Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath album)

Background

The initial sessions for what became Heaven and Hell began with Ozzy Osbourne following the conclusion of Black Sabbath's Never Say Die! Tour. The band convened in Los Angeles for 11 months to record a new album, a process described by guitarist Tony Iommi as a 'highly frustrating, never-ending process'. Osbourne has stated that he had become fed up with the experimentation on the preceding albums Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die!, preferring the band's earlier, heavier sound. Ronnie James Dio was introduced to Iommi in 1979 by Sharon Arden. Initially, Dio and Iommi discussed forming a new band, rather than a continuation of Black Sabbath. The pair met again by chance at The Rainbow on Sunset in Los Angeles later that year. On that first day, the duo finished 'Children of the Sea', a song Iommi had abandoned prior to Osbourne's firing.

Sabbath's line-up was in a state of chaos as the band prepared to enter the studio. Not only had the band replaced its longtime vocalist, but drummer Bill Ward was battling personal issues that would see him also leave the band within months. Demo recordings for the album featured Geoff Nicholls on bass, as longtime bassist Geezer Butler was going through a divorce and his future with the band was in question. When Dio first joined the band, he doubled for a short time as bassist and vocalist.

Former Elf and Rainbow bassist Craig Gruber also rehearsed with the band, though the extent of his involvement is unclear. Gruber has stated that his contribution was quite substantial; he says he cowrote most of Heaven and Hell's songs and that it was he and not Butler who played bass on the album. Iommi conceded in his 2011 autobiography that Gruber had indeed recorded all the bass parts on Heaven and Hell, but Butler had re-recorded them upon his return, without listening to Gruber's bass tracks. Gruber later stated in an interview in 2009 that he only helped write 'Die Young'.

Heaven and Hell was recorded at Miami's Criteria Studios and in Paris. Dio suggested the band hire producer Martin Birch, who he had worked with as a member of Rainbow in the 1970s. Birch was Sabbath's first outside producer since the band parted ways with Rodger Bain following 1971's Master of Reality. During a slow day in the studio, Iommi doused Ward with a solution used by studio technicians to clean the tape heads, and he then set light to the solution, which was much more flammable than he had anticipated. Ward suffered third degree burns as a result and still has scars on his legs from the incident. Ward has stated that, due to his alcoholism, he has no memory at all of the period in which the album was recorded. His personal issues would soon force him to leave the band.