We recently posted an item about how a growing number of major bands, including Metallica, Judas Priest and Gojira have chosen to release animated videos over performance-based clips. Now, Heaven and Hell (a.k.a. Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio) have joined the pack. The band's video for "The Bible Black," the first single from their new album The Devil You Know (out tomorrow) features cartoon imagery of a bored angel who discovers an evil book and plummets into Hell, where he meets the cartoon version of Sabbath and Dio. The clip was produced by Joseph A. Russo II and James A. Fino of 23d Films, Inc. and directed by Ben Ceccarelli. Click "more" to watch the video, stream the full album and hear our podcast interview with Dio and bassist Geezer Butler. Read more...

They returned from the grave in 2007 to write and record three new songs for the greatest hits album Black Sabbath the Dio Years. They had such a good time working together again for the first time in 12 years that they scheduled a gig at New York's Radio City Music Hall, which was filmed for the CD and DVD "Live From Radio City Music Hall." Then Heaven and Hell started touring and wound up co-headling the Metal Masters with Judas Priest.

During that whole cycle, they played their three new songs, but relied more heavily on their three previously released studio albums, Heaven and Hell (1980), Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumanizer(1992) -- to the chagrin of no one. After all, these were classic albums which have had substantial influence and impact upon the metal community. But if Heaven and Hell were to continue to grow, everyone knew they'd need to do a new album. (click "more" to listen to our interview with Heaven and Hell vocalist Ronnie James Dio and bassist Geezer Butler.) Read more...

Heaven and Hell presented Resurrection Award at Metal Hammer's Golden Gods Ceremony

After this final interview clip with Heaven and Hell, we're all out of footage, which is just as well because the band is all out of shows -- at least for now. Obviously, we'll hear more from them when they finish their next studio album, which -- not so coincidentally -- is what they discuss in our last interview clip. Click "more" to watch. Read more...

Ready for more from our video interview with Heaven and Hell? Today, the band also known as Black Sabbath with Dio discuss their unsung 1992 album Dehumanizer (which was included in the recently released box set Black Sabbath The Rules of Hell) and touring in the best and worst of times. Read more...

VH1 caught up with Heaven and Hell to talk to the band about the Metal Masters tour and the recent box set, Black Sabbath The Rules of Hell, a collection of all of the albums singer Ronnie James Dio recorded with Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler. Here's part one of three, in which the band members discusses their set list for Metal Masters and how, like a good wine, they've only improved with age. Read more...

Dude, photo passes rock!

It seems unfair that the only way to take pictures from the front of the stage is to be a member of the media, and jump through hoops to get a little sticker that allows you to shoot the first three songs of a group's set. After all, the people who really want souvenir photos of their favorite bands are the fans, and they risk decapitation to sneak in camcorders and portable cameras, and even use their cell phone cams to shoot from wherever they're sitting. Sadly, their photos always end up looking like they were shot from a speeding train a mile away.

Fortunately for us, we've become part of that self-important media organization thingy, and now we can sometimes get our camera into shows. But we have to admit it's a little intimidating shooting with a dinky $150 Olympus digital zoom when everyone else in the photographer's pit is carrying around one or two of those $1,800, 40 pound Nikon SLRs that have about a dozen switches and buttons and run on diesel gas or propane. You have to have a stock broker's salary to afford the fuel.

Still, we think our photos speak for themselves. They're not New York Times quality, surely, but they're a whole lot better than anything we could have gotten from the 35th row.

Anyway, these were all taken Friday night in New York at the Heaven and Hell show. The band, which features ex-Black Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio and current Sabbath members Tony Iommi (guitar) and Geezer Butler (Bass), probably would have been called something like "Black Sabbath with Dio" had Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne not had such a tight grip over the trademark. Still, H&H could have been called Moose Excrement and they still would have kicked ass at their only U.S. appearance so far.

The show was taped for an upcoming DVD and featured all the classics, including "Neon Knights," "The Mob Rules," "Children of the Sea," "The Sign of the Southern Cross," "Voodoo" and "Lady Evil. Sabbath, err, Heaven and Hell also played "Lonely is the Word" and "The Devil Cried," two of the three new songs written for the compilation, Black Sabbath: The Dio Years.

We were so mesmerized by the performance we almost forgot to take pictures -- which is what we were there for in the first place.

Heaven and Hell will take a few weeks off, then they'll return on April 22 to start their proper U.S. tour, which begins in Phoenix, Arizona and ends in Holmdel, New Jersey on May 19.

Here are the answers to yesterday's round of trivia. If you got all five questions right, you're either a true metal guru or you've mastered the art of Googling.

1. Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde got his start playing with which thrash metal band?
b) Possessed
One of the most vicious and sinister Bay Area bands, Possessed released two albums (1985's incendiary Seven Churches and 1986's ripping Behind the Gates) and an EP (1987's Eyes of Horror) before breaking up. In 1987, LaLonde joined Les Claypool and Tim Alexander in the quirky metal jam band, Primus. Two years later, Possessed bassist and singer Jeff Becerra was shot in a mugging and paralyzed from the waist down.

2. Actor Johnny Strong plays in which band?
c) Operator
Strong played everything and sang on his 2003 album Can You Hear Me Now. He had a little more help for his major label debut, Soulcrusher, which comes out later this year. His current touring band includes ex-Puddle of Mudd guitarist Paul James Phillips, but don't hold that against him. 3. Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi married which female metal performer in 2000?
d) Maria Sjoholm
Swedish-born Sjoholm was the frontwoman for the Alice in Chains-influenced girl band Drain S.T.H. The group put out two impressive albums, 1996's Horror Wrestling, and 1999's Freaks of Nature, before breaking up in 2000.4. What influential band was Josh Homme in before Queens of the Stone Age?
c) Kyuss
One of the founders of a music form that would be coined stoner metal, Kyuss played dense, dizzying metal that simultaneously grooved and ripped. Between 1991 and 1995, the band released four albums. Their best was arguably 1994's Welcome to Sky Valley. After breaking up in 1995, Homme and bassist Nick Oliveri formed Queens of the Stone Age with ex-Kyuss drummer Alfredo Hernandez and guitarist/keyboardist Dave Catching. Oliveri was booted in 2004, but Queens continues to rule the land.

The Dio version of Black Sabbath (aka Heaven and Hell) have announced U.S. tour dates. The band, which features Black Sabbath core members guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler performing with on-again, off-again member Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice, will launch the dates on April 22 in Phoenix, Arizona and will make 19 additional stops, ending in Holmdel, New Jersey on May 19.

The bill will also feature Megadeth, which will preview material from its upcoming album United Abominations, which hits May 8, and Machine Head, who release the epic, plundering The Blackening on March 27.

Here's the complete tour schedule: Read more...