HEAVEN & HELL's IOMMI Can't Wait To Hit The Road Again

Chris Creegan of Gigwise.com recently conducted an interview with legendary heavy metal guitarist Tony Iommi (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On the lengths to which he went to in the early days to ensure that BLACK SABBATH had a future:

"I believed in what we were doing and I believed in the music we were playing. When we first started the band, there was really no one else like us. It was such a challenge trying to make that breakthrough and it was tough trying to get people to accept us. I always knew it was going to be hard, and during one period I paid everything out of my own money to keep it all going — the trucks, the buses for the band, the whole thing. I believed in it and I didn't want it to die off. BLACK SABBATH had become such a part of me."

On Ronnie James Dio's addition to BLACK SABBATH:

"Ronnie brought a lot, really — and that’s not to say that Ozzy didn't — but he brought a different approach to the writing. It was a more creative input and Ronnie could play an instrument too, so if he wanted to explain something he would play it. I could actually sit down with Ronnie and play something, and we would build a song up that way. We found that difficult to do with Ozzy — if Ozzy tried to explain something, we didn't always get it. With Ronnie we were able to move quicker and write stuff a lot quicker."

On SABBATH's first album of the so-called "Dio era," "Heaven and Hell":

"We were faced by so much criticism beforehand with people saying it would never be the same without Ozzy, and that really made us get off our arse and work for it. We wanted to prove our doubters wrong, and so it was a much more stressful process. I really enjoyed that stress though and, at the end of it all, I think we created a really good album."

On HEAVEN & HELL's current status:

"In the past there was a lot of friction, and we were very on-and-off. It's funny to think that we have broken up on three separate occasions before finally touring again 15 years later. Things have changed now though and I think we have really grown up.

"Doing 'The Devil You Know' together had shown how far we had all come, and it was a joy to work on — there was a real commitment from everyone involved. With that being said, I still remember when we first performed as HEAVEN & HELL — after 40 years as BLACK SABBATH, it felt really odd. I didn't expect I would ever play under a different name and I even kept the first ticket from the first gig. It still feels a little strange now, but really exciting at the same time. At the moment I just can't wait for that feeling again when we go on tour."

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