the best albums from one of the

bands to define heavy metal, this album is chock-full of the best stuff from Sabbath's Osbourneyears. (Where else will you be able to hear "Rat Salad?") The music isn't exactly complex, but it

doesn't need to be; its importance lies in its evocative power, with which any teenager will beable to identify.' ~ -- Genevieve Williams

* Original title, according to Bill Ward, was supposed to be "War Pigs', a sort-of "play" on the

Vietnam War and the corrupt politicians and world leaders happening at that time. However, therecord label rejected that as the title, and soon settled on 'Paranoid.' The 'Paranoid' song was

almost not to be, it was recorded as a 'filler song' to help make the album more complete, andaccording to Tony Iommi, was written and put together rather quickly. Nobody imagined it

would become a hit, let alone one of (if not THEE one) Black Sabbath's most memorable songs.


4/47

MASTER OF REALITY (1971)

~ 'Black Sabbath's first two releases, Black Sabbath and Paranoid, were more thangroundbreaking, they were earth-shattering, exposing the public to a brutal new form of noise

pollution termed heavy metal. But it was the band's third album, Master of Reality, that

cemented the group as blackened wizards of doom and gloom.... Just listen to the echoing coughand sludgy guitar riff of the opening track "Sweet Leaf" and compare it to anything that existedat the time. Not only were Black Sabbath heavier than Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly or Vanilla

Fudge, they were also more experimental and controversial, exploring themes of darkness, drugs,and depravity that others dared not address. The heaviest and most influential disc of Black

Sabbath's career, Master of Reality featured proto-metal sludge like "Children of the Grave" and"After Forever," which served as a blueprint for a legion of musicians including '90s Nirvana,

Soundgarden, and Smashing Pumpkins.' -- Jon Wiederhorn ~

VOLUME 4 (1972)

* Original album title was rumored to be 'Snowblind', but then changed.

(Many critics and historians, including myself, have labeled this perhaps the heaviest, and best

all-around Sabbath album put out by the original line-up. Tony Iommi handles the piano andkeys for the classic song 'Changes.')

SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH (1973)

* FAMED YES KEYBOARDIST RICK WAKEMAN CONTRIBUTES KEYBOARDS TO

THIS ALBUM. PREVIOUSLY, TONY AND OZZY (OFTEN UNCREDITED)CONTRIBUTED TO THE RARE KEYBOARD PARTS IN ALL PREVIOUS SABBATHRECORDINGS.

~ 'As if their dark lyrics and wall-of-sludge sound didn't already have an epic sweep, Black

Sabbath braved an even more ambitious approach on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, addingsynthesizers and even strings to tracks such as "Who Are You?" and "Spiral Architect." But even

without them, the Sabbath classics "Killing Yourself to Live," "National Acrobat," "Looking forToday," and the title track pack a thunderous sonic wallop. "Fluff," a bit of ponderous musing on

acoustic guitar and keyboards, adds variety to the disc but brings the headbanging pleasure of therest of the album to a screeching halt. Beyond that misstep, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is as slow

and deliberate as a lava flow, and just as powerful.' --Daniel Durchholz ~


5/47

SABOTAGE (1975)

* KEYBOARDIST GERALD 'JEZZ' WOODROFFE IS BROUGHT ON BOARD DURINGTHE SABOTAGE ALBUM AND TOURING DAYS, AND REMAINS WITH THE BAND

THROUGH 1977. JEZZ CLAIMS HE WROTE A LOT OF THE MELODIES FOR THE LP

THAT FOLLOWED, TECHNICAL ECSTACY, BUT WAS NEVER GIVEN FULL CREDIT,THOUGH HE STATES HE DOES NOT MIND. (Source for the info comes from an email Jezzwrote to Joe Siegler's Black Sabbath site).

This would be the first time period Black Sabbath would actively tour live with akeyboardist/organist. Jezz would tour with Sabbath between the release of Sabotage

(1975) and thru the Technical Ecstacy release and tour (1977, early 1978 give or take).Technically, he was even on board for the short-lived Dave Walker era of Sabbath and

the one-off performance!

* (On some pressings of this vinyl album and cassette, there is a short track tacked on atthe end called 'Blow on a Jug'. The track is not listed as a song title and is tacked on tothe ending of 'The Writ', and it appears on some copies of the album, but not all. It is justa few seconds of Ozzy and Bill playing around in the studio. It is unknown why this extra

'song' only seemingly appears on some copies).

WE SOLD OUR SOUL FOR ROCK N' ROLL (1975 - Greatest Hits Package)

(The vinyl/cassette versions have two extra tracks {'Warning' & 'Laguna Sunrise'}. The cd

version does not, to conserve on space.)

TECHNICAL ECSTACY (1976)

~ "By the mid-'70s, a number of problems were threatening to break up the original line-up

of Black Sabbath. The stress brought on by lengthy touring, drug use, and alcoholism hadbegun to dilute the band's original, influential heavy metal. Sabbath began to drift away from

the straight-ahead power rock of such classic albums as PARANOID and SABBATHBLOODY SABBATH, as evidenced by its final two albums to feature singer Ozzy

Osbourne, 1976's TECHNICAL ECSTASY and 1978's NEVER SAY DIE. However,TECHNICAL ECSTASY does contain some intriguing, overlooked tracks.

The best known song of the bunch is the album-closing rocker "Dirty Women," which exploresthe topic of prostitution, and was later featured on the original line-up's 1998 live album,

REUNION. Drummer Bill Ward sings his one and only song with the band, "It's Alright," whichis amongst Sabbath's most pop-friendly compositions ever. Also featured is the pacing album

opener "Back Street Kids," the heavy blues and funk of "All Moving Parts (Stand Still)," and thesomewhat predictable "Rock n' Roll Doctor." Osbourne would grow disillusioned with the band

and would leave after the completion of TECHNICAL ECSTACY's subsequent tour, but wouldeventually return for one final album and road jaunt." ~ - Uncredited -


6/47

TOURING LINE-UP INCLUDED: OZZY OSBOURNE, TONY IOMMI, JEZZ WOODROFFE,GEEZER BUTLER, AND BILL WARD

*** ALSO, FOR A BRIEF STINT, OZZY LEAVES THE BAND IN LATE 77-ISH. DAVE

WALKER, EX-FLEETWOOD MAC AND SAVOY BROWN, ASSUMES THE VOCAL

ROLE, AND WORK BEGINS ON THE FORTHCOMING 'NEVER SAY DIE'. PRESSPHOTOS ARE TAKEN, AND DAVE DOES PERFORM AN EARLY VERSION OF THESONG 'JUNIOR'S EYES' WITH THE BAND IN EARLY 1978 (**Supposed date is January 6,

1978), BUT OZZY EVENTUALLY COMES BACK TO RE-PEN THE SONG AND FINISH'NEVER SAY DIE'.

* (Many critics, and fans alike, deem 'Technical Ecstasy' to be among the least liked Sabbath

albums, both from the original line- up and overall. Many others, however, love this LP for itsvastly different sound (compared to the earlier catalogue), more poppier approach, and its

incorporation of many keyboard melodies, most of which were written (or co-written) bykeyboardist Jezz Woodroffe).

NEVER SAY DIE (1978)

~ "By the end of the '70s, though Black Sabbath remained a top concert draw, its albums had

become increasingly erratic and sub-par when compared to its earlier master works. Singer OzzyOsbourne's growing disillusionment with the band had reached a boiling point, especially after it

took so long to complete 1978's NEVER SAY DIE, the original line-up's final album. Thoughthe album's title might suggest that the band had reconciled its differences (Osbourne had already

left the band once previously, only to return shortly afterwards), the turmoil spilled over onto therecording.

The album-opening title track remains the record's best-known track, as it was featured on Ozzy'spopular 1982 solo live album of Sabbath material, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL. Other hard rockers

on the first half of the album, such as "Junior's Eyes" and "A Hard Road" prove to be standouts.The final deciding factor for Ozzy's permanent split from the band occurred on the ensuing tour,

when a hungry young band by the name of Van Halen opened the shows, continually blowingthe headlining metal veterans off the stage." ~ - Uncredited -

* NEVER SAY DIE IS THE LAST BLACK SABBATH ALBUM TO INCLUDE THE

ORIGINAL LINE-UP. DON AIREY (RAINBOW FAME) CONTRIBUTES KEYBOARDS TOTHE RECORDING OF THE ALBUM, BUT DOES NOT TOUR WITH THE BAND ***

* (Bill Ward sings on 'Swinging the Chain', not Ozzy).

OZZY'S LAST SHOW WITH SABBATH WAS DECEMBER 12, 1978. HE WAS GIVEN HIS

WALKING PAPERS SOMETIME IN EARLY 1979 (reported to be January 1979, according tothe Ozzy Osbourne - 'Behind the Music' VH1 episode) - HIS REPLACEMENT WAS

AMERICAN RONNIE JAMES DIO (EX-RAINBOW).


7/47

After Ozzys departure from Black Sabbath, it is said he spent a few months re-collectinghimself both personally and financially. Ozzy contends at this juncture, he barely had

any money and got very little from royalties primarily because of bad business deals heand the rest of Black Sabbath had naively signed with management years earlier. As

Ozzy puts it, the managers owned the cars, owned the mansions, owned it all. Not the

band. In the spring of 1979, Ozzy with the help and support of his future wife/manager

Sharon Arden, prepared to get back into music and start another band. There are various

sources and books that contend that at first, Ozzy had contemplated starting a new BlackSabbath, so to speak. While obviously this cant be absolutely proven, but keep in mind

during this time fame, there were some discrepancies and technicalities as to just whoowned the rights to the name Black Sabbath. We do know Tony officially bought (and/or

owned) rights to the band name sometime after 1985-ish. Could Ozzy in 1979 or 1980have put together a new incarnation of Black Sabbath? Probably not, but technically it

was possible he could have, had him and Sharon chose to go that route.

{Ozzy eventually began to assemble his new band, which he planned to officially call Blizzardof Ozz. Quiet Riot and classical-influenced guitarist Randy Rhoads came in to audition and was

said to blow Ozzy away musically, and completely turn around Ozzys diminished attitude aboutmusic. Bob Daisley (bass, ex-Rainbow) and Lee Kerslake (drums, ex Uriah Heep) would

round out the tight rhythm section accompanied by several choices of keyboard players- namelyDon Airey (also formerly of Rainbow, and who had contributed keyboards to the last Black

Sabbath album Ozzy had performed on).

The Blizzard Of Ozz would eventually (simply) become Ozzy Osbourne and this incarnation

would release two classic masterpieces Blizzard of Ozz(1980) andDiary of a Madman (1981) Ozzy would be reborn and achieve completely renewed success on the touring front equally

rivaling his Sabbath counterparts who themselves were busy releasing two classic albums andtouring with Dio.

Sadly, Randy Rhoads would die in a tragic small airplane crash in March of 1982 at still 25 yearsold. Ozzy was said to have been heartbroken, and the classic incarnation and first two albums of

the Blizzard Of Ozz/Ozzy Osbourne would be no more. Randy was replaced at first by ex-Gillanguitarist Bernie Torme, then by Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis (see the live Speak of the

Devil album information below). Similar to what would become with Black Sabbath, this forOzzy was also the beginning of many great, yet unstable years, band, and album line-up changes.

It must also be mentioned that during this time-frame and beyond, Ozzy and camp would belittered with many controversies, both on a professional and personal level. Diary of a Madman

was recorded with both Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake. However, album pressings had the backof the album complete with pictures of the NEW Ozzy Osbourne line-up bass player Rudy

Sarzo (future Quiet Riot, and who also had been working with various incarnations of thediminishing Angel in the very early 80s) and drummer Tommy Aldridge. While neither


8/47

performed on the actual album, they were given credits alongside their picture. The messagewas obviously that Daisley and Kerslake were ousted from the band. This was one of the

beginning events of what would become many years of hostility, strained working environments,and eventually legal proceedings and lawsuits between the Ozzy camp and Daisley/Kerslake.

Further supplementing this act, YEARS later it would come to be that on re-releases and re-

masters of the first Ozzy albumBlizzard of Ozz, Daisleys bass tracks and Kerslakes drumtracks would be inexplicably removed, and were re-recorded with bass and drum tracks from

Ozzys then-current band. The exact reasons for this have never been officially known (thoughstrong evidence has Sharon Osbourne as being the direct nucleus of this and other controversial

business decisions). There was never any kind of problems with the original bass and drumtracks, and there was also no reason that future re-mastering processes would necessitate

REMOVING the original work and replacing it with new work (technically, that is not even a re-master). Evidence lends to this being some personal vendetta and this being done as a kind of

snub towards Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake. These new re-masters went out to the masses andnaturally made the Ozzy camp a lot more profit, and while many people and fans were angered

by this and felt it a slap in the face to the original Ozzy band and legacy of that album (not tomention the late Randy Rhoads who would not have wanted this), but MANY MORE people

were now buying a far inferior product and WERE NOT EVEN AWARE OF IT. As mentionedabove, this debacle for YEARS would entail lengthy court battles between the two parties. }

In 2002 and 2003, I received personal correspondence (and autographs) from both Lee Kerslakeand Bob Daisley. While I wont release or quote word for word what both of them wrote me

about everything, it was safe to surmise they were none-too-happy with these debacles and didnot have the fondest words for Sharon. One of the main incidents talked about was the probably

deliberate misspelling of names by Ozzy management of some of Ozzys former musicians in the

credits of his 1997 Greatest Hits compilation The Ozzman Cometh. (Rudy Sarzo was creditedasTrudy Sarzo, Bob Daisley was credited asBob Daisy, and Phil Soussan was credited asBillSusan. This was said to be a deliberate f-u to certain past musicians. One also told me

something to the effect that Ozzy himself is a great guy and was completely oblivious to manyof these goings on, but just went with the flow because of the management personnel and politics.

The other told me in so many words that while Ozzy has always had great, competent musicians,there are reasons that (Ozzys previous) veteran, established musicians and writers have not

lasted/worked with Ozzy for years, and wont ever again.

While there were many more instances of unprofessionalism and debacles involving Sharon

Osbourne (one of the most memorable was during a 2005 Ozz Fest date, where a feud betweenIron Maiden (who shared double-headlining duties with Ozzy) and Sharon developed, and at one

gig Sharon supposedly hired teenagers off the street to throw eggs at Iron Maiden, cutMaidens sound several times during their set, and then rant after their set about how Bruce

Dickinson is a Prick! anybody is welcome to research this and other instances further on theirown time), I must note it is not my intent to attack Sharon or Ozzy, but just report the historical

significance and the facts surrounding that history. While many more pages and sites can be


9/47

dedicated to (and perhaps exist of) strictly Ozzy Osbourne solo history, I simply included somenuggets of history as it pertains to his first few years after leaving Black Sabbath J

Back to Black Sabbath now - some interesting information below I found online.

(** January - March 1979 - Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward set about re-building the

band. The guitarist pulled in a friend, Geoff Nicholls, from fellow Birmingham heavy metal bandQUARTZ, actually as an intended second guitarist as the band searched for a new singer.

Initially, Iommi approached former Deep Purple man David Coverdale to fill the vocal vacancybut this idea never got beyond the discussion stage. Iommi's wish list would be another Deep

Purple man - former bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, but despite Hughes being available and evenattending studio sessions as a friend, no proposal was brokered. More fancifully, strong rumors

even include AC/DC wild-man singer Bon Scott being offered the contract, the singersupposedly turning down the offer citing his strong friendship with former pontiff Ozzy. Scott

would die a year later on February 19, 1980.

By March of 1979, Black Sabbath would announce that former Elf and Rainbow singer RonnieJames Dio had been secured to the fold. **)

HEAVEN AND HELL (1980)

~ 'After kicking vocalist Ozzy Osbourne out of the band in 1978, Black Sabbath knew theywould have to strike back with a powerful record if they were to retain their credibility. They

recruited Elf vocalist Ronnie James Dio, whose melodramatic vibrato shuddered with menace,

and in 1980, they released Heaven and Hell, their most potent offering since Master of Reality.Faster and more theatrical than Sabbath's earlier oeuvre, Heaven and Hell features the dynamicseven-minute title track, which builds from a lazy throb to a high-octane roar, and the dynamic

"Die Young," which segues from an uptempo saunter to a flamboyant midsection strangelyreminiscent of Queen. Although the album helped build Sabbath a younger, more enthusiastic

fan base, Dio only remained with the band for one more studio album, after which Sabbath's starslowly began to fade.' --Jon Wiederhorn ~

* TOURING LINE-UP INCLUDED: DIO, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, GEEZERBUTLER, BILL WARD (FIRST PART OF TOUR), AND VINNY APPICE (ALOHA,

HAWAII DATE AND ONWARD).

** ORIGINAL DRUMMER BILL WARD LEAVES THE BAND DURING THE HEAVENAND HELL TOUR CITING POOR HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE PROBLEMS, AND

EXHAUSTION (other rumors include his 'not liking' or 'not feeling comfortable' with Dio andthe band's slightly new approach with Dio up front now) AND WAS REPLACED BY VINNY

APPICE, FORMERLY OF RICK DERRINGER AND AXXIS.


10/47

GEEZER BUTLER ALSO LEAVES THE BAND BRIEFLY DURING THE RECORDING OFHEAVEN AND HELL, BUT COMES BACK. FRAN SHEEHAN OF BOSTON IS

CONSIDERED FOR THE VACANT BASS POSITION. CRAIG GRUBER OF RAINBOWFAME CAME IN BRIEFLY DURING GEEZERS ABSENCE TO CONTRIBUTE BASS

IDEAS, BUT HISTORY SAYS THEY WERE NEVER USED, DESPITE RUMORS THAT

THE BASS TRACKS ON NEON KNIGHTS AND SOME OTHER TRACKS WERE HIS.

***** (On December 21, 2009, I received personal correspondence with Craig Gruber in

regards to his time and contributions with Sabbath during this time period and subsequentSabbath release 'Heaven and Hell.' This is some very interesting info and it wouldn't be complete

to NOT INCLUDE it here, and my thanks to Craig for sharing this with myself and the page.

" Hey Johnny,,yes,I Recorded The Album,, at Criteria Studios Miami,, When Geezer heard thealbum,, he wanted to come back to the Band... i understood.. as it makes sense to have as many

Original Members... He Re-Recorded his own Bass Lines,, I.m Not on the Final Mix.. I'm coolwith it, as Financially i as taken care of,, But They Never Credited me in the Album Liner Notes,

and my Name is not as Co-Writer of "Die Young" either.,,that hasn't sat well with me either,,Some "Oversight" as they replied,,My Attorney took care of it !! tho.,,its all good!,,

There are some Negative Bassists/ People,,(Haters) ha!, who are completely Un-informed ,,and

have slagged me off in the Past,, Not cool!! Ha ya Know..!! as to my Asociation with Sabbath,,during that Time,, When They Fired Ozzy ,, They Brought in Dio,,,who i Played Bass with in

Both Elf, and Ritchie Blackmore;s Rainbow!! Ronnie and I are the Founding Members OfRainbow!!! Dio, Replaced Ozzy ,in spring of 1979,and Geezer, their Bassist Quit,, Ronnie, and

Tony, and Bill Ward offered me the position as Bassist, I was with them for 9 months during theWriting and Recording of Heaven and Hell,, in fact "Die Young?"Ronnie and I Wrote!! Last

September 2008,,Decibel Metal Magazine did a 5 page Feature Story on "Heaven and Hell",, and

it features Interviews, and Photos, with Me, Dio, Iomm ,and Bill Ward..Tony Iommi Asked that icome in to tell The Story Correctly..That was nice!! Tony and the Guys are Great People,!!

Its not too much funn being called a Liar,, by other people, who have no idea what the real truthis..I have the Platinum Cd/and Album in my Den, on the Wall w/my other Record Awards..

Those things people dont see,, and never will!! as I don't have anything to prove to them.. CheersCraig!! I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY POSITIVE PRESS ON THIS!! Cheers Johnny !! Happy

Holidays!! Craig Gruber.. " ) *****

ALSO, GEOFF NICHOLLS OF QUARTZ WAS BROUGHT IN TO POSSIBLY REPLACEGEEZER, BUT MOVED OVER TO KEYBOARD AND ORGAN DUTY WHEN GEEZER

CAME BACK, AND REMAINED THERE FOR THE NEXT 20+ YEARS. ACCORDING TOOTHER INFORMATION ONLINE, NICHOLLS WAS ORIGINALLY BROUGHT IN AS A

SECOND GUITAR PLAYER AT THE VERY ONSET OF THE HEAVEN AND HELLSESSIONS. (GEOFF DID CONTRIBUTE BACKING VOCALS, BASS, AND EVEN

RHYTHYM GUITAR DUTIES DURING SOME SABBATH LIVE SONGS/SHOWS)


11/47

* LIVE AT LAST (1980 - UNOFFICIAL, BUT RELEASED. LIVE PERFORMANCES OF

SABBATH FROM 1973 - March 11th and 16th at Manchester and at The Rainbow -

London, UK*correction supplied by board member Ed Barnard).

MOB RULES (1981)

~ "Black Sabbath had put itself back on track both musically and commercially with the 1980album HEAVEN AND HELL, as the addition of new vocalist Ronnie James Dio was the shot in

the arm Sabbath needed. A follow-up was released one year later, MOB RULES, which followsin the same mega-decibel approach as its predecessor. While it is still a vast improvement over

Sabbath's final two albums with Ozzy Osbourne (1976's TECHNICAL ECSTASY and 1978'sNEVER SAY DIE), it doesn't exactly match the inspired performances and top compositions

featured on HEAVEN AND HELL.

The opening track, "Turn Up the Night," kicks off the album with a jolt of electricity, while other

hard rocking highlights include the mid-paced "Voodoo" and the raging title track--the latterwould be featured on the soundtrack to the cult animated movie, HEAVY METAL. Another

standout was the near eight-minute epic "The Sign of the Southern Cross," which starts as agentle acoustic composition, before transforming into a classic slice of plodding Sabbath metal.

Although Dio had been a major factor in returning Sabbath back from the dead, he would leavethe group under less than amicable circumstances after the release of the 1982 live album LIVE

EVIL." ~ - Uncredited -

* TOURING LINE-UP INCLUDED: DIO, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, GEEZER

BUTLER, AND VINNY APPICE.

* LIVE EVIL (1982, RELEASED JAN 1983) * SABBATH'S FIRST 'OFFICIAL' LIVE

ALBUM *

(During this same time period, The Ozzy camp releases the live album 'Speak of the Devil'. The

album - featuring Brad Gillis (Night Ranger) on guitar, Don Airey on keyboards (live setting),Rudy Sarzo (Quiet Riot, Angel, Whitesnake, Blue Oyster Cult) on bass, and Tommy Aldridge

(Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy) on drums - featuring a stunning set of all Black Sabbath classics andwas near perfectly produced. Ozzy did re-touch vocal work in the studio and some rumors have

'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' being a rehearsal/sound check session that Ozzy added vocals to in thestudio. Put out in direct competition with 'Live Evil', many felt that it was a much more definitive

live album, and captured the Sabbath classics much more true to form than Sabbath w/ Dio and'Live Evil' had done. My opinion is that Live Evil is a great album, but the sound/mixing was

poor - at times the crowd goes from loud to nil and other times is barely audible. Granted, mostpeople could care less about the 'crowd noise', but I for one find it to be an integral part of a live

album's sound, and I like the crowd to be heard cheering at the beginning and end of songs, notbe obviously 'silenced' by the studio to a point where it doesn't even sound natural. Also, there


12/47

could have been more songs added from the actual tour, as obviously the band regularlyperformed at least 3-5 more songs than what was used on this album.)

Also interestingly enough, if you look at the credits and band line-up inside the sleeve of Live

Evil, you will notice Ronnie James Dio credited as 'Ronnie Dio', and Vinny Appice only given the

credit as a 'guest', even though he had been an official member of the band for two years at thatpoint. Geoff Nicholls is given special thanks. Rumors have this being done by Tony and Geezeras kind of a "don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out" deal towards Dio and Vinny.

* DIO AND DRUMMER VINNY APPICE DECIDE TO LEAVE SABBATH IN LATE 1982,

CITING INRECONCIABLE CONDITIONS WITH TONY AND GEEZER, AS WELL AS THERUMOR OF BICKERING BACK AND FORTH AS TO WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR

THE POORLY SOUNDING MIX THAT WOULD MAKE THE 'LIVE EVIL' ALBUM. DIOGOES ON TO FORM HIS OWN BAND WITH VINNY, AND THE PROCESS BEGINS YET

AGAIN FOR SABBATH TO SEARCH FOR A SINGER. SEVERAL NAMES WOULD BE INTHE CUE, INCLUDING THE COMBINATION OF CURRENT WHITESNAKE SINGER

DAVID COVERDALE AND DRUMMER COZY POWELL, BUT THAT PAIRING DID NOTCOME TO BE. (Cozy would be asked to join Black Sabbath various times going back to 1980-

ish, and finally did in 1988).

- Nicky Moore (Samson), John Sloman (Lone Star), and even Graham Bonnett (Rainbow) allalso went through the ranks on being contacted about joining Sabbath, with Bonnett in an

interview stating that 'Black Sabbath really wasn't his thing." Here is some other interestinginformation about this period:

** By November 1982, auditioning new singers Black Sabbath put both Samson's Nicky Moore

and Lone Star's John Sloman through their paces. Another meeting to entice the Whitesnake

pairing of David Coverdale and Cozy Powell onboard failed to yield solid results. Yet the band'snext move took the Rock and Metal world by complete shock and surprise, announcing formerDeep Purple screamer Ian Gillan, alongside a re-instated Bill Ward back behind the drums. **

EVENTUALLY, LEGENDARY LEATHER-LUNGED SCREAMER IAN GILLAN IS HIRED

AROUND LATE NOVEMBER/ EARLY DECEMBER OF 1982 AND TAKES THE MIC -FORMERLY OF LONG-TIME SABBATH RIVALS DEEP PURPLE. HISTORY HAS THIS

COMING TO FRUITION AT A PUB ONE NIGHT WITH IAN SUPPOSEDLY, JOKINGLY,ACCEPTING THE VACANT SINGER'S POSITION IN SABBATH ONLY TO THE NEXT

DAY COMING TO HIS SENSES AND REALIZING THAT THIS WAS THE REAL THING.THE PRESS WOULD DUB THIS UNION 'DEEP SABBATH'.

(Historically, this made a lot of waves in the hard rock world, due to the fact that Sabbath and

Purple had been long-time 'rivals' going back to their 1970 album release years (Great albumcomparison would be Black Sabbath's 'S/T' and Deep Purple's 'In Rock'. To this day, there is

debate as to the 'heavy metal-ness' of each album). It could almost be said that Sabbath hadhired the 'enemy' to sing for them. Many purists of each band refused to give this fusion the time

of day then, and even now.)


13/47

INCIDENTALLY, IAN HAD BROKEN UP HIS SELF-MONICKERED BAND JUSTRECENTLY DUE TO SUPPOSED VOCAL PROBLEMS. NATURALLY, SOME OF HIS

FORMER GILLAN/IAN GILLAN BAND MEMBERS HOLD GRUDGES AGAINST IANFOR DOING THIS - TO THIS DAY, FORMER GILLAN BASS PLAYER JOHN MCCOY

SLAMS IAN AND THE SUBSEQUENT SABBATH ALBUM IAN DID AT EVERY GIVEN

CHANCE. (Website leader's opinion - John McCoy is not only a moron, but was an average atbest bass player and if it wasn't for Ian Gillan, would have never even had the small name andrecognition he has/had...)

** On a rather surprising front, Ozzy Osbourne, in interviews around this time frame and even

later, acknowledged that "Born Again is/was probably one of the best Black Sabbath albums Ihave heard in a long time...."

BORN AGAIN (1983)

~ "BORN AGAIN is probably the most underrated album in the Sabbath catalog. Featuring theclassic lineup with vocalist Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) standing in for Ozzy, BORN is a balls-to-

the-wall metal album made in an era when Dexy's Midnight Runners and Debarge dominated thecharts.

"Trashed" races by with Gillan's hair-raising shrieks. It's said the man sang the album naked in

the studio for maximum power and grittiness, and he seems to have achieved it. Soundingnothing like Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio, Gillan nonetheless fits the Sabbath sound to a

T. "Zero The Hero" features a wicked bass line from Geezer Butler, while "Digital Bitch"contains classic metal soloing from Tony Iommi. The title track is a power ballad that fit that

label before bands like Firehouse and Warrant distorted it. If you're a fan of Deep Purple, Black

Sabbath, or hard rock in general, don't let BORN AGAIN be the one that got away." ~- Uncredited -

"Stonehenge/Disturbing The Priest - Great track from a great and highly underrated album!Hauntingly devil-ish melodies and vibes with hypnotic and menacing riffs and shrills. The

soundtrack for the party train to hell or heaven ....or however you see it \m/\m/"- Richard Hall

Some further information about the origins of the song Disturbing the Priest (one of my

favorite Sabbath songs, too!):

{Disturbing the Priest was one of the last songs that was recorded for the album, and it is, in fact,a homage to a priest that lived near the studio where Born Again was recorded. The priestsupposedly went into the studio to ask Gillan and the band to keep the screams and noise down

a bit.


14/47

Ian Gillan also explained the genesis of "Disturbing the Priest"

We were in loud playback mode, with the door open...When the track ended I was surprised tosee a nervous vicar standing in the doorway. He explained how wonderful he thought the music

was, but they were having choir practice in the adjacent village church and so would we mind

closing the door? I apologized immediately; we got hold of his schedule and never workedagain during those times. The following evening I had a few beers with the vicar and signedsome autographs for the choir. It was Geezer who came up with the title as we were laughing

about the story some days later.}

* TOURING LINE-UP INCLUDED: IAN GILLAN, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS,GEEZER BUTLER, AND BEV BEVAN.

- BILL WARD REJOINS THE BAND FOR THE ALBUM, BUT IS UNABLE TO TOUR

CITING EXHAUSTION. BEV BEVAN OF ELO FAME STEPS IN TO HANDLE THE TOUR.

VARIOUS DISCREPENCIES STILL EXIST AS TO WHETHER IAN JOINED WITH THEINTENTION OF ONLY TOURING FOR ONE ALBUM, AND IF THE SUBSEQUENT ALBUM

WAS TO BE A 'BLACK SABBATH' RELEASE - VARIOUS MEMBERS SEEM TO CONTRADICTEACH OTHER AS TO WHAT THE REAL PLANS OF THIS TIME FRAME WERE TO BE.

** Taken from my college newspaper circa 2005:

" In late 1982, in what would be one of the most shocking and controversial moments in heavyrock history, Sabbath hired the "enemy," legendary screamer Ian Gillan of long-time Sabbath

rivals Deep Purple, to fill the open mic spot. Though this incarnation only lasted several years,its resulting LP entitled "Born Again" would later be hailed as "One of the greatest heavy metal

albums of all time." To this day, its sheer energy and riffing, not to mention Gillans stunningevil screams and devilish laughs, have never been duplicated. Now that was a supergroup ...

unlike todays bands labeled as such like ... Velvet Revolver."

GEEZER BUTLER HAS GONE ON RECORD STATING THAT THE ALBUM 'SHOULDN'THAVE' GONE OUT AS A BLACK SABBATH RECORD, AND ALSO HAD SOME NOT SO

KIND REMARKS ABOUT THE ENSUING TOUR AND IAN GILLAN, SAYING HE WASBASICALLY 'GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS' ON TOUR. SOURCE FOR THIS

INFORMATION COMES FROM GARRY SHARPE-YOUNG'S BLACK SABBATH 'NEVERSAY DIE' 1979-1997 BOOK.

GEEZER BUTLER WOULD MAKE A SIMILAR STATEMENT ABOUT 10 YEARS LATER-- WITH THE RELEASE OF 'CROSS PURPOSES', CLAIMING IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TOGO OUT AS A BLACK SABBATH RECORD, YET CONTRADTICED HIMSELF ON

VIDEO CLAIMING IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST FUN BLACK SABBATH ALBUMS TOMAKE. MORE INFORMATION ON THAT ERA BELOW.


15/47

(The sound on the original release of this record was nothing short of terrible, which could havebeen a reason for radio not picking up on this at the time, not to mention some of the band

members dis-like for the cover artwork. Rumors have Tony Iommi as the one who 'liked it' andgave its approval. Other sources state that Sabbath management (i.e. Don Arden) gave it the final

'ok', not any of the band members. Ian Gillan is on record stating he hated the cover, and it was

the final straw that broke the camel's back on a great album that had already went bad with howthe final mixing and sound had been butchered on the album. Gillan also states that not only didhe throw a few dozen new copies of the LP out his car window in disgust (info obtained from

Garry Sharpe-Young's Black Sabbath 1979 - 1997 book), but feels the cover and the poor finalmix (ie. sound) of the album may have hampered it from achieving more success than it did.

{The cover artwork has an interesting story itself. Steve Joule, also working for the Ozzy camp atthe time, came up with the design, as he puts it, so Sabbath would 'reject' the idea and hence

alleviate him from anymore involvement in their camp, leaving him to strictly focus on the soloOzzy sleeve designing. Steve says he had used a 1968 UK 'MIND ALIVE' magazine whose cover

is indeed the same picture, only it was a newborn baby. Steve claims to have been on acid andrun off some photo-copies of the cover of this magazine in blue and red, added some horns,

fangs, and finger nails - and the rest is history. However, Depeche Mode released a single in1981 (almost 2 years before BORN AGAIN would be released) which used the same exact baby

design, albeit minus the horns and fans and all of that. There is no denying it is the same exactpicture, used from the baby photo in the 1968 MIND ALIVE magazine. Whether Steve knew

about the Depeche Mode single before hand, or drew up the design from pure coincidence, isstill unknown. Who the actual baby was in the original MIND ALIVE magazine issue is also

unknown, but I wonder if he/she is aware of all the history which would take place...

Incidentally, a similar controversy with Sabbath artwork would happen again about ten years

later - for the Cross Purposes artwork. The same (or very similar) design that Sabbath would usewas already in use a few years before, for a Scorpions single cover! }

Ian Gillan blames Geezer as being solely responsible for the poor sound on Born Again, asGeezer was said to be behind some of the controls for the final mix. Gillan also states at one

time, before the album's release, he had the original master of this album and the entire bandheard it with him, and the sound was nothing short of perfect and 'Brilliant.'

Geezer refutes this, claiming at first that the band heard the final product and there were nobeefs, though then later saying that the entire band heard the final sound of the album ONLY at

the same time it was actually released to the general public (what major band would do this??

Sounds doubtful.), and if anything was toyed with beyond the band's knowledge, the blame laynot with him. Source for this info comes from Garry Sharpe-Young's book Black Sabbath 1979-1997. I myself find this hard to believe, but it is probable we will never get the full story as to

what happened with this masterpiece of an album.

The album WAS re-released and re-mastered in 1996 on cd and the sound is MUCH MUCHbetter and easier to listen to, but still shows signs of the original lackluster studio mixing to the

trained ear.


16/47

Also, around 2003, the 'Born Again demos' leaked, reported to be from a one-time girlfriend ofBill Ward. Somebody apparently was given the cassette tape, and it made its way to mastered cd

copies. The sound and songs were un-mixed, and to some sounded much better than the 'originalreleased version' of the album had. Also, some songs were a bit longer in length, including the

keyboard instrumental 'Stonehenge', which was/should have been tacked on to the beginning of

'Disturbing the Priest', as that is the appropriate intro. On the final release, it is basically the intro,but still is its own separate track, and its only 1:57 long compared to the version on the demoswhich is over 4 minutes long. Other songs weren't quite the original length of the final released

versions, like Trashed, and others had a few different lyrics, or, un-finished lyrics. Last but notleast, the demos included a finished track never released before, entitled either 'The Falling' or

'The Fallen.' Why it never made it to the original album release remains a mystery, as the song isa gem. This is another reason why the Born Again un-mixed demos are very popular among

collector's circles.)

* It has been asked about the difference in sound quality between the 1996 Castle re-master ofBorn Again (which the sound is SIGNIFCANTLY improved, and much more pleasant) and the

2011 deluxe version of Born Again which is also re-mastered, and includes the bonus Readingconcert as well as the extra track that had come from the original Born Again sessions, The

Fallen. In my opinion, the sound is almost identical. I am no sound expert obviously, butlistening to both versions it is pretty much the same. Any differences of the 2011 deluxe

version and the 1996 Castle re-master are obviously MINUTE.

{The original plan/idea for the 2011 deluxe version was to locate the original tapes of the album

sessions, and completely RE-MIX the album (almost like are-do for 1983!). However, Gillanand Iommi have stated the tapes cant be found, or perhaps may be long gone much to the

dismay of many Sabbath fans who were salivating for this album to be re-mixed/re-done the

proper way. The next best thing was to do another re-master see paragraph above.}

(I do recommend the 1983 Worcester radio broadcast of a live show with Sabbath and Gillan.The sound is VERY GOOD (almost too good for something non-commercially released), and in

my opinion, is a much better sounding show than the Reading show which is part of the 2011deluxe Born Again. I assume there must be some legalities as far as ownership and licensing

rights to the 1983 Worcester radio show and that is why it cant seem to be commerciallyreleasedJ)

* Not that it TRULY matters, but many good Sabbath sources online (including MusicMight,

which supposedly has interviewed various members of Black Sabbath) have proclaimed that the'true unreleased song title' is 'THE FALLING', not The Fallen.

** Some sources have also stated that the possibility of up to 4 other working songs (other than

the recently released 'The Fallen') were written and may exist from this line-up, but have neversurfaced. One of those 'songs' was rumored to have the title of 'Death Warmed Up (or 'Death

Warmed Over'), though that could have just been either an earlier title for and/or confused withthe final track on the album, 'Keep It Warm.'


17/47

** It is rumored that the inspiration for the song Digital Bitch could have been about SharonOsbourne (Ozzys wife, and daughter of Sabbath manager Don Arden). Between the issues

involving the Born Again album and past tensions involving the management and the othercamp, it does fuel some wondering!

- Supposedly at the Zwolle, Holland concert, legend has it one fan brought a wheelchair to the

show and threw it onstage protesting both Gillan joining Sabbath, and what direction he feltSabbath was headed! (Info comes from Music-Might)

IAN LEAVES IN SPRING 1984 TO RE-JOIN THE REFORMED MARK II DEEP PURPLE ( itis generally not known either way whether Purple had been planning a Mark II re-union and

that Ian only joined Sabbath for the money and/or a one album and tour contract, or if hehad joined Sabbath with the plans of continuing onward with the band, and the Purple

reformation just coincidentally was happening), AND SABBATH AGAIN BEGINS TO TOYWITH A FEW REPLACEMENT SINGERS (RON KEEL, DAVE DONATO).

* Black Sabbath 1984/5

* BILL WARD IS AGAIN SEEMINGLY BACK IN THE BAND, AND DAVE DONATO ISOFFICIALLY NAMED SABBATH'S NEXT SINGER IN 1984-ISH, BUT HIS UNION WITH

THE BAND ONLY LASTS SEVERAL MONTHS, THE SUPPOSED STRAW BREAKINGTHE CAMEL'S BACK IS A SELF-RIGHTEOUS AND POOR INTERVIEW DONATO

SUPPOSEDLY GIVES ABOUT BLACK SABBATH TO KERRANG MAGAZINE. DEMOSWERE RECORDED WITH DAVE DONATO BUT ONLY ONE WORKING SONG HAS

SURFACED, THAT BEING AN EARLY VERSION OF 'THE SHINING' WHICH WOULDTURN UP ON A SABBATH ALBUM 3 YEARS LATER.

The following info has turned up on Wikipedia, so I am quoting them as such. "Contrary toreports, Donato was not fired after an interview with Kerrang! magazine as many have falselyreported. The band fell apart soon thereafter, with Tony Iommi forming an entirely new Black

Sabbath the following year."

** During an interview taken in 2010 or 2011 after a 'War Pigs' show (Dave 'The Beast' Spitz'sside band now), Dave Spitz was asked about Dave Donato and his involvement in Sabbath, and

his mood changed a bit, and he told the other person that "Dave Donato was never in BlackSabbath, he just did a few demo sessions, and that was it, I don't even want to talk about it."

LINE-UP ('ON PAPER') DURING THIS TIME FRAME I BELIEVE TO BE: DAVE

DONATO, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, GEEZER BUTLER, AND BILL WARD.

(* Several Black Sabbath family trees seem to have Bev Bevan hold-over from the Born

Again era - in this 1984/5 line-up with Donato. I believe this to be in error, but I could bewrong. Various pictures from this short-lived line-up clearly show Bill Ward. However, that

doesnt necessarily mean Bev couldnt have still been in concert with the band at some


18/47

juncture during this time frame. Until I know for certain or get to ask Bev, I will state thesevarious family trees portraying this information are inaccurate).

* Black Sabbath 1985

* TONY, GEEZER, GEOFF, AND BILL REFORM VERY BRIEFLY WITH OZZY FOR LIVE

AID ON JULY 13, 1985. AT THIS JUNCTURE, OZZY WAS BALLS DEEP IN A VERYSUCCCESSFUL SOLO CAREER AND NEGOTIATIONS FOR A REUNION WITH OZZY

EVENTUALLY BREAK DOWN. GEEZER BUTLER AND BILL WARD OFFICIALLYLEAVE THE BAND (OR, WORKING WITH TONY IOMMI) AGAIN, ESSENTIALLY

LEAVING TONY IOMMI AND GEOFF NICHOLLS TO FORGE ON.

Black Sabbath 1985-1986

* DURING THIS JUNCTURE, IOMMI AND ORGANIST GEOFF NICHOLLS BEGINWORK ON WHAT WAS TO BE AN IOMMI SOLO RECORD, BUT WAS

EVENTUALLY RELEASED AS A 'BLACK SABBATH featuring TONY IOMMI'ALBUM.

FOR MOST OF THE SESSIONS WHICH WOULD LEAD TO THIS ALBUM, TONY,AT THIS POINT DATING MUSICIAN LITA FORD, UTILIZED HER OWN' BANDS

RHYTHM SECTION WHICH INCLUDED BASSIST GORDON COPLEY ANDDRUMMER ERIC SINGER. GORDON'S CONTRIBUTIONS ARE VERY MINIMAL

(THOUGH HIS BASS TRACKS DO END UP ON THE FINAL RELEASED VERSIONOF THE SONG 'NO STRANGER TO LOVE') AND DAVE 'THE BEAST' SPITZ,

FORMERLY OF WHITE LION AND NUCLEAR ASSAULT AT THAT POINT,BECOMES THE BAND'S PERMANENT BASS PLAYER.

ORIGINALLY, TONY'S IDEA WAS TO WORK ON THIS SOLO ALBUM AND

HAVE THREE SINGERS GUESTING ON THE ALBUM (REPORTED TO BE DIO,ROB HALFORD, AND GLENN HUGHES, ACCORDING TO GLENN IN LATER

INTERVIEWS), BUT THEN THAT IDEA WAS CANCELLED.

** AT THE EARLY STAGES IN MID-1985 WHILE THIS WAS STILL TO BE ANIOMMI SOLO ALBUM, JEFF FENHOLT WAS BROUGHT IN FOR SOME JAM

SESSIONS AND SOME DEMOS WERE RECORDED (SOME DEMOS SOUND

COMPLETE, WHILE OTHERS ARE STUDIO JAMS), NOW IN COLLECTOR'SCIRCLES ENTITLED 'STAR OF INDIA'. THIS ERA OF THE GROUP WAS STILLUNDER THE MONICKER AS A 'TONY IOMMI SOLO PROJECT', THOUGH IN

OLD INTERVIEWS JEFF STATES HE BELIEVED THE BAND AT THAT POINTWAS PROCEEDING (or would be proceeding) AS 'BLACK SABBATH'.


19/47

LINE-UP FOR THE 'IOMMI PROJECT' AND 'STAR OF INDIA'DEMO SESSIONS IBELIEVE TO BE: JEFF FENHOLT, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, GORDON

COPLEY, AND ERIC SINGER. (DAVE SPITZ DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE STAROF INDIA DEMO SESSIONS TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE).

THERE ARE ALSO DISCREPENCIES TO JEFF'S ACTUAL TIME INVOLVEDWITH THIS 'PROJECT' - JEFF HIMSELF CLAIMED UPWARDS OF 6 MONTHS,

OTHERS REFUTE THAT SAYING HE LASTED A FEW SIMPLE JAM AND DEMOSESSIONS. (In Garry Sharp-Young's 'Black Sabbath - Never Say Die 1979-1997, Bobby

Rondinelli is on record stating something to the effect that, 'Jeff was in the band a lotlonger than many like to admit, and I wish he was recognized as such.' It should be noted

though that Bobby didn't come into the Sabbath ranks until about 1993, I can't attestwhether or not he was around the Sabbath camp in 1985-ish, so I can only assume he

stated as such because of his connections to Ray Gillen (who would later becomeaffiliated with Sabbath and the Seventh Star era, general musicians circles, or he may

be a friend of Jeff's.)

Dave Spitz, bass player during that era, informed me personally something to the effectthat Jeff's involvement was 'very minimal' and that the circumstances surrounding Jeffand the 'Iommi project' during this time frame are often given much more due than

necessary.)

DEMOS (WITH ALTERNATE LYRICS AND VERSES) DID EMERGE THOUGH,AND THE SONGS ARE DEFINETLY WHAT WOULD BECOME SEVENTH STAR

MATERIAL. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, JEFF HAD DIFFICULTY COMING UPWITH GOOD LYRICAL CONTENT (listening to the demos seem to suggest this, many

of the lyrics are hard to comprehend, THOUGH AGAIN, these are just demos. There isno denying while listening to these even at their unpolished state that the guy COULD

sing...One of the first demo takes {the most complete one} of the song 'Seventh Star'sounds STELLAR to me) ALONG WITH OTHER REASONS OF JUST NOT BEING

THE BEST FIT, AND HIS TIME AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 'PROJECT'WERE BRIEF NONETHELESS (FENHOLT DOES CLAIM THAT A FAIR AMOUNT

OF HIS LYRICS AND MELODIES STILL MAKE IT TO THE FINAL LP, THOUGHTHIS CLAIM REMAINS UNSUBSTANTIATED), AND SOON HE WAS OUSTED IN

FAVOR OF FORMER DEEP PURPLE MARK III BASSIST/VOCALIST GLENNHUGHES. GLENN ALREADY WAS A HUGE NAME WITH A GREAT RESUME

UNDER HIS BELT.

It should be noted that listening to the Fenholt demos on the song Star of India, and thefinal released album version of Seventh Star (song), there are several lines of lyrics that

ended up on the final song (just in different verses) that Jeff is indeed heard singing in theStar of India. Whether Jeff was the original author of those lyrics will probably never

be known.


20/47

BY THIS JUNCTURE A YEAR OR SO LATER, RECORD COMPANY PRESSURESWERE NOW ENTICING TONY TO CONTINUE WITH THE BAND AS 'BLACK

SABBATH', AND TO RELEASE THE FINAL ALBUM AS 'BLACK SABBATHFEATURING TONY IOMMI'.

According to many polls, many fans, though often mute about this admission, proclaimSeventh Star to be among Tony's (and/or Sabbath's) finest works. There are also a goodchunk of Sabbath fans that do not recognize this as a 'Black Sabbath' album and register

it as being Tony Iommi's first solo record. There are even some fans that go as far assaying that Seventh Star was a terrible album (why I cannot fathom, unless of course they

simply never listened to it...) and/or refuse to hear it at all.

Geoff Nicholls also contributes heavily to many of the lyrics on Seventh Star.

* Similar to the 2011 Born Again deluxe release described above, it has been asked aboutthe difference in sound quality between the 1996 Castle re-master of Seventh Star andthe 2011 deluxe version of Seventh Star which is also re-mastered, and includes the

bonus London show with Ray Gillen. In my opinion, the sound is almost identical. I amno sound expert obviously, but listening to both versions it is pretty much the same.

Any differences of the 2011 deluxe version and the 1996 Castle re-master are obviouslyMINUTE.

(I do recommend the April 1986 San Antonio radio broadcast of a live show withSabbath and Ray Gillen. The sound is EXCELLENT (almost too good for something non-commercially released), and in my opinion, is a much better sounding show than the

muffled London show which is part of the 2011 deluxe Seventh Star. The radio show onlyhas a 6-track sampling (obviously the entire show had to have been recorded, but it as

never released as such even in bootleg format), and I assume there must be somelegalities as far as ownership and licensing rights to the 1986 San Antonio radio show

and that is why it cant seem to be commercially releasedJ)

Supposedly, the London Hammersmith gig is said to have been professionally filmed andmeant to be officially released. However, it is said to be shelved because of a lackluster

crowd size. (Info comes from Music Might)

On a personal note, when I first bought this some years back, I had no knowledge of howthe record sounded, and a part of me was expecting something in the vein of the

awesome-ness and heaviness of Born Again, which was the record just prior to this.When I popped it in, I INITIALLY was disappointed. I can see where many fans might

have felt the same way I just described, and then just forgot about this record for eternity.BUT, as I played it just a few more times, it grew on me TREMENDOUSLY. This album

has a very rich history behind it, and just about every song is stellar, even the keyboardinstrumental 'The Sphinx', which has a mystical, almost haunting atmosphere. The bandat the time (both with Glenn Hughes, and later Ray Gillen) was also nothing short of

amazing (albeit un-stable) and they all honored the Sabbath name-sake and legacy well


21/47

(in my opinion). Some of the best songs come towards the latter half of the album, which Imay have not discovered had I not given it a 2nd or 3rd spin...

SEVENTH STAR (1986)

~ "An often misunderstood and underrated album, 1986's Seventh Star was never intended tobe a Black Sabbath release, as the band had effectively broken up following its disastrous

1984 tour in support of career low point Born Again. Instead, Seventh Star was conceived asguitarist Tony Iommi's first solo project, and it was only record company pressure that forced

him to resurrect his longtime band's moniker at the last minute. With this in mind, one canbetter appreciate both the record's more blues-based, often un-Sabbath-like songwriting and

the contributions made by journeyman singer Glenn Hughes (ex-Trapeze, Deep Purple, etc.),whose incredibly emotive and soulful vocal style was completely at odds with the deadpan

delivery of Sabbath's most recognizable singer, Ozzy Osbourne (a discrepancy that wouldspell his quick exit when the necessary classics were wheeled out for the ensuing world tour).

Still, within the unique circumstances of Seventh Star's creation, Hughes' fiery tunefulnessmade aggressive hard rockers like "In for the Kill," "Turn to Stone," and "Danger Zone"

uncommonly catchy, and gorgeous ballads such as "Angry Heart/In Memory..." and "NoStranger to Love" all the more heart-rending. Tellingly, his efforts fell resoundingly flat on

the bluesy aimlessness of "Heart Like a Wheel" and the gothic menace of the title track,making it possible for keener observers to foresee the troubles ahead. Yet, in light of the even

more traumatic difficulties that preceded it, Seventh Star -- for all its uncharacteristic sonicqualities -- actually represents the turning of a corner for Black Sabbath's lengthy career,

which steadily regained momentum in the years that followed." ~ - Eduardo Rivadavia -

* SINGER GLENN HUGHES IS CANNED FIVE DATES INTO THE SEVENTH STAR

TOUR IN 1986 AND REPLACED BY A VIRTUAL UNKOWN - RAY GILLEN.VARIOUS STORIES HAVE GLENN GETTING INTO A HUGE FISTFIGHT WITHSOMEBODY IN SABBATH MANAGEMENT (REPORTED TO BE JEFF GLIXMAN),

OTHERS HAVE HIM UNABLE TO PROPERLY SING THE SABBATH CLASSICS(WITH GEOFF NICHOLLS, ACCORDING TO SOME SOURCES, ACTUALLY

PROVIDING MOST OF THE VOCALS VIA BACKGROUND AT AT LEAST ONE GIG),FORGETTING LYRICS, AND OVERALL BEING A LACKLUSTER FRONTMAN IN

PART DUE TO HIS DRUG ADDICTION AND UNFAMILIARALITY WITH THEEARLIER SABBATH CATALOUGE.

GILLEN, NO RELATION TO IAN GILLAN, WAS A FRIEND OF DAVE SPITZ'SAND COMES IN WITH LITTLE TIME TO SPARE (though there is evidence to suggesthe was officially 'on notice' during a few of the last shows Glenn would perform, and

perhaps was rehearsing 'behind closed doors', so to speak. Glenn may have even beenaware of this, as he supposedly 'saw' Ray backstage or at gigs sometimes) AND LASTS

THE REMAINDER OF THE SEVENTH STAR TOUR. WORK WOULD THENBEGIN ON THE NEXT ALBUM - THE ETERNAL IDOL.


22/47

*** More interesting info from this 'era'. Future Sabbath drummer Bobby Rondinelli wasworking with Ray in Rondinelli/Sun Red Sun, when Bobby says he was offered the gig for

the drumming duties on (what would become) the hugely successful Whitesnake 1987release. Bobby, who believed whole-heartedly in staying with the Sun Red Sun project with

Ray, turned down the gig and it was later offered to Ainsley Dunbar. Bobby says it was about

this time maybe a few weeks later that Ray up and decided to do the Sabbath gig, leavingBobby in the dust, and the Sun Red Sun project to basically splinter. Bobby had no way ofknowing that that Whitesnake album would completely take off, and while he recently says he

regrets the decision to not take it in hindsight, he does feel he did the right thing at the timebecause he believed so much in the current Sun Red Sun project... ***

RAY COMPLETED FINISHED DEMOS FOR THE UPCOMING ALBUM THE

ETERNAL IDOL, BUT THEN LEFT THE BAND AND WOULD LATER TRY OUT FORBLUE MURDER, AND EVENTUALLY BADLANDS.

RAY, A GREAT SINGER, WASN'T TRUELY GIFTED IN THE SONG WRITING

DEPARTMENT AND GIVEN THE CURRENT STATE OF BLACK SABBATH WITHVARIOUS MEMBERS COMING AND GOING AMONGST OTHER INTERNALDRAMA, FELT THE BAND WASN'T GOING ANYWHERE AT THAT POINT.

IRONICALLY, (FORMER, at that point) OZZY OSBOURNE BASSIST BOBDAISLEY IS BROUGHT IN TO THE FOLD TO HELP CONTRIBUTE LYRICS TOWHAT WOULD BECOME THE ETERNAL IDOL ALBUM. DAISLEY WAS ALSO

ASKED TO JOIN THE BAND AT THIS POINT BUT DECLINED, AS HE WASALREADY COMMITED TO THE GARY MOORE BAND.

FINISHED DEMOS WITH RAY AND LIVE CUTS WOULD LATER TURN UP IN

COLLECTOR'S CIRCLES UNDER THE TITLES OF 'THE COMPLETE RAYGILLEN YEARS, AND 'RAY RULES', AMONGST OTHERS.

WITH RAY'S DEPARTURE, TONY MARTIN OF THE ALLIANCE WAS THEN

BROUGHT IN AT THE LAST MINUTE TO RE-SING RAY'S PARTS ON THEETERNAL IDOL, AND REMAINED WITH SABBATH THROUGHOUT MUCH OF

THE LATE 80'S AND INTO THE MID 90'S. ASIDE TONY IOMMI AND GEOFFNICHOLLS, TONY MARTIN WOULD BE ONE OF SABBATH'S LONGEST

SERVING MEMBERS.

RAY GILLEN WOULD LATER END UP IN BADLANDS, WITH FORMERSABBATH DRUMMER ERIC SINGER! AND FORMER OZZY GUITAR PLAYER

JAKE E. LEE! (ACCORDING TO DAVE SPITZ HIMSELF, HE WAS ALSO PARTOF THE EARLY INCEPTION OF BADLANDS).

TRAGICALLY, RAY GILLEN WOULD DIE IN DECEMBER 1993 FROM AIDS-

RELATED PROBLEMS.


23/47

TOURING LINE-UP FOR THE SEVENTH STAR DATES INCLUDED: GLENNHUGHES (FIRST 5 DATES ), RAY GILLEN (REMAINDER OF DATES), TONY

IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, DAVE 'THE BEAST' SPITZ, AND ERIC SINGER.

THE ETERNAL IDOL (1987)

* FIRST OFFICIAL BLACK SABBATH ALBUM WITH TONY MARTIN HANDLINGTHE VOCALS, RE-SINGING THE TRACKS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR RAY

GILLEN. ONE SMALL PART OF RAY GILLEN'S VOCALS REMAIN ON THEETERNAL IDOL ALBUM - SOME 'LAUGHTER' AT THE END OF THE SONG

'NIGHTMARE'.

VARIOUS STUDIO AND TOURING MUSICIANS DURING THIS ERA INCLUDE THEFAMED BOB DAISLEY (OZZY, RAINBOW, AND URIAH HEEP FAME - ALBUM

ONLY), DAVE 'THE BEAST' SPITZ (BASS PLAYER STILL ON BOARD FROM THESEVENTH STAR ERA, DID NOT PERFORM ON THE ACTUAL ALBUM, BUT DID

TOUR A HANDFUL OF TIMES FOR THE ETERNAL IDOL TOUR), DRUMMER ERICSINGER, DRUMMER BEV BEVAN (SOME BITS AND PIECES ON THE ALBUM, ANDA FEW ETERNAL IDOL DATES), AND JO BURT (BASS - A FEW ETERNAL IDOL

DATES). TERRY CHIMES (FORMERLY OF THE CLASH, HANOI ROCKS)ASSSUMES THE DRUM ROLE FOR 'THE SHINING' VIDEO AND ALSO PLAYS A

FEW GIGS WITH SABBATH DURING THIS TIME AFTER ERIC SINGER FINALLYLEAVES THE BAND.

TOURING LINE-UP FOR THE ETERNAL IDOL TOUR INCLUDED: TONY MARTIN,

TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, JO BURT (BASS - FEW GIGS), DAVE 'THEBEAST' SPITZ (BASS - VARIOUS GIGS), TERRY CHIMES (DRUMS - FEW GIGS),

AND BEV BEVAN (DRUMS - FEW GIGS).

(Eternal Idol was Sabbath's last album for Warner Bros. A very rare track, 'Some Kind ofWoman', is in collector's circles from this era, and was released sparingly as a 'B' side to

what I believe was the 'The Shining'' single, {at least I think this is the single it appeared on.If I am incorrect, somebody please let me know, but I do know it was released as a 'B' track

to SOME Sabbath single.} I believe the line-up for this recorded song included Tony Martin,Tony Iommi, Geoff Nicholls, Dave Spitz, and Eric Singer).

Dave Spitz was officially in the band during the Eternal Idol sessions and those months ofstudio time, but for whatever reason, he did not contribute bass to the album (or his bass

ideas were never used). Dave has not publicly stated the reasons for his lack ofinvolvement with the actual album, but does retain some credit for the album as basically

being a member of the band. Bev Bevan was also in concert with the band during thistime frame, but he did not contribute the drum tracks to Eternal Idol. He is credited with

percussion and it has been said (according to Joe Sieglers Black Sabbath page) that


24/47

Bevs involvement with the Eternal Idol album was a few simple cymbal-percussion bitson the instrumental track Scarlet Pimpernal.

In 2011, the deluxe 2-album set of Eternal Idol was released similar in line with thepreviously mentioned deluxe versions of Born Again and Seventh Star. The Eternal Idolset contains the re-mastered version of the original album (with Tony Martin singing),

and the second disc is the Ray Gillen version of Eternal Idol. Similar to the bootlegversions that were in collectors circles for years, this version is very much cleaned up

and polished (not to mention officially released) almost sounding like a final masterof the album. This is originally (almost) how Eternal Idol was supposed to sound, had

Ray Gillen not left Black Sabbath. All of the tracks (minus Scarlet Pimpernal) are sungby Ray Gillen. The line-up that performed on the Ray Gillen-version of Eternal Idol was:

Ray Gillen Vocals

Tony Iommi Guitars

Geoff Nicholls Keyboards

Bob Daisley Bass

Eric Singer - Drums

* Black Sabbath in 1988

* BAND WAS PRETTY MUCH ON ICE AT THIS POINT, BUT DID PERFORMONCE AT A CHARITY EVENT (info from Joe Siegler's Black Sabbath site)

UTILIZING THE LINE-UP OF TONY MARTIN, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLSON BASS, AND TERRY CHIMES ON DRUMS. THE BAND SUPPOSEDLY

PERFORMED JUST THREE SONGS - NEON KNIGHTS, HEART LIKE A WHEEL,

AND PARANOID.

HEADLESS CROSS (1989)

~ "By the late '80s everyone had pretty much given up on Black Sabbath...and why not?

After all, guitarist Tony Iommi was the only remaining original member, and the bandhad seen an outrageous number of musicians -- particularly lead singers -- crash through

its battered ranks since Ozzy Osbourne's late-'70s sacking. So it was actually quite ashock to anyone still paying attention when no-name vocalist Tony Martin outperformed

a string of higher-profile predecessors with his contributions to Sabbath's unexpected1987 return to form, The Eternal Idol, then pulled off the even more remarkable feat of

being invited back for a second go-round via 1989's equally satisfying Headless Cross.Arguably the finest Black Sabbath album sans Ozzy or Dio, Headless Cross also featured

one of Black Sabbath's most formidable lineups ever: matching the two Tonys withveteran bassist Neil Murray (Whitesnake, Gary Moore, etc.) and experienced journeyman

Cozy Powell (too many associations to list) -- one of the few drummers in possession ofan instantly recognizable sound. It's Powell, in fact, who leads the Sabs back out to the


25/47

battlefield when he detonates the reverie of atmospheric intro "The Gates of Hell" withhis echoing, pounding war drums, but naturally everything on offer is ultimately bound

to, and dependent upon, Iommi's almighty riffs -- from whence all rivers flow. Thisincludes morbid monster-pieces such as "Kill in the Spirit World" and "Call of the Wild,"

which quake with simply massive power chords yet still manage to flow seamlessly into

slightly more upbeat radio-friendly numbers like "Devil and Daughter" and "BlackMoon." Likewise, whereas "When Death Calls" is surely one of Iommi's most spine-chilling compositions ever in terms of sheer malevolent force, the equally bewitching

"Nightwing" flips the coin entirely with its delicate acoustic guitars and (dare it be said)highly romantic lyrics. In short, for those wise enough to appreciate Black Sabbath's

discography beyond the Osbourne and Dio essentials, there can be no better place to startthan Headless Cross or its worthy predecessor, The Eternal Idol." ~ - Eduardo Rivadavia

(Page Masters Note: Mr. Rivadavia is not correct about a small segment of information in his

quote. Neil Murray did not play bass on the Headless Cross album Laurence Cottle did. Neiljoined on the eve of the albums release and did tour for the album, though. See below. ed.)

* FAMED DRUMMER COZY POWELL (EX RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE, ELP) FINALLY

COMES ON BOARD, LATER STATING HE HAD BEEN OFFERED THE JOB INSABBATH ABOUT THREE TIMES BEFORE, BUT HAD ALWAYS BEEN COMITTED

ELSEWHERE AT THOSE POINTS. THERE WERE ALSO CLAIMS THAT GEEZERBUTLER WAS IN TALKS TO REJOIN THE BAND SOMETIME AROUND THIS POINT,

WHETHER IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THE ALBUM, OR TOUR, IS NOT PRECISELYKNOWN. HOWEVER, NEIL MURRAY OF THE SAME WHITESNAKE FAME JOINS THE

BAND ON THE EVE OF THE ALBUM'S RELEASE. LAURENCE COTTLE PLAYED BASSON THE HEADLESS CROSS ALBUM AND VIDEO, BUT NEVER INTENDED TO JOIN

THE BAND FULL-TIME, OR FOR TOURING *

(Many critics and fans believe this album to be a fine return to glory for Black Sabbath, ranking

up there with the likes of Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. This was probably Tony Martin's bestwork vocally on record, succeeded by the follow-up concept record TYR. Tyr was produced

wonderfully, whereas Headless Cross suffered a tad from shoddy production.

A B-Side bonus track did emerge entitled 'Cloak and Dagger', which is a masterpiece. I believethis was released as the 'B' Side to the radio-edit {shortened} version of the Headless Cross song

on vinyl only, and also a rare 'picture disc' of the Headless Cross single. Again, if I am incorrectin the exact details of the exact single it was released on, please let me know).

** TOURING LINE-UP FOR THE HEADLESS CROSS TOUR INCLUDED: TONY

MARTIN, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, NEIL MURRAY, AND COZY POWELL.


26/47

TYR (1990)

~ "A more focused group effort than the previous ETERNAL IDOL, TYR features lyrics writtenby vocalist Tony Martin, with music by the whole band. Tony Iommi is still the ringmaster of the

Sabbath circus, though, as his riffs power this heavy metal concept album. The title character is

identified as the "son of Odin and the supreme sky-god of the northern peoples; the god of warand martial valor."

Sabbath stalwart Geoff Nicholls' keyboards create an eerie atmosphere on TYR. Hard rock

veterans Cozy Powell (drums) and Neil Murray (bass) provide a more than ample rhythmsection. Tony Martin's vocal range is reminiscent of Ronnie James Dio, while Tony Iommi's

constantly evolving guitar playing is as tight as ever. He is THE heavy metal axe-grinder for theages, influencing the genre's top names. TYR's heavy yet melodic sound is impressive, and plays

a notable role in the history of a monumental group." ~ - Uncredited -

* THE STELLAR LINE-UP OF TONY MARTIN, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, NEILMURRAY, AND COZY POWELL TOUR CONSISTENTLY FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS.

WITH RATHER LACKLUSTER PROMOTION FOR BOTH THE HEADLESS CROSS ANDTYR TOURS (THE TYR TOUR NEVER EVEN MAKING IT TO THE USA), TOWARDS

THE END OF 1990, THERE WAS ANOTHER PROPOSED ATTEMPT AT REUNITINGWITH OZZY, AND THAT FELL THROUGH. THEN, THERE WERE RUMBLINGS THAT

DIO AND GEEZER BUTLER WERE GOING TO REJOIN THE BAND.

DEHUMANIZER (1992)

~ "In 1992, a reunion of the Black Sabbath mark II lineup occurred, garnering a sigh of relieffrom the worldwide fans of the group. In the '80s and early '90s, the metal outfit went through

countless personnel changes and perhaps should have been called The Tony Iommi Project. This

reunion with Ronnie James Dio was a precursor to the four original members reuniting inDecember 1997.

DEHUMANIZER is a thunderously heavy album. The band sported a "take no prisoners"

attitude in showing they could rock even harder than a decade earlier. "TV Crimes," the album'sfirst single, is a fast and furious number featuring the drumming talents of Vinny Appice. Songs

like "Masters of Insanity" and "Sins of the Father" contribute to the album's dark feel. "TimeMachine" is the standout track, and a second version from the WAYNE'S WORLD 2 soundtrack

is featured. Dio's voice ages like fine wine, and Geezer Butler's inventive bass line dominates thetrack. DEHUMANIZER is the sweet fruit of this mark II reunion." ~ - Ty Burr -

Industry Reviews

Rating: B+Entertainment Weekly - Ty Burr (05/08/1992)


27/47

FOR ROUGHLY A YEAR, SABBATH REFORMS WITH DIO, GEEZER BUTLER, ANDVINNY APPICE TO RECORD DEHUMANIZER. ORIGINALLY, COZY POWELL WAS

STILL WITH THE BAND BUT HAD RECENTLY BEEN INJURED IN A HORSERIDING ACCIDENT, AND THE BAND "SUPPOSEDLY" WAS GOING TO WAIT A BIT

FOR COZY TO START RECORDING, BUT RECORD COMPANY PRESSURE

WANTED QUICKER RESOLUTION (information obtained from Joe Siegler's BlackSabbath page), SO VINNY APPICE COMES BACK ON BOARD AND THE 'MOBRULES' LINE-UP PROCEEDS.

ALSO SOMETIME DURING THE RECORDING PERIOD, FRICTION SUPPOSEDLY

DEVELOPED BETWEEN THE BAND AND DIO (again), AND SOME EVIDENCE HASTONY MARTIN BEING ASKED BACK TO WORK ON THE DEHUMANIZER SONG

DEMOS, BUT EVENTUALLY RONNIE CAME BACK DUE TO RECORD COMPANYPRESSURES, AND THE DEMOS WITH TONY MARTIN WERE ICED AND HAVE YET

TO SURFACE ANYWHERE.

THE REUNION WOULD NOT LAST LONG, THOUGH, AS SABBATH WASULTIMATELY ASKED TO 'OPEN' FOR OZZY ON HIS SUPPOSED 'NO MORE TOURS

TOUR' IN NOVEMBER 1992. DIO FELT SABBATH SHOULD NOT HAVE TO OPENFOR ANYBODY, LEAST OF ALL THEIR FORMER LEAD SINGER. DIO WOULD

THEN TURN IN HIS RESIGNATION, HAVING JUDAS PRIEST/FIGHT SINGER ROBHALFORD STAND IN AND SING THE FINAL TWO SABBATH SHOWS ON

NOVEMBER 14 AND NOVEMBER 15, 1992. TONY MARTIN WAS SUPPOSEDLYCONTACTED TO DO THESE SHOWS, BUT HE COULD NOT OBTAIN A

PASSPORT/VISA IN TIME TO COME OVER TO THE USA, SO HE HAD TO DECLINE.COINCIDENTALLY, DIO'S CONTRACT WITH SABBATH WAS SET TO EXPIRE ON

NOVEMBER 13, 1992 AND GIVEN THE SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES, HE CHOSE NOT

TO 'RENEW THE CONTRACT' AND STAY WITH THE BAND, SO TO SPEAK.

- The following evening, the original 4 Black Sabbath members (Ozzy, Bill, Tony, and

Geezer) did play a several-song set together.

* (Dehumanizer demos, without vocals but with Cozy playing the drums, do exist in several

forms throughout collector's circles. From what I have heard, the demos have differentworking titles and arrangements than what eventually made it to the final product. The

rumored demos with Tony Martin apparently re-singing many of the songs have yet tosurface anywhere, at least to my knowledge).

** TOURING LINE UP FOR THE DEHUMANIZER TOUR INCLUDED: RONNIE JAMES

DIO, TONY IOMMI, GEOFF NICHOLLS, GEEZER BUTLER, AND VINNY APPICE. ROBHALFORD (JUDAS PRIEST, FIGHT) DID GUEST VOCALS ON THE LAST TWO DATES

OF THE TOUR - NOVEMBER 14, AND NOVEMBER 15, 1992.


28/47

CROSS PURPOSES (1993 - RELEASED JAN 1994)

~ "Cross Purposes could have been the ultimate Black Sabbath album. That may be a bold claim,but it combines members from several different eras together for perhaps the most promising

lineup since Ronnie James Dio's days with the band. Geezer Butler is there to represent the

classic '70s version, Tony Martin returned to the fold to be the '80s representative, new drummerBobby Rondinelli brings the '90s flavor to everything, and Tony Iommi is the never-say-die (nopun intended) original member who never left the flock. But instead of crafting Sabbath's

masterful return to grace, they made a weird mishmash of power metal and stoner rock thatworks more often than not. At least Butler seems to have Iommi attempting memorable riffs

again, something he couldn't quite get the hang of until the album previous to this. "I Witness"opens with a classic guitar part, while the drums drive the song along and the bass chugs away

with a newfound energy. But this energy is offset by the increasingly soulful vocals of Martin,who simply cannot muster the creepy wail that Ozzy Osbourne brought to the band. In fact, he

puts in a performance that is even below the standards he set on albums like The Eternal Idol.The minute his voice starts on the first track, it's as if Sabbath had to adjust to not make him

sound out of place. Why the band couldn't have found a suitable replacement is a mystery, unlessIommi had simply given up on bringing in yet another singer after so many had come after

Osbourne. "Virtual Death" is the brutally heavy shocker that suddenly appears in the middle ofthe album; it goes to show how they could have incorporated Martin much more effectively and

is also the best slow crawl Iommi had worked on since 1983's "Zero the Hero." Butler does seemto have a good influence on Iommi whenever they work together, and their interplay becomes

quite interesting as the album goes on. For whatever reason, most of the filler is at the beginning,leaving the better material to hang back for the second half. "Immaculate Deception" contains

another good riff, although keyboardist Geoff Nichols spews inappropriate new age nonsense allover it. "Back to Eden" improves matters again with more wonderful interaction between Butler

and Iommi, while "Cardinal Sin" is yet another good song that goes to show how misused Martin

had been during his first run with the band. Many might disagree, but Cross Purposes is the firstalbum since Born Again that actually sounds like a real Sabbath record. And it is probably thebest thing they'd released since The Mob Rules, even with the filler tracks and keyboards. Of

course, the lineup completely dissolved as Iommi perpetuated the band's downward spiral, butfor a brief moment it seemed like Sabbath could have really shaped up into something special." ~

- Bradley Torreano-

CROSS PURPOSES LIVE PACKAGE (1995)

* TONY MARTIN WOULD ONCE AGAIN BE CALLED BACK TO SABBATH IN 1993-

ISH, WITH FAMED DRUMMER BOBBY RONDINELLI. ORIGINALLY, TONY ANDGEEZER WERE HOPING FOR ANOTHER REUNION WITH OZZY AND SUPPOSEDLY'WAITED AROUND' FOR SOME TIME FOR THIS TO HAPPEN, ONLY FOR

NEGOTIATIONS ONCE AGAIN TO BREAK DOWN. WITH TONY MARTIN BACK ONBOARD, GEEZER BUTLER DECIDES TO STAY WITH THE BAND THIS TIME AROUND.


29/47

(Bobby Rondinelli played for Rainbow during the Joe Lynn Turner era from 1980-1983,and had auditioned for Kiss, and had also played with Ray Gillen (mentioned previously)

in both Rondinelli and Sun Red Sun. According to Tony Iommi, Bobby had been on alist of drummers to call, and may have been recommended by Cozy Powell in fact. Bobby

had previously replaced Cozy in Rainbow.

In 1992-1993, Bobby had been playing with Kevin DuBrow, Kenny Hillary, and CarlosCavazo in the band called Heat, which then became a reformed version of Quiet Riot.

Bobby toured with Quiet Riot into mid 1993 (and played on 5-6 tracks on what wouldbecome their 1993 Terrified album), but left the QR tour in mid 1993. Frankie Banali,

long-time Quiet Riot drummer, then returned to the band. Frankie has been on recordstating that Kevin and Kenny were angry that Bobby just up and left the band mid-tour.

While I cannot confirm it, the time frame seems to lend to the fact that Bobby left to takethe Black Sabbath gig. I have a Quiet Riot band photo, with Bobby and signed by the

band that very show, which has a July 1993 date on the back. It would seem Bobbystenure with Sabbath began after July 1993, BUT, that also does not necessarily mean that

just because Bobby was still playing with Quiet Riot as far as July 1993, that Bobby

couldnt have been dabbling in the Sabbath camp during or even before that July 1993time period. Whether Bobby left amicably or with no notice, I cant confirm this. If I everget Bobbys historical side of this, I will post it. Bobby has told me personally (and even

autographed a QR Terrified poster I have) where he states Kevin and Kenny were goodfriends of his and he was very saddened of both of their passings, and misses them.

Kenny Hillary died on June 5, 1996 of an apparent suicide and Kevin Dubrow died inOctober 2007 of an apparent accidental overdose).

DISPUTES WOULD LATER SURFACE THAT GEEZER NEVER INTENDEDCROSS PURPOSES TO BE A BLACK SABBATH ALBUM, AND CLAIMS THAT IT

SHOULD HAVE GONE OUT AS AN 'IOMMI-BUTLER' SOLO TYPE OF PROJECTWHICH WAS MEANT TO HOLD THEM OVER UNTIL THE HOPED-FOR

REUNION WITH OZZY, WHICH NEVER TOOK PLACE.

TONY MARTIN AND BOBBY RONDINELLI STEDFAST DENY THAT CLAIM,WITH BOBBY RONDINELLI STATING, "NO FUCKING WAY - TONY IOMMI

ASKED ME TO JOIN BLACK SABBATH." TONY MARTIN ALSO CLAIMS TOHAVE GEEZER ON BOTH AUDIO AND VIDEO STATING SOMETHING TO THE

EFFECT OF, "THIS IS THE MOST FUN I'VE (GEEZER) HAD BOTH IN THESTUDIO WITH "BLACK SABBATH" AND MAKING OF A NEW "BLACK

SABBATH ALBUM."

** After contacting Bobby in regards to "information" about this era and album now onWikipedia, he emailed me this short reply. My original question to him is included. **

From: Bobby Rondinelli

bullshit, it was a Sabbath album.


30/47

7/5/2010 8:18 PMFrom: Jhnny By Angel

To: Bobby Rondinelli

Bobby - just wanted to get your opinion on this entry and Geezer's statementsthis is

currently posted in Wikipedia. Wikipedia CAN be updated, though.

Segment taken from Wikipedia:

"Drummer Vinny Appice left the band following the reunion show to join Ronnie JamesDio's solo band, later appearing on Dio's Strange Highways and Angry Machines. Iommi

and Butler enlisted former Rainbow drummer Bobby Rondinelli, and reinstated formervocalist Tony Martin. The band returned to the studio to work on new material, again not

originally intended to be released under the Black Sabbath name. As Geezer Butlerexplains:

It wasn't even supposed to be a Sabbath album; I wouldn't have even done it under the

pretence of Sabbath. That was the time when the original band were talking about gettingback together for a reunion tour. Tony and myself just went in with a couple of people,

did an album just to have, while the reunion tour was (supposedly) going on. It was likean Iommi/Butler project album.[109] "

SOME FINAL FUN FACTS - EDDIE VAN HALEN CO-WROTE THE SONG 'EVIL

EYE' AND WAS SUPPOSED TO GUEST ON THE TRACK, BUT AS FAR ASANYBODY KNOWS, HE NEVER DID.

THE SONG CARDINAL SIN WAS SUPPOSEDLY TITLED SIN CARDINAL SIN,

BUT AN ERROR ON THE PRESSING OF THE ALBUM LEFT OFF THE FIRSTWORD, SO THE SONG TITLE SIMPLY WENT OUT AS CARDINAL SIN.

* On a personal note, I find Cross Purposes to have a tremendous drum sound. Not sureif it was the kits Bobby used, and/or simply how the songs were mixed and mastered, but

Bobbys drum sound is masterful. Turn up the song Virtual Death on a nice soundsystem and listen to that awesome drum sound.

Also note the odd 'similarities' with the mid-song faster riffing in 'Pyschophobia' to parts in thePearl Jam song 'Even Flow' released a few years earlier. Also, in my opinion, the following track

'Virtual Death' has an 'Alice in Chains' type of vibe. Could be pure coincidence, or maybe

Sabbath was trying to say, 'Hey rookies, we're still here..' to the happening and popular grungemovement taking place during the 1993-1994 years. Of course, many of those mid 90's grungeand alternative bands never had any substance and soon disappeared quicker than the hair metal

acts they all liked to poke fun at, but that is an entirely different story...

(A bonus track entitled 'What's the Use' appeared on the Japanese pressing of Cross Purposes. Itis a cool, short-quick song with Bobby pounding away on the drums for an intro. Very cool.

Again, this should have appeared on all versions of the album.


31/47

Another little fact - this is the album where Tony Martin's legal last name appeared in the creditsto some of the songs. According to Garry Sharpe-Young's Black Sabbath 1979-1997 book, Tony

Martin states that this was not his intent to ever release his legal name, nor should have NEVERhappened - per his own personal reasons. Tony believes that Geezer's wife Gloria was

responsible for this, whether it was intentional or not, nobody knows. Tony was said to be very

angered by this and has stated that once his legal name got out, he even started to receive hatemail and death threats - probably all hogwash and just "part of what the musician or entertainergoes through all the time" kinda saga , but still happened noneth

a complete history of black sabbath (facebook_s only, complete black sabbath page)

Documents