Drummer Vinny Appice has been talking to Loudwire Nights about the various bands he played in with Ronnie James Dio: Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven And Hell.
The latter were something of a metal supergroup. Comprising Appice, Dio, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler, they were the post-Ozzy Sabbath lineup that recorded the band’s 1981 album Mob Rules, though they named themselves after the previous Sabbath album that had been Dio’s debut as vocalist.
The band toured between 2006 and 2009 and recorded one new album – 2009’s The Devil You Know. Sadly, any further activity was cut short by Dio’s early death from cancer in May 2010.
Appice though, has fond memories of those years. "We were having a good time playing together and making music and we were intending to continue for a bit, to do another tour in that summer in 2010 and possibly maybe another album,"
"But that's when Ronnie got ill and we couldn't continue. It's kind of a sad ending ... I'm glad we got to do it.”
He also talked about his early years playing with Dio, especially around the time of Holy Diver, the band Dio’s 1983 debut: "We didn't sit there and go, 'Let's make an album that's going to last 45 years or become a cornerstone of some rock music.' We were just having a great time. We'd go to Sound City Studios at 7 o'clock, we'd all drive in, we'd smoke a lot of pot and we were just creative, you know? We did creative things. It was like a club, a boys' club. We're going to hang out tonight, 7 o'clock."
"Everybody was happy, Ronnie was happy," he said.
"We used to jam with Ronnie sitting there. He'd sit there and roll a joint. He'd stand there by his music stand, rolling a joint and we're just jamming then writing some lyrics down. He'd get up and sing. We never heard what he was going to sing until he got up and sang, so it was very organic. Anything could go. It was a fantastic time."
The drummer also revealed that he honours the anniversary of his friend’s death every year. "I just think of Ronnie. He's always in my heart and we were like brothers at certain points. I always think about him - and maybe crank up a Dio song or something. He was just amazing and an amazing person… I'm just fortunate to have been able to be in that position to make music with Ronnie.”
