VINNY APPICE Talks Rise Of Early-Onset Cancers And Existence Of 'Chemtrails': 'They're Everywhere'

In a new interview with The Adventures Of Pipeman, legendary hard rock and heavy metal drummer Vinny Appice weighed in on the rise of early-onset cancers, thought to be due to changing patterns of exposure in early life. While advances in cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment have led to a 33% reduction in the U.S. cancer mortality rate over the past three decades, there has been an alarming increase in the number of younger individuals developing — and dying from — cancer. After lamenting the fact that his BLACK SABBATH, DIO and HEAVEN & HELL bandmate Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer more than a decade and a half ago, Vinny said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's an awful thing. And it's pretty popular right now, let's put it that way. Probably all the junk in the air and the food and the water and all that stuff, so who knows… The latest thing is — I don't know — I'm in California, and some days you look up at the sky and it's across, playing tic-tac-toe with the chemtrails," he added, using the term to describe the intentional release of chemicals from airplanes to control either people or the weather. "They're everywhere. I spoke to a friend in North Carolina. He goes, 'Yeah, they're here too.' And a friend in England, same thing there. So, I don't know what they're trying to do, but nobody's saying anything. Like, why are you doing this and what is it for? It used to be trying to make it rain and stuff, but it hasn't rained here [in Southern California]. [It] never rains [here]. Who knows?"

Conspiracy theorists sometimes claim, without evidence, that the white cloud-like contrails left by aircraft are chemicals or biological agents dumped on the unsuspecting public for nefarious purposes. Different motives are ascribed, from weather control to mass poisoning.

Contrails, according to scientists, are actually water from engines condensing in the cold, high altitude air, similar to how car exhaust is more visible in the winter.

The chemtrails theory has circulated since 1996, when conspiracy theorists misinterpreted a U.S. Air Force research paper about weather modification.

Last July, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a webpage with information about contrails and geoengineering.

Dustin Tingley, a public policy professor at Harvard University, described the EPA's webpages to The Hill as "rather thoughtful".

"The EPA did a responsible job of taking the concerns that people might genuinely have and providing easy-to-understand explanations," Tingley said.

Ronnie James Dio lost his life to stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer, in 2010. The disease often does not cause symptoms until its later stages. Usually, by the time stomach cancer is diagnosed, the prognosis is poor.

Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne in BLACK SABBATH in 1980, recording the "Heaven And Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums, plus "Live Evil", before leaving in 1982. He rejoined the group 10 years later for an album called "Dehumanizer", and again teamed with the group under the HEAVEN & HELL banner. HEAVEN & HELL released an album called "The Devil You Know" in 2009.

Vinny has recorded and co-written songs on several dozen albums and CDs, including many multi-platinum records. Vinny's drumming can also be heard on numerous movie soundtracks, including "Wayne's World 2", "Heavy Metal", "Iron Eagle" and "Bedazzled". Vinny, the author of drum instruction book "Rock Steady" and DVD "Hard Rock Drumming Techniques", has performed incredible powerhouse drum clinics around the globe. Numerous books have been written about BLACK SABBATH and DIO with the authors always mentioned Vinny's drumming style.

Photo credit: Jim Wright (courtesy of earMUSIC)