Black Sabbath: Live at Hammersmith Odeon

Written by The Rock Radio staff, April 2007 © The Rock Radio

Together for a short but memorable time—a trio of studio albums, a couple of tours, and countless thundering riffs—the second coming of Black Sabbath began in 1979 when founding members Tony Iommi and Terry "Geezer" Butler were joined by Ronnie James Dio. The former singer of Elf (and later Rainbow and Dio) added his fiery, demonic howl to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group's crushing mix of iconic riffs, gloomy grooves and doom-soaked imagery.

In late 2006 Dio, Iommi and Butler, joined by drummer Vinny Appice, reunited to record three new songs for an era-spanning collection - The Dio Years. These recording sessions went so well that the quartet—billed as Heaven And Hell—launched a highly anticipated world tour in the spring of 2007.

Released just weeks after The Dio Years, this single-disc edition of the original double LP, Live At Hammersmith Odeon, features Dio, Iommi, Butler and Appice getting hot one December night in London during Sabbath's 1981 tour for Mob Rules. Previously unreleased, the concert spotlights Sabbath as they storm through 14 of the Dio-era's best, including "Neon Knights," "Heaven And Hell," "Children Of The Sea" and "Country Girl." The band also performs several pre-Dio classics including "Paranoid," "Children Of The Grave" and a white-hot version of "War Pigs."

Live At Hammersmith Odeon is available as an individually numbered limited edition of 5,000 copies.

Released: May 1, 2007

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