Rumor Control

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2007-07-26 18:05.

Not sure if what you're hearing about the band or the tour is true? Find out what's real and what's just fiction.







Special Guest Star Alice Cooper.



Alice Cooper, the undisputed king of shock rock, will be guest starring on the North American leg of the tour. An avid golfer, his memior "Alice Cooper: Golf Monster" was released earlier this year. You can also catch him hosting his own syndicated radio show "Nights With Alice Cooper" five nights a week.


Bill Ward Not Performing With Heaven and Hell.


Vinny Appice will be taking over duties for the perenial Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. Much like with Ronnie James Dio's first run with Black Sabbath, Ward is being replaced by Appice. So even though it's not a "true" reunion of the original Dio fronted Sabbath, it can still be counted as something of a reunion, especially considering that Appice spent more time playing with this version of Sabbath than Ward did. When Ronnie James left Sabbath to start his own band Appice went with him. According to a posting on Ward's website on November 26th of last Ward announced that he would not be participating in the upcoming tour. He does not state a reason for this choice.



Naming The Band


Rumors abound as to the reasons why the decision was made to call the band Heaven and Hell as opposed to Black Sabbath. Some rumors even claim that for some reason Sharon Osbourne was sueing over the rights to the name.

So let's clear the air, shall we?

First of all, any lawsuits aimed at the usage of the name Black Sabbath would be both pointless and ludicrous. Being as how Tony Iommi is the actual owner of the name, it would be his decision whether or not to allow the use of the name. However, because of the projected continuation of the original lineup sometime in the future, both Iommi and Dio decided to tour under a different name. Heaven and Hell is only fitting as it was the first album Sabbath released with Ronnie James Dio on vocals.

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