photos by Samantha Marble, words by BBG

If you were to give a shortlist of the greatest guitarists in rock n' roll, I am sure that names like Pete Townsend, Keith Richards, and Jimi Hendrix would be on the tip of everyone's tongue. Tony Iommi should probably be named in the same breath. The guitarist helped to create a genre and a movement with his work as axeman in Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell (aka Black Sabbath), and as a solo artist.

Tony Iommi swung by Brooklyn metal venue Saint Vitus from 3-4pm on the afternoon of Thursday, 11/3 (same day the unrelated Of Stardust event) to sign copies of his new book Iron Man. Pictures from the event are in this post and continue, along with a video of Tony answering fan questions two days earlier via Livestream, below...

Continue reading "Tony Iommi signed copies of his new book "Iron Man" at Saint Vitus in Greenpoint (pics)"

Dio @ the Theater @ MSG in August (more by Tim Griffin)

Wendy Dio, the wife and manager of legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW), has released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"Ronnie has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer. We are starting treatment immediately at the Mayo Clinic. After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans.

"Long live rock and roll, long live Ronnie James Dio.

"Thanks to all the friends and fans from all over the world that have sent well wishes. This has really helped to keep his spirit up."

Continue reading "Ronnie James Dio has stomach cancer "

words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Justina Villanueva

Ronnie James Dio commands his drink order from the stage

[Tony] Iommi credits his creativity for his undying love of riff writing, but his love for volume certainly plays a role, too.

"From day one, we were always louder than anyone," [Tony Iommi, guitarist for Heaven & Hell] said. "We certainly made sure no one could talk in our shows."

Iommi chuckles thinking about the early days

"We were always asked to turn it down," he remembered. "They'd tell us to turn it down or they wouldn't book us again. And unfortunately even now, and this is a sign of the times, there's a lot of restrictions on the sound... At one show in Bond, the limit was so low that I actually used only two (amplifier) cabinets of my eight. Bloody hell, I haven't used two cabinets since maybe the '60s." -[Boston Herald]

The pair of bands are closing in on the end of their tour together, parting ways on august 29th when H&H will head down to Atlantic City (tickets) while C&C breaks off to Buffalo.

More pictures, some videos, the setlists from the earlier Chicago show, and all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Heaven & Hell & Coheed & Cambria - MSG pics & video, Chicago setlists & more tour dates (Atlantic City) "

photos by Tim Griffin

"Gee whiz, man. Ozzy sold more solo albums than Sabbath? Wow, I guess that automatically means Ozzy's solo music is better, hunh?

That's YOUR math. Not mine.

By comparison, I guess Eminem and Britney Spears make better music than both of them, hunh?

Idiot." [Blabbermouth commenter 7/24/2009 10:15:53 AM]

Continue reading "Britney Spears, Dio, Tony Iommi & Geezer Butler @ MSG -pics "

Girl Talk @ Sasquatch on Memorial Day (more by Chris Graham)

tonight in NYC
* DANCE
* The Ettes, Fan-Tan @ Mercury Lounge
* an art exhibit w/ Best Fwends @ the Bell House
* Nine Inch Nails, The Horrors @ Webster Hall
* Wizardry, Marching Teeth, Skeleton Breath @ Union Pool
* Buzzer, Impediments, The Dashing Suns @ Death By Audio
* Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls Summer Revue @ Damrosch Park
* Girl Talk, Max Tundra, Wiz Khalifa @ Williamsburg Waterfront
* Mystery Lights, Arms & Legs, Bad Cop, Tom McBride & Whig Party @ Cake Shop
* Roots of American Music Festival w/ Arturo O'Farrill, Louisiana Renegades, more @ Damrosch Park
* McCOY TYNER TRIO - CD RELEASE SHOW , With Special Guest Gary Bartz & Jon Batiste Band @ Highline Ballroom
* Rachel Trachtenberg's Homemade World Benefit w/ Rev. Jen, The Fools, Jason Trachetenburg, Anna Copacabana, more @ The Cameo

Heaven & Hell (Black Sabbath) tickets are Buy 1 Get 1 Free until 10pm Sunday night.

The Cameo is hosting a benefit for Rachel Trachtenberg's Homemade World. Rachel, Reverend Jen, The Fools, Jason Trachtenburg, Lippe, Major Matt Mason, Anna Copacabanna, Rosie Rebel and Tammy Hart will perform alongside a vegan bakesale, a raffle and a special screening of RTHW's first episode to raise funds for the filming of the show's second. Video of the show below..

Menage A Twang is the "Don't Date a Hipster" Band. They play Union Hall tonight.

"The performance space at The Bell House [tonight] will be transformed with an installation of floating walls suspended from the existing exposed 20-foot beams. The 8'x4' walls will feature works by local artists, with alternating performances highlighted on stage and in the crowd by local musicians, djs, performance artists, and clothing designers."

Best Fwends didn't have the Bell House art show on their schedule the other day, but now they do.

Nine Inch Nails' 10-date tour continues at Webster Hall with The Horrors. See what happened last night at Bowery Ballroom.

Girl Talk, elecro-popper Max Tundra and Wiz Khalifa play the Williamsburg Waterfront. NOTE: Max Tundra is on first (not Wiz as some listings read). Afterparty at Brooklyn Bowl (and Public Assembly).

There's one more Pool Party to go after Girl Talk, and that's Grizzly Bear and Beach House next week. Dan Deacon's "Pool" Party was a few weeks back - check out his new video for "Paddling Ghost," with a clip of him from the NJ pool party show, below.

Wizardry, whose new video was posted here on Friday, play tonight at Union Pool with Marching Teeth and Skeleton Breath.

Buzzer and Impediments, both of whom mine "mid-70s glam-punk," continue their NYC run with a show at DBA with The Dashing Suns.

The Lincoln Center's Out of Doors Festival closes today with the 26th Annual Roots of American Music Festival at the Damrosch Park Bandshell. The full lineup for that includes:

BRC ORCHESTRA: Four Women: A Tribute to Odetta, Miriam Makeba, Abbey Lincoln and Eartha Kitt featuring Jayne Cortez, Tamar-Kali, Abena Koomson, Alkebulan, and more. Curated by La Tasha N. Nevada Diggs, Musical Direction by Onel Mulet
THE LOUISIANA RENEGADES Featuring Christine Balfa, Dirk Powell, Kevin Wimmer of Balfa Toujours and additional Creole artists tba
TEXAS TORNADOS: Tribute to Doug Sahm
Mazel Tov, Mis Amigos: The Lost World of Latin-Jewish Sound featuring The Arturo O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Sextet
Arturo O'Farrill, Music Director, arranger with special guests Irving Fields, LARRY HARLOW and additional artists tba

The Brooklyn Soul Festival starts Friday.

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Sunday?"

Tickets are on sale (@ 11am) for the Heaven & Hell show at the Theater @ MSG.

Tickets go on "Venue/Promoter/Radio Presale" pre-sale for the Heaven & Hell show at WaMu Theater At Madison Square Garden today at 10 AM EDT. The PASSWORD for that show, and all the others on Ticketmaster, is DEVIL.

by Black Bubblegum

Warning: frontmen in this picture are shorter than they appear.

Heaven & Hell, aka Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, will hit the road with Coheed & Cambria for a 15 date summer tour, playing an NYC date at WaMu Theater at MSG (it's still called that?) on 8/25. Ticket info is currently unavailable.

C & C will accompany H & H throughout the US of A, except in Seattle, where they will be replaced by Neurosis... Neurosis instead of Coheed. Damn you Seattle.

Heaven & Hell recently dropped their first album in 17 years, The Devil You Know, which includes the single and the corresponding video for, "Bible Black" (below).

Neurosis recently played Roadburn (check out JJ Koczan's great blow by blow here) and are currently touring Europe. We recently interviewed Scott Kelly.

Coheed & Cambria have a few solo dates as well, including the sold-out Starland Ballroom on May 29th with Kylesa.

All dates below...

Continue reading "Heaven & Hell (Black Sabbath w/ Dio) - 2009 Tour Dates"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: Landmine Marathon - "Bile Towers" EDIT (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Suicide Note - "Black Snow" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Toxic Holocaust - "Wild Dogs" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Asva - A Trap For Judges EDIT (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Noothgrush - Unreleased 1994 Demo (MEDIAFIRE, Details At KILL THAT CAT)

I think its safe to say that I am a smidge eager to get my dirty little hands on the new Landmine Marathon. Due October 28th on Level Plane, Rusted Eyes Awake features guest throat by Jonny Davy (Job For A Cowboy) and Antony Hamalainen (Nightrage) and is the follow-up to this year's awesome split with Scarecrow (mems Repulsion, Noothgrush, Dekapitator, Exhumed). Check out "Bile Towers" available for download above!

Toxic Holocaust has posted four songs from their vicious new rabid dog, An Overdose Of Death (due Sept 2nd on Relapse). Check out "Gravelord", "War Is Hell", and "Endless Armageddon" at their myspace and download the ravenous "Wild Dogs" above! The band is currently working on a video for "Wild Dogs", we'll let you know when that drops.

Jesu will drop the Why Are We Not Perfect? EP which is the Jesu part of their recent split with Eluvium with some added bonus tracks. Look for that on August 19th via Hydra Head. Jesu recently dropped their split with Battle Of Mice on Robotic Empire.

Heaven & Hell, Metal Masters Tour, PNC, NJ - Aug 9, 2008 (kitty kowalski)

In what has to be a first, Black Sabbath (or, in this case Heaven & Hell) have apologized for NOT playing their hit "Neon Knights" at both NY area Metal Masters shows. In related Metal Masters news, Testament has been added to the NYC date of the previously mentioned Children Of Bodom, Between The Buried and Me, and (now official) The Black Dahlia Murder tour.

Tombs are currently hard at work on their new album Winter Hours. It's the follow up to the their collossal self-titled debut on Black Box (Mike Hill of Tombs's label). Look for it to land in Feb of 2009. Meanwhile, the boys are readying a tour of Europe including dates with faves Capsule, Pulling Teeth and Ultra Dolphins.

The Haunted, Trap Them, more Metal Masters, Clutch, Baroness and much more below...

Continue reading "This Week In METAL (08/14/08)"

by Black Bubblegum

Judas Priest live at Hard Rock Cafe NYC, 8/4/04 (Factor Fiction)

Ya know, APW is gonna be great and all, but it isnt the only major show going down locally this weekend. What about the fatal-four-way of Metal titans going down at PNC Saturday and Jones Beach on sunday (tickets still available)? Judas Priest. Heaven & Hell. Motorhead. AND Testament? A heavy music must.

The show on saturday markes the third stop on the Metal Masters tour, and we have setlists from each of the four bands from night one in Camden, NJ. Check it out below. The Philadelphia Inquirer was there, and reviewed it.

Motorhead will also hit the road with Airbourne, Valient Thorr, The Misfits, and Year Long Disaster. Full tour schedule is below, tickets for the Roseland Ballroom show on 9/20 go on sale 8/20.

Testament is also playing a NY show this (Friday) evening.

Judas Priest also played Eddie Trunk's 35th anniversary show at Hard Rock Cafe in NYC. Pics are below, and yes that is Mike Piazza...

Continue reading "METAL MASTERS Sat & Sun, Camden setlists, JUDAS PRIEST @ Hard Rock pics & updated MOTORHEAD tour dates"

Metal Masters Tour tickets are on sale.

Tickets are going on Citi card presale this morning for the Metal Masters tour featuring Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell, Testatment & Motorhead.

(and speaking of metal masters, tonight happens to be the 2nd of two Megadeth concerts at Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC)

by Black Bubblegum

Hells. Yeah.

"Metal Masters" Halford and Judas Priest have top billing, but they'll share the stage with legends Heaven & Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio singing), Motorhead, & Testament!

The NYC-area shows will happen at PNC Back Arts Center in Jersey on August 9th ($75.25, $50.25 and $25.25) and then the next day at Jones Beach in Wantagh ($75.00, $50.00 and $25.00). Tickets go on sale Saturday April 26th @ 10am.

Judas Priest's new album "Nostradamus" is out June 17th. You can hear the title track at their site. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "'Metal Masters Tour' confirmed - 2008 Dates (Judas Priest)"

by Black Bubblegum

Testament @ Starland Ballroom - April 5, 2008 (K.Knipp)

"We'll be on first, and we're only gonna have 30 minutes, so we won't be doing any talking.....We're just gonna hit you hard -- bam, bam, bam, bam -- with everything we've got."

Thats Chuck Billy from Sunday night's show at B.B.Kings, in response to whether or not his band Testament were going to open on the previously mentioned mega terrific super ridiculous tour with Motorhead, Heaven & Hell (Black Sabbath with Dio), & Judas Priest. Between Chuck Billy and Rob Halford, it sounds like all but a confirmation.....

Whats more, Blabbermouth.net are reporting that Testament had a few arena dates that were announced and then removed.... Ones that are MUCH bigger than the clubs that Testament played Sunday night and the night before (Starland Ballroom). The mystery tour dates and actual tour dates below...

Continue reading "Testament played NJ/NYC, confirms Priest/Motorhead shows"

by Black Bubblegum

Motorhead @ SXSW 2008 (nevbrown)

Rob Halford is saying IT is "looking very real"!!!!

The "IT" refers to the rumors swirling of a mega-mega-mega-tour this summer or fall that could be in the unsubstanitated works with an unconfirmed Heaven & Hell (aka Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio), a hinted Judas Priest, an undisclosed Testament, and perhaps a Motorhead! All of this is uncorroborated so far, so maybe you should treat this as a (good) possibility, perchance....

Continue reading "Judas Priest, Motorhead, Heaven & Hell and Testament tour?"