The Line Up -
Ten years have passed since the Dio years. A whole new generation of fans has come to be. Now, most believe this happens. Geezer Butler meets up with Ronnie James Dio. They decide to reform their lineup for Black Sabbath. Tony Iommi agrees, Tony Martin and Neil Murray are out of Sabbath. It's said this simply, but in fact, it was a planned affair a bit more than this. The evidence of a Dio-era reform bounces all over the place. It starts with the Headless Cross album. Before Butler appeared at a DIO show (more on this in a minute), Butler was going to come back to Sabbath. As Neil Murray would say in 1995, he joined knowing that at some point Geezer would come back. When the chance of a reunion with Dio came, there wouldn't be room for himself, or Tony Martin in the band at the same time. The first input of Geezer back into the story was two guest appearances during 1990. The first was on September 8th at the Hammersmith Odeon. This spot could be viewed as the first real seed for the future. Hammer Magazine's article of 1991 revealed comments about consideration for continuing on with Tony Martin. Geezer and Iommi are testing the waters for his future. Talks with Martin about what he is lacking as far as stage presence. And that he should write more common-person lyrics and get away from historical and mythological subjects. But in the course of things, Dio's name comes up between Iommi and Butler. From what several other Sabbath members have said, Iommi always wanted Ozzy or Dio back. In the MTV Headbangers Ball 1992 interview with Sabbath, Dio says Geezer and Iommi were already planning to get back together. The first Dio connection was when Gloria Butler called up Wendy Dio about meeting just as friends. How they missed each other's friendships. Geezer is invited to Minneapolis with the tagline from Dio "Don't forget to bring your bass". Geezer's bass ends up being lost over a mishap at the airport. So having to borrow a bass, he joins for the song Neon Knights. Backstage talks ended up with a phone call to Iommi, and it grew from there. So Martin and Murray weren't fired from the band, just 'removed'. Tony wasn't 'officially' fired, which is a nice way to put it. Tony was told by Albert Chapman that he shouldn't show up for planned rehearsals. Just out of the blue one day, Albert had to explain what was going on. Neil Murray went home, and he was told to wait till we called and get the next album going. From what I understand, Cozy didn't know that Martin and Murray weren't told they were no longer in Sabbath. When asked, Iommi just said that Martin was great, but he had gone as far as he could in the band. He just lacks experience, and it's time to move on. Which Martin was wanting to do a solo album anyway, so everything worked out.
But things with Dio didn't go so well at first. Dio has since commented that throughout the process, there was just something wrong. These 'wrongs' would continue to plague the band. A split came with Tony, Geezer, and Ronnie. Iommi later admitted he was trying to get Dio to sing differently than he felt was right. So Iommi called Tony Martin after all this to rejoin. Tony Martin was working on his "Back Where I Belong" album and said he couldn't. Work continued on with Dio. A couple of months later, more problems with Dio led to another call to Tony Martin. Martin was free at the time, so he re-recorded the Dehumanizer material that existed. Due to the change in vocalists, some lyrics and vocal melodies were rewritten, and new music was written. Tony Iommi was happy with the work being done with Martin. Talks with Dio picked up, and some bad blood was set aside. After Polydor heard that Tony had gone back to Sabbath, they dropped the promotion of his album and stopped it from getting any North American release. So Tony Martin is again second-handed. But as luck would have it, he did tour behind his solo album. Being part of Cozy Powell's band. With Mario Pargo and Neil Murray rounding out the group. Some of the work done with Martin became 'Cross Purposes' later on. Martin's comments on his Facebook when asked: "It was pretty soon after I started my solo album that I had a call to go join up again, but I decided to carry on with the solo thing. Then I had another call a few months later, and decided to give it a try. I met the guys at a concert here in Birmingham at the NEC and they were great towards me, so in I went. Tony only said it had been hard working with Ronnie and didn’t really expand on it so I didn’t ask." Luckily, a fan has video footage of Dio and Martin bumping into one another.
Ten years have passed since the Dio years. A whole new generation of fans has come to be. Now, most believe this happens. Geezer Butler meets up with Ronnie James Dio. They decide to reform their lineup for Black Sabbath. Tony Iommi agrees, Tony Martin and Neil Murray are out of Sabbath. It's said this simply, but in fact, it was a planned affair a bit more than this. The evidence of a Dio-era reform bounces all over the place. It starts with the Headless Cross album. Before Butler appeared at a DIO show (more on this in a minute), Butler was going to come back to Sabbath. As Neil Murray would say in 1995, he joined knowing that at some point Geezer would come back. When the chance of a reunion with Dio came, there wouldn't be room for himself, or Tony Martin in the band at the same time. The first input of Geezer back into the story was two guest appearances during 1990. The first was on September 8th at the Hammersmith Odeon. This spot could be viewed as the first real seed for the future. Hammer Magazine's article of 1991 revealed comments about consideration for continuing on with Tony Martin. Geezer and Iommi are testing the waters for his future. Talks with Martin about what he is lacking as far as stage presence. And that he should write more common-person lyrics and get away from historical and mythological subjects. But in the course of things, Dio's name comes up between Iommi and Butler. From what several other Sabbath members have said, Iommi always wanted Ozzy or Dio back. In the MTV Headbangers Ball 1992 interview with Sabbath, Dio says Geezer and Iommi were already planning to get back together. The first Dio connection was when Gloria Butler called up Wendy Dio about meeting just as friends. How they missed each other's friendships. Geezer is invited to Minneapolis with the tagline from Dio "Don't forget to bring your bass". Geezer's bass ends up being lost over a mishap at the airport. So having to borrow a bass, he joins for the song Neon Knights. Backstage talks ended up with a phone call to Iommi, and it grew from there. So Martin and Murray weren't fired from the band, just 'removed'. Tony wasn't 'officially' fired, which is a nice way to put it. Tony was told by Albert Chapman that he shouldn't show up for planned rehearsals. Just out of the blue one day, Albert had to explain what was going on. Neil Murray went home, and he was told to wait till we called and get the next album going. From what I understand, Cozy didn't know that Martin and Murray weren't told they were no longer in Sabbath. When asked, Iommi just said that Martin was great, but he had gone as far as he could in the band. He just lacks experience, and it's time to move on. Which Martin was wanting to do a solo album anyway, so everything worked out.
But things with Dio didn't go so well at first. Dio has since commented that throughout the process, there was just something wrong. These 'wrongs' would continue to plague the band. A split came with Tony, Geezer, and Ronnie. Iommi later admitted he was trying to get Dio to sing differently than he felt was right. So Iommi called Tony Martin after all this to rejoin. Tony Martin was working on his "Back Where I Belong" album and said he couldn't. Work continued on with Dio. A couple of months later, more problems with Dio led to another call to Tony Martin. Martin was free at the time, so he re-recorded the Dehumanizer material that existed. Due to the change in vocalists, some lyrics and vocal melodies were rewritten, and new music was written. Tony Iommi was happy with the work being done with Martin. Talks with Dio picked up, and some bad blood was set aside. After Polydor heard that Tony had gone back to Sabbath, they dropped the promotion of his album and stopped it from getting any North American release. So Tony Martin is again second-handed. But as luck would have it, he did tour behind his solo album. Being part of Cozy Powell's band. With Mario Pargo and Neil Murray rounding out the group. Some of the work done with Martin became 'Cross Purposes' later on. Martin's comments on his Facebook when asked: "It was pretty soon after I started my solo album that I had a call to go join up again, but I decided to carry on with the solo thing. Then I had another call a few months later, and decided to give it a try. I met the guys at a concert here in Birmingham at the NEC and they were great towards me, so in I went. Tony only said it had been hard working with Ronnie and didn’t really expand on it so I didn’t ask." Luckily, a fan has video footage of Dio and Martin bumping into one another.
Right where they left off.
It's fitting that one of the tracks that came out of this album is Time Machine. Nine years earlier, the band hit a low in their friendship. Things here started about the same as when they left the Live Evil mixing studio. Dio has since commented that, throughout the process, there was just something wrong. Well, looking at all the facts here, I'd say that's an understatement. To not get hammered away with meaningless crap, I'll cut to the chase here. Cozy and Dio clashed from the start. There was some unspoken bad blood from their Rainbow days that really never got to come into the light. Every interview I've read or seen with Dio was always straight-forward about his thoughts on Cozy in 1991. He said he didn't want him there from the start. He was the wrong drummer for Sabbath. Iommi assured him that Cozy was different from his Rainbow days. But according to Dio, he was exactly the same man. On another note, it was well known that Cozy liked fast driving. But he was also into horses. While spending a day at a horse show, a horse fell on him. The maned-haired animal did nothing short of breaking his pelvis. Later on, it's discovered that Cozy And Geezer's wives weren't getting along so well. Over the fact that Cozy's role in the band would be downsized. He made the decision to leave Sabbath anyway. And the accident happened just at the right time to use it as the reason he left. (Just about the same time 'Dehumanizer' comes out, Cozy has an album out called 'The Drums Are Back and a tour with Neil Murray and Tony Martin.) At first, Dio wanted Simon Wright from his band Dio. But Iommi and Butler disagreed, saying it was too AC/DC-ish for them. (Wright was in AC/DC in the mid-80s.) The band decides to invite Vinny Appice back. Which within two seconds, he accepts. Stalwart Geoff Nicholls, needless to say, remained on the keyboards throughout this whole line up journey.
Music Before The Album -
All together, there are 3 CDs worth of outtakes, rehearsals, and miscellaneous demos. August of 2002 is when a bootleg of the first two CDs comes out. Took from Cozy's personal recording deck. The booklet that came with the original limited print had a scan of the original cassette.
CD 1 is full of rehearsals with just Iommi, Butler, and Powell. I'd rate the quality and clarity of this recording as A-. Iommi is very clear and up front in the mix with Geezer, and Cozy is like 90% behind that. There are two songs in progress that don't become songs on Dehumanizer in some form. One song
would become Raising Hell on Tony Martin's Scream album. The drum track on his solo album is Cozy's drum track. Which is a separate recording from that on this rehearsal CD. Gave to Tony Martin to write songs around. The second song appears to be an early take of the song Get A Grip, which would later be on Forbidden in 1995. Throughout the recording, there is some in-between-song banter.
CD 2 now contains some vocals by Dio. To my ears, it sounds like the second tape was recorded on separate days. It has some bits and pieces of songs with Dio that don't sound like something on Dehumanizer. Track 13 might have been titled In The Middle, as Dio says that during the chorus parts. Iommi has some great guitar parts during this. Near stellar playing by him. Kind of similar to I or the riff of Headless Cross. Some more versions of Computer God and Letters From Earth. Track 8 contains the basic structure of Fine from the 1996 IOMMI album, DEP Sessions. Track 10 is another example of Raising Hell.
CD 3 is sourced from the studio deck. Hence, it's titled Studio Demos. It starts with the Geezer Butler Band's 1980s demos of Computer God and Master Of Insanity. Computer God is similar in song title alone. Very 80s keyboard-driven, but are good songs. Master Of Insanity is very close to the Dehumanizer version. continuing 95% of the same lyrics and song structure. Fast forward to the Dehumanizer sessions, and there are two major songs of note. Bad Blood and The Next Time are both nearly complete songs that were left out of Dehumanizer. There's only one demo of Bad Blood, but there are several takes of Bad Blood. There's a lot of promise in these songs that I think would have been great for the deluxe edition re-releases. To my ears, the opening guitar riff of Bad Blood was used for The Illusion Of Power on Forbidden. The Next Time main guitar riff is the twin brother of Psychphobia. This riff had been floating around since the first rehearsals with Cozy. On the different takes, the bass is turned up and down and played at different tempos. It seems to me that they couldn't get the bass to fit into the song structure. The demo here of Letters From Earth was used as the B-side of TV Crimes.
With these rehearsal tapes, I clearly see that Cozy could have worked well, but it wasn't in the cards, I guess. There's a lot of promise in these outtakes, and now I ponder if we'll ever get to hear the Tony Martin version of Dehumanizer.
CD 1 is full of rehearsals with just Iommi, Butler, and Powell. I'd rate the quality and clarity of this recording as A-. Iommi is very clear and up front in the mix with Geezer, and Cozy is like 90% behind that. There are two songs in progress that don't become songs on Dehumanizer in some form. One song
would become Raising Hell on Tony Martin's Scream album. The drum track on his solo album is Cozy's drum track. Which is a separate recording from that on this rehearsal CD. Gave to Tony Martin to write songs around. The second song appears to be an early take of the song Get A Grip, which would later be on Forbidden in 1995. Throughout the recording, there is some in-between-song banter.
CD 2 now contains some vocals by Dio. To my ears, it sounds like the second tape was recorded on separate days. It has some bits and pieces of songs with Dio that don't sound like something on Dehumanizer. Track 13 might have been titled In The Middle, as Dio says that during the chorus parts. Iommi has some great guitar parts during this. Near stellar playing by him. Kind of similar to I or the riff of Headless Cross. Some more versions of Computer God and Letters From Earth. Track 8 contains the basic structure of Fine from the 1996 IOMMI album, DEP Sessions. Track 10 is another example of Raising Hell.
CD 3 is sourced from the studio deck. Hence, it's titled Studio Demos. It starts with the Geezer Butler Band's 1980s demos of Computer God and Master Of Insanity. Computer God is similar in song title alone. Very 80s keyboard-driven, but are good songs. Master Of Insanity is very close to the Dehumanizer version. continuing 95% of the same lyrics and song structure. Fast forward to the Dehumanizer sessions, and there are two major songs of note. Bad Blood and The Next Time are both nearly complete songs that were left out of Dehumanizer. There's only one demo of Bad Blood, but there are several takes of Bad Blood. There's a lot of promise in these songs that I think would have been great for the deluxe edition re-releases. To my ears, the opening guitar riff of Bad Blood was used for The Illusion Of Power on Forbidden. The Next Time main guitar riff is the twin brother of Psychphobia. This riff had been floating around since the first rehearsals with Cozy. On the different takes, the bass is turned up and down and played at different tempos. It seems to me that they couldn't get the bass to fit into the song structure. The demo here of Letters From Earth was used as the B-side of TV Crimes.
With these rehearsal tapes, I clearly see that Cozy could have worked well, but it wasn't in the cards, I guess. There's a lot of promise in these outtakes, and now I ponder if we'll ever get to hear the Tony Martin version of Dehumanizer.
The Album -
Once settled on the line-up, the album was recorded in Wales at Rockfield Studios. The producer chosen was Reingold Mack. Known by his producer name, simply Mack. I think Dio summed it up best when he said it was tense in good and bad ways. Good ways to make the music better. And bad ways of showing who the main man is. Geezer stepped up the lyric writing front more on this album than on Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules. Two songs that survived the demos were Computer God and Master of Insanity. MOI was written by Geezer and Jimi Bell during the short-lived Geezer Butler Band. Lyric-wise, it didn't change very much. On the music side, it didn't do much either. Just that it gained a more Iommi feel to it overall. Dio was upfront in saying he didn't do much for that song. And it should be credited to Geezer and Jimi as well. I first heard that Computer God was changed totally on the Story Of Vol. 2 VHS back in the 1990s. After the Geezer Butler Band version came out, I truly understood what he meant. What a complete 180-degree turn! The song went from being about a guy who creates a God software to being like The Terminator. About the machines that we have built turning on us. These songs and the others to follow were agreed upon as being about modern times. Getting away from fantasy-based lyrics. After All is based upon the theory of meeting your just deserve in the afterlife. And in part, talking to the dead. TV Crimes involves one of (If not the) fastest Sabbath songs. Written about those selling Christ for money in times of need. Letters From Earth came from a fan letter Dio got from a guy in prison. Time Machine was actually the first new song written for this reform. While shopping for producers, Max Norman put his name in. Warner Bros. brings up the possibility of the band doing a song for the Wayne's World movie and soundtrack. So, this first version was recorded with Max at the helm. To be a demo for how the Sabbath/Norman mix would go. Max ended up not getting the job after all. Vinny Appice once said that Max tried to tell Iommi how to play a song on the guitar. With Tony, that was a big no-no. Warner Bros. wanted to use this demo. Thinking it was the better of the two. Both versions make their appearance on the North American release.
June 30th, 1992, was the worldwide release date of the album. Sabbath was still signed to IRS Records, but adding Dio to the mix had Warner Bros. involved. To solve this issue, Warner Bros./Reprise Records had the right to release the album. IRS Records still had international rights to release. Reaching the number 28 spot in the UK. A worse place than TYR. Number 44 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Not the level Black Sabbath was hoping for. My opinion is that the lead-off song, TV Crimes, wasn't the best song to promote the album with. Not to forget the reduced role that metal music had in society.
Once settled on the line-up, the album was recorded in Wales at Rockfield Studios. The producer chosen was Reingold Mack. Known by his producer name, simply Mack. I think Dio summed it up best when he said it was tense in good and bad ways. Good ways to make the music better. And bad ways of showing who the main man is. Geezer stepped up the lyric writing front more on this album than on Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules. Two songs that survived the demos were Computer God and Master of Insanity. MOI was written by Geezer and Jimi Bell during the short-lived Geezer Butler Band. Lyric-wise, it didn't change very much. On the music side, it didn't do much either. Just that it gained a more Iommi feel to it overall. Dio was upfront in saying he didn't do much for that song. And it should be credited to Geezer and Jimi as well. I first heard that Computer God was changed totally on the Story Of Vol. 2 VHS back in the 1990s. After the Geezer Butler Band version came out, I truly understood what he meant. What a complete 180-degree turn! The song went from being about a guy who creates a God software to being like The Terminator. About the machines that we have built turning on us. These songs and the others to follow were agreed upon as being about modern times. Getting away from fantasy-based lyrics. After All is based upon the theory of meeting your just deserve in the afterlife. And in part, talking to the dead. TV Crimes involves one of (If not the) fastest Sabbath songs. Written about those selling Christ for money in times of need. Letters From Earth came from a fan letter Dio got from a guy in prison. Time Machine was actually the first new song written for this reform. While shopping for producers, Max Norman put his name in. Warner Bros. brings up the possibility of the band doing a song for the Wayne's World movie and soundtrack. So, this first version was recorded with Max at the helm. To be a demo for how the Sabbath/Norman mix would go. Max ended up not getting the job after all. Vinny Appice once said that Max tried to tell Iommi how to play a song on the guitar. With Tony, that was a big no-no. Warner Bros. wanted to use this demo. Thinking it was the better of the two. Both versions make their appearance on the North American release.
June 30th, 1992, was the worldwide release date of the album. Sabbath was still signed to IRS Records, but adding Dio to the mix had Warner Bros. involved. To solve this issue, Warner Bros./Reprise Records had the right to release the album. IRS Records still had international rights to release. Reaching the number 28 spot in the UK. A worse place than TYR. Number 44 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Not the level Black Sabbath was hoping for. My opinion is that the lead-off song, TV Crimes, wasn't the best song to promote the album with. Not to forget the reduced role that metal music had in society.
The End
Sabbath tours for 'Dehumanizer, in which there are some sayings about fights between Iommi and Dio. Well, come November, Ozzy was saying that his shows in Costa Mesa, California, would be his retirement shows. The dates are November 14 and 15. And a rumor gets started that Ozzy would play with Sabbath. Ozzy (and Sharon) decide it's not a bad idea, and they invite Sabbath. The plan was for Sabbath to play with Dio, then later with Bill Ward and Ozzy to close the show. Ronnie James Dio says that Sabbath shouldn't have to be open for anyone, at least not for Ozzy. Dio stands his ground and refuses to do these shows. Dio explains that Ozzy just talks bad about Sabbath and Ronnie. That he won't share the same stage with him. Dio gets called a couple days before the shows by Iommi. He once again stands his ground, saying NO! Guess who is called, Tony Martin. It would have been AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! IMO to see Ozzy and Martin share the same stage. Maybe The USA Would see how great he is, and he could get the credit he's due. But Martin is touring with Cozy in Europe. And couldn't get a work visa in time to come to the US and sing for Sabbath. Rumor has it that Wendy Dio made it clear that if Martin did come to the show, she would alert the police and immigration. Rob Halford from Judas Priest Is nearby and joins Sabbath for the two shows.
Vinny soon split to rejoin Dio. Once again splitting Sabbath in half as Iommi and Butler carried on in Black Sabbath.
Sabbath tours for 'Dehumanizer, in which there are some sayings about fights between Iommi and Dio. Well, come November, Ozzy was saying that his shows in Costa Mesa, California, would be his retirement shows. The dates are November 14 and 15. And a rumor gets started that Ozzy would play with Sabbath. Ozzy (and Sharon) decide it's not a bad idea, and they invite Sabbath. The plan was for Sabbath to play with Dio, then later with Bill Ward and Ozzy to close the show. Ronnie James Dio says that Sabbath shouldn't have to be open for anyone, at least not for Ozzy. Dio stands his ground and refuses to do these shows. Dio explains that Ozzy just talks bad about Sabbath and Ronnie. That he won't share the same stage with him. Dio gets called a couple days before the shows by Iommi. He once again stands his ground, saying NO! Guess who is called, Tony Martin. It would have been AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! IMO to see Ozzy and Martin share the same stage. Maybe The USA Would see how great he is, and he could get the credit he's due. But Martin is touring with Cozy in Europe. And couldn't get a work visa in time to come to the US and sing for Sabbath. Rumor has it that Wendy Dio made it clear that if Martin did come to the show, she would alert the police and immigration. Rob Halford from Judas Priest Is nearby and joins Sabbath for the two shows.
Vinny soon split to rejoin Dio. Once again splitting Sabbath in half as Iommi and Butler carried on in Black Sabbath.