A new year with a new Black Sabbath album (first time we've been able to say THAT since 1995) is upon us. As the album is due in a few short months (it's due in late April), some details have started to emerge. A posting over at classicrockmagazine.com talks about their having heard a few of the unfinished versions of the tracks.
The album is due to have ten tracks in all, and the album is being produced by the band itself, along with engineer Mike Exeter. Mike also produced Iommi's Fused solo album. In addition he played keyboards on the 2004 version of Iommi's "96 Dep Sessions" solo release.
No word yet on whether there will be the usual practice of having an extra track for a Japanese release. Some of the track titles were released in this story. They were:
Rock 'N' Roll Jesus
Neverwhere
Breaking into Heaven (described as a "slice of sloth-like majesty)
BTW, for those of you who don't know - the reason the Japanese releases get extra tracks is because it's generally cheaper for Japanese to buy the imported stuff as opposed to their own domestic releases. Since Japan is such a large market, these extra tracks are put there as an incentive to buy the release. And before folks claim foul that they're the only region that get these, don't forget this.. The US version of Dehumanizer was the only one to have the Wayne's World version of Time Machine on it. Furthermore, the most recent Rhino compilation releases (Black Box springs to mind) were North American releases only. So Japan doesn't get everything (I normally get a flood of ignorant remarks along those lines whenever I talk about Japanese exclusive tracks).
We have the first batch of dates from the band for the 2009 tour. All of these are European dates, nothing in the US or anywhere else except Europe. Check 'em out. I'll have my tour date section updated with these shortly.
May 5 - Bogota, Colombia, Coliseo el Campin
May 7 - Buenos Aires, Argentina, Luna Park
May 8 - Santiago, Chile, Velodromo
May 10 – Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Chevrolet Hall
May 13 - Brasilia, Brazil, Ginadsio Nilson Nelson
May 15 - Sao Paulo, Brazil, Credicard Hall
May 16 - Sao Paulo, Brazil, Credicard Hall
May 17 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Citibank Hall Rio
May 30 - Moscow, Russia, B1
May 31 - Moscow, Russia - B1
June 2 - Helsinki, Finland, Icehall
June 4 - Oslo, Norway, Spektrum
June 6 - Solvesborg, Sweden, Sweden Rock Festival
June 8 - Giessen, Germany, Hessenhallen
June 9 - Berlin, Germany, Zitadelle
June 10 – Bamburg, Germany, Jakoarena
June 12 – Donnington, England, Download Festival
June 13 – Bergum, Holland, Waldrock Festival
June 14 – Karlsruhe, Germany, Europahalle
June 16 – Bonn, Germany, Museumsplatz
June 17 – Zurich, Switzerland, Volkshaus
June 19 – Clisson, France, Hellfest
June 26 – Dessel, Belgium, Graspop Festival
June 27 – Milan, Italy, Gods Of Metal
A couple of days ago, Geezer Butler posted a very short quick message to his website about the new album. Today he posted an additional update with further information about what's going on. Here is what Geezer had to say:
just to add to my previous statement, and to clarify, the basic tracks for the new Heaven and Hell album have been laid down, and I can report it has been a pleasurable experience writing and recording with Ronnie, Tony and Vinny. We hope to have the album finished, mixed and ready to go in the next couple of months.
If you want to check out Geezer's complete update, which includes his holiday greeting, you can do so over at his journal page here.
Geezer Butler posted this very short, but very meaty line over on the journal page of his website Monday night. It says:
finished the heaven and hell tracks today. videoing the making of tomorrow
That's some heavy news. Now whether Geezer means the tracks are all done, or just his bass bits are done is not known yet. But that's a very good sign! Additionally, it likely means some sort of "Making of" Documentary might appear on the disc, or on a DVD extra - who knows? It would mark the first time that a Black Sabbath album (yeah, yeah, yeah I know, H&H) would have one of these things being made concurrently while the album is being made, as far as I know.
Either way, more info to come, I'm sure, and I'll have it here when it's available.
A quick note. I am aware that a few festival dates in the summer have been announced I've been getting emails from people saing "Hey, you don't have this gig".
I'm aware of them, folks. Just letting you know I plan on saying something about 2009 gigs when I get more than just a gig or two from the band.
I am aware they're starting to trickle out, but I want to wait until something more concrete is in hand before creating a 2009 Tour page.
Back in early 2007, I conducted a quick interview with Lynn Curlee. Lynn is the artist behind one of the more famous pieces of art in Black Sabbath lore. That being "Smoking Angels", that is the cover of the 1980 album, "Heaven & Hell". It was also used extensively for the 2007 tour behind "The Dio Years". I managed to track Lynn down through his website (that you can reach here). His website also has information about his more recent projects, those being children's books. While his Black Sabbath used artwork was a major hit for the band, he only did one other bit of cover art. That was for the 1976 album by Blue Oyster Cult, "Agents of Fortune".
I asked Mr. Curlee a few questions after he had sent me a free form bit of writing about himself and his involvement (that it was) with Black Sabbath. First is Mr. Curlee's initial response to my contact to him (in which I asked if he was the same Lynn Curlee that painted the Sabbath cover art) before I had asked him any actual questions:
Yep I did the HEAVEN AND HELL cover painting. I had done AGENTS OF FORTUNE, specifically for BLUE OYSTER CULT in 1976. The band had seen a show of my paintings in NYC where I lived at the time, and they commissioned the magician holding tarot cards (the image was my idea) for their cover. Then a few years later, I had moved to L.A. and I got a call from the management of BLACK SABBATH. As I recall, the two bands had the same management or agent or something. They had a new album and the cover art wasn't working out so they were in a jam. So they asked if I had something suitable. I had already painted the SMOKING ANGELS as a gallery painting. and they chose it for their cover.
You may be interested to know that in the original painting the angel on the right side had a complete wing that was cropped to fit the album cover.
Both paintings are long gone, I think they were purchased directly from me by band members, although it was a long long time ago and I don't have good financial records from those days. Someone else might have bought either painting. In any event, I haven't had either one of them for many years. Those were the only two album covers I ever did. I never was really a commercial artist - instead I showed in galleries. I occasionally get emails from people asking about prints or posters from the album covers, but I have never reproduced either one of them in any form. The copyright was actually held by the record company in those days.
I had seen your website before, but just now I went there and saw that they are using my angels for the 07 tour. very gratifying to see the old painting looking so good online! I guess they will use it for posters, etc. Too bad I don't make any money from it! LOL
Today my main event is writing and illustrating books for kids.
After reading that, I sent in a few more formal questions...
1) When was the Smoking Angels painting actually done?
SMOKING ANGELS was painted in 1979. I had just moved from NYC to LA, and i did a series of paintings called MASQUE. This was one of them. Before the painting was a cover, the entire series was exhibited at the DUNAWAY O'NEILL GALLERY in Santa Monica. the gallery was owned by actress Faye Dunaway and Terry O'Neill, a famous photographer. I think they were married at the time.
2) What was the inspiration for Smoking Angels? Since this artwork wasn't commissioned specifically for the album, what made you paint that subject in the first place?
MASQUE was a series of paintings with people in costumes. the SMOKING ANGELS was specifically inspired by a photo of some people backstage at a small town christmas pageant. The painting was cropped a little on the right for the album cover. You can see the full painting in the ARCHIVE segment of www.curleeart.com.
3) Any particular reason you did not stick with album covers after this and the Blue Oyster Cult one?
I did no more album covers simply because no one asked me to. I was not really a commercial artist, but showed in galleries. I didn't have a commercial agent, and never aggressively looked for that kind of work. the 2 album covers just fell into my lap. If I had been approached to do more, of course I would have, but I was always busy with exhibiting my other work.
4) Were you a Sabbath fan before or after this cover? Did you ever get to meet the band proper, or was this all through agents, and business people?
I was of course aware of Sabbath, liked some of the music, but was never a particular fan. (sorry). I listened more to hard rock like the Stones, and since I was a southern boy I also loved R&B and Soul. By the early 80s I was into the LA New Wave thing. My favorite rocker of all time is Neil Young.
I never met anyone from BLACK SABBATH at all. When I did the BOC cover, the entire band came to my studio after they had seen my work in a gallery. That was before they asked me to paint a cover. But the Sabbath cover business was all done over the phone. I honestly don't remember who I talked to.
5) Are there any other Sabbath covers that you liked other than your own?
SABBATH BLOODY SABBATH - I always loved the old Haight-Ashbury psychedelic rock and roll posters. this always reminded me of that style.
BORN AGAIN - I love the red monster. I think of it as a freaky fetus.
TECHNICAL ECSTASY - I like that hard edge style of art
MOB RULES - always liked the rough style of this apocalyptic sort of scene
ORIGINAL UNCROPPED VERSION OF SMOKING ANGELS
Lynn closed with this... "Its a thrill to see this painting, which was done 25 years ago, being used to promote a tour today. I have had more than a few people tell me it is their favorite of all the SABBATH album covers. That's pretty cool too."
I apologize to Mr. Curlee for taking to long to get this out. Things happened, and unfortunately, this got buried under a massive "to do" list. I did see it from time to time, but never had the time to devote to making sure I covered it the way I wanted to, I didn't want to just slap up his emails and be done. Sorry Lynn. The rest of you should check out http://www.curleeart.com for an archive of his old paintings, and information on his other ventures. I've taken the liberty of throwing together some of his books in an applet you can view here. You can order any of them through Amazon.com as well. Give 'em a look!
The Dark seems to stretch out forever
And the cold soon gets to your bones
You'd think he'd get tired of materialistic junk
He has to sneak into peoples homes.
While the people of the war torn desert
Get nothing but wishes at best
It seems Saint Nicholas only gets time to take
Riches and dreams to the west
So start the lyrics to a track called "Who Put the Devil in Santa?" It's a Christmas track recorded by Tony Martin. It's quite an odd piece, it's an unplugged Christmas song by the former lead vocalist of Black Sabbath. That alone is an odd sentence to type in. Anyway, I'll let you read what Tony wrote about it himself.
Y'know,..... I love Christmas. Which is a kind of strange thing concidering i dont believe there's a Christ. I get a lot out of it as a celebration... and as a message of hope and peace... which is ALSO wierd cause i just wrote a Christmas song that says NONE of it works!!!! Man!!! sometimes i worry about my head!!!!! Its ALSO a worry that i wrote a damn Christmas song!!!!!!
That's just a bit of what he wrote. If you head over to his blog entry about this track, you can read a few more tracks, and also read the lyrics. Tony has told me that everything on the song is him. All the instruments and vocals. With one exception, the kids background vocals are his youngest daughter. But the rest is all Tony Martin.
If you go to Tony's Myspace page, you can listen to the track via the streaming media player there.
This Christmas season brings us a new release entitled "We Wish You a Metal Xmas & a Headbanging New Year". In a similar vein to the Twisted Sister Christmas album from a couple of years ago, this album features a boatload of big names doing fairly traditional Christmas songs. Since you're reading this on a Black Sabbath site, you'll be most interested in Track 3. That's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Guitar is Tony Iommi, and vocals are Ronnie James Dio. The rest of the band Rudy Sarzo & Simon Wright. It's basically "Dio", but with Tony instead of Craig. One funny story about this. Given the band that Tony is playing with is effectively the "Dio" band, I thought that perhaps it was recorded during rehersals for the August H&H tour. So I asked Tony's manager about when this was recorded. He told me that Tony recorded his bits at home, and then sent the tapes to the producer - he wasn't even there! hahahaha. :)
Anyway, here's a listing of the tracks, and who plays on them.
Run Rudolph Run (Lemmy / Billy F. Gibbons / Dave Grohl)
Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Alice Cooper / John 5 / Billy Sheehan / Vinny Appice)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Ronnie James Dio / Tony Iommi / Rudy Sarzo / Simon Wright)
Little Drummer Boy (Dug Pinnick / George Lynch / Billy Sheehan / Simon Phillips)
Santa Claus Is Back In Town (Tim “Ripper” Owens / Steve Morse / Juan Garcia / Marco Mendoza / Vinny Appice)
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (Tommy Shaw / Steve Lukather / Marco Mendoza / Kenny Aronoff)
Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer (Ace Frehley / Billy Sheehan / Greg Bissonette)
Rocking Round the Xmas Tree (Joe Lynn Turner / Bruce Kulick / Rudy Sarzo / Simon Wright)
Silent Night (Chuck Billy / Scott Ian / Jon Donais / Chris Wyse / John Tempesta)
Silver Bells (Jeff Scott Soto / Carlos Cavazo / James Lomenzo / Ray Luzier)
Deck the Halls (Oni Logan / Craig Goldy / Tony Franklin / John Tempesta)
We Wish You A Merry Xmas (Geoff Tate / Doug Aldrich / Chris Wyse / Ray Luzier)
In addition to the advertisement I have here from Youtube for the album, there's another link that Sabbath fans will want to check out.
It's this E-Card from Eagle Rock records. It has song samples from three of the tracks. However, the first one is the track with Tony & Ronnie. Going to this page will play the sample. You can choose two other samples on the E-Card page, as well as view the trailer or get further info about the album. You'll want to check that out. Also, you can click on the links here to buy a copy for yourself. :) I personally have not gotten a copy of this yet - when I do I will update with what I think of it.
Finally, I have a copy of the official press release from Eagle that they sent over. Check it out:
ARMOURY RECORDS WISHES YOU A METAL XMAS
~And A Headbanging New Year~
New York, NY—On October 14, Armoury Records, distributed by Eagle Rock Entertainment, will release one mighty molten metal blast of good CD cheer: We Wish You A Metal Xmas And A Headbanging New Year [pre-book date September 24, Retail Sales Price $15.98].
It’s an all-star assemblage as members of such great hard rock bands as Foo Fighters, Queensryche, Dio, Alice Cooper, ZZ Top, Dokken, KISS, L.A. Guns, Marilyn Manson, Motorhead, Black Sabbath, King’s X, Judas Priest, Anthrax, Ratt, Styx, Toto, Shadows Fall and more all jam out together on some of the most beloved holiday songs of all time (including “Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer”)..
The kick is in the chemistry between the musicians as members of different bands perform together on the material to create a one-of-a-kind listening experience! Motorhead’s Lemmy, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, for instance, team up on “Run Rudolph Run,” a song popularized by Chuck Berry. This is just one of 12 such irresistible pairings.
“This is a metal CD you will want to listen to all year round,” says Wendy Dio, who put the project together with Bob Kulick and Brett Chassen. “It has been a very exciting and exhausting project, but we have managed to get an allstar cast together.”
Ironically, the hardest person to get was Dio himself as he doesn’t sing Christmas songs. Wendy hounded him for days, finally getting him to listen to Kulick’s arrangement of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Dio liked it, added a few bits, recorded it at Kulick’s studio, and got Tony Iommi to add his signature guitar sound. The result is a very Sabbath Christmas song. Rounding out the circle of familiar characters on this track are Dio bassist Rudy Sarzo and drummer Simon Wright.
“The Metal Xmas album was a great opportunity to pay homage to my least favorite holiday,” says Dio, “and what a lineup of musicians to do it with! The arrangements of the classic noel songs are fresh and heavy with rock’n’roll, and the performances are equally classic. It’s a magical way to change your holiday listening.”
Hey gang. Haven't been around much, as I've been recovering from surgery. I'm working my way out of it again, and am starting to push against the giant ball that has become my backlog here. I should have a good proper update shortly, but I saw a good link today I didn't want to let slide.
It is a blog entry by Bev Bevan where he posts bits about his diaries he was taken while in Black Sabbath the first time -which was exactly 25 years ago now. Check it out here. It's an entertaining read.
Thanks to those who have emailed me about my recovery. I had surgery a week ago to remove a rather large (four inch) cyst from the tibia bone in my lower left leg. I've been ordered off my feet for two weeks (of which one has passed), and as such I've been avoiding most of my regular online activities.
That's why I haven't been around lately, I haven't abandoned the site, but I can't sit at my desk and work on the site at all. Best I can do is some reading and my email, but I don't have much time to sit there and take care of regular site duties.
Thanks for visiting, and if you get a chance, click on an ad or two. It helps out more than you realize. Thanks.
Five days ago I posted a message here saying that I've been tied up with my company's product release. That was true, but right after I posted that message, I found out I will be having surgery in slightly less than two weeks for a problem with a bone right under my knee (not under the knee cap itself, but just below the knee). This will put me out of commission for two or three weeks after the surgery (so says my doctor). Anyway, I'm posting a copy of an email I sent to my friends at church detailing the problem. I'm probably going to be effectively offline until sometime in mid to late November depending on how behind the eight ball I get with professional work duties.
I will try and pass along any major developments in the land of Sabbath if I can, but I'm not confident I will be on the computer much during my immediate post surgical time.
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Well, all the I's and T's are crossed and dotted, and I'm scheduled. Here's the details.
I have an appointment at 3PM on Thursday the 16th for some pre-op stuff. I'm having an EKG done at my orthopedic surgeon's office. While there, I'm going to be talking to him about what will happen during recovery. Things like do I need to lie down, what is best for passing the time (chair/sofa/etc), and any equipment I might need. That info will come after my visit on the 16th. After that, I'm going to the hospital to have some blood work done.
I did have an appt with my regular Doctor on Monday the 20th, which was intended to be a followup from my visit with the specialist. However, since the result of the visit to the specialist is surgery, the visit on the 20th is kind of pointless, it will be picked up after I'm up and about again post surgery.
My surgery is scheduled for Wednesday the 22nd at 9AM. I have to be there at 7AM (ugh), and then my wife will be there most of the day with me. At some point she will leave and go get our daughter and bring her back so she can see me. I am scheduled to be kept overnight for what they call "pain management". I was also told that the stuff they are going to clear out where the cyst is will be sent to a lab to be checked out. The specialist said almost all of these are benign, but they still check them out just the same.
I am also supposed to be released within 24 hours of my surgery, so I'll still be officially classified as "outpatient", even though I'll get a room (I assume). During the day on the 22nd, we're looking at hopefully getting someone from church to watch our daughter, for those of you from church reading this, my wife will be calling about that in the next day or so.
One of the guys at my office said he had a similar surgery years ago on his foot, and it took him three weeks before he could be up and around again. The specialist told me a few days ago when I saw him that it would take me two to three weeks before I was up and around again myself, so that seems consistent. The specialist also said the complete healing process would take six months, which seems like a long time. He also said that my weight wouldn't have caused the problem in the first place, but could make recovery a little slower.
Some general info about the problem again:
I have a cyst inside the bone just under my left knee. It's what has been causing me so much pain lately. They were unable to 100% confirm that it was due to the fall I had a year ago, but he said it's possible. The reason they don't know for sure is because they would have had to have had a reference Xray from right before the fall. I saw the Xray myself - there's no mistaking it, it's quite noticeable in there. They're essentially going to be clearing out the cyst stuff, and then effectively "filling it with cement". That's obviously not what they're actually doing, but I'm a little unclear as I sit here right now what the material they're going to actually be putting in there is, but they did use the phrase "bone graft", which has an ugly sound to it. I was told they "don't take stuff from your hip and put it in there anymore like we used to", I believe it's some sort of synthetic something, but again, I'm not sure. There's some pictures and details about the condition and operation here:
As usual, I would appreciate any prayers you feel led to offer up. Those of you from church who have said you prayed for me (and those of you who did and just didn't tell me) were a godsend. The day after I sent a similar message a few days ago, I felt relieved of the pain - so praise God for that! I still feel there's a problem there for sure, but the pain associated with it has been mostly neutralized. So thank you all and thank God for that!
Caught this news this morning over at Blabbermouth about a new Tony Martin album...
Tony Martin has tapped Tom Galley of Phenomena fame to produce his next solo album, "Book of Shadows", tentatively due next year. Martin states, "It's great to have Tom on board especially since he is getting over the death of his brother, Mel Galley who died of cancer a few months ago. Tom is a great producer; his Phenomena albums have always been an interest for me."
Tony added, "The artwork will again be done by Rory Fiorito who did the 'Scream' artwork and it's great to have him on board again too.
"I would say this, because I'm biased and because I can: this new album is the best I've done! And it's going to be different!!! Scared????? Don't be. I promise it's gonna be impressive."
If you have an Xbox 360, go check out Duke Nukem 3D in the Marketplace.
I was really busy in the leadup to release, and now that it's out I've been spending a lot of time doing followup work. I'll get back to the site shortly.
1) When was the Smoking Angels painting actually done?
