HEAVEN & HELL: new album postponed - Apr. 1, 2009
HEAVEN & HELL — the band featuring BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi (guitar), Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass) and Vinny Appice (drums) — has postponed the release of their long-awaited new album "The Devil You Know", due to legal threats by BLACK SABBATH vocalist Ozzy Osbourne's manager/wife, Sharon Osbourne.
Commented the leader of Mrs. Osbourne's legal team, Rowley Birkin: "The dark imagery of the song 'Bible Black' and the physical likeness of some of the band members on the new promotional photographs very closely mimic the look and feel of the classic Black Sabbath releases of 1970-1979. Our client states that the sole owner of all Black Sabbath intellectual property of that era is her management company Family Of Osbourne Ltd."
The copyright infringement suit is to be filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court. The trial is expected to begin in mid-August. Rhino has set the release date of "The Devil You Know" to "TBA".
HEAVEN & HELL's new single, "Bible Black", is available for streaming in its entirety below. The track begins with Tony Iommi on acoustic guitar behind Dio's plaintive wail before the rhythm shifts to a menacing stomp for the rest of this dark tale about a book of sinister scriptures. One of the first songs written for the album, Dio says it established a tone for the rest of the LP. "When you start off with a blockbuster like that, it makes the rest of the album so much easier because it gives you a benchmark to measure the other songs against."
"The Devil You Know" track listing:
01. Atom And Evil
02. Fear
03. Bible Black
04. Double The Pain
05. Rock And Roll Angel
06. The Turn Of The Screw
07. Eating The Cannibals
08. Follow The Tears
09. Neverwhere
10. Breaking Into Heaven