RONNIE JAMES DIO: SABBATH With OZZY To Celebrate Band's 40th Anniversary Next Year

David Glessner of the Express-News recently conducted an interview with legendary heavy metal vocalists Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN AND HELL, DIO, RAINBOW). A few excerpts follow:

On Dio's universally recognized forked-fingers devil-horn salute:

"You see it at Britney Spears concerts now and that's when you know you've lost it. I certainly didn't invent it, but I've become synonymous with it. It's cool to do a show and not (flash the horns) for a while, because everyone in the audience is just waiting and waiting for it."

On comparisons to the Ozzy-fronted version of SABBATH:

"As you said, I think (both versions of BLACK SABBATH) are two distinct entities. In listening to 'Heaven and Hell', I find very few flaws in it. If you've got a great band playing great songs that defined an era, you've got something really special. Some of the people who discovered SABBATH at that point didn't even know there had been a SABBATH with Ozzy."

"This is not a me-versus-Ozzy thing. SABBATH with Ozzy invented heavy metal. They deserve the credit they've been given. I just brought something different, because I came from a more musical place. We kept the integrity of the heaviness, but musically, there were a lot more places for Tony and Geezer to go."

On Dio's original departure from SABBATH after the 1982 live album, "Live Evil", parts of which were recorded in San Antonio:

"There were too many people whispering behind too many other peoples' backs. Truth be told, Vinny and I were waiting for Tony and Geezer to come to the studio and they never did. Things got blown out of proportion."

On the "Dehumanizer" album, which Dio describes as "one of the great, underrated albums of the metal genre:

"About a week into the American tour, I was told we were going to be the opening act for Ozzy for two shows. I said, 'No, I won't do that.' At that point, so much dirty water had gone under the bridge and I knew SABBATH was going to reunite with Ozzy anyway, so I just refused. They got Rob Halford as a late replacement for me to do those two shows. I did what I believed in and I still think it was right."

On Dio's determination to make sure the gates of HEAVEN AND HELL will be locked before the legacy is pillaged:

"Had I been bright enough, I would have used your exact last words. If you get into the cycle of an album and a tour, and then another and another, at some point you're forced to do something you don't want to do. We all have other commitments and the guys are going to have their 40th anniversary with SABBATH next year, so I'm sure they'll do something with Ozzy."