On and On and On, It’s Heaven & Hell

A new box set chronicles Dio’s triumphant final act

April 30, 2026 Ron Hart 0 Comments Black Sabbath, Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007-2009, Dio, Geezer Butler, Heaven & Hell, Rhino, Ronnie James Dio, Scott Warren, Tony Iommi, Vinny Appice

The last four years of Ronnie James Dio’s life was rich with friendship and valor as the lineup of Black Sabbath he helmed across three classic LPs was reborn as Heaven & Hell.

Dio, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Vinny Appice initially got back together to cut three new songs for the 2007 Rhino compilation Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, including “The Devil Cried”, “Shadow of the Wind” and “Ear in the Wall.”

The recording session was successful enough that the band decided to hit the road for the first time since touring behind 1992’s Dehumanizer, embarking on a world tour that focused exclusively on the Dio era material and adding keyboardist Scott Warren to the fold.

“It’s none of the old stuff, it’s none of the Ozzy period,” Iommi told Cleveland Scene at the time. “It’s all Dio stuff. So by calling ourselves Heaven & Hell, it’s revisiting that period.”

A live album culled from Heaven & Hell’s complete March 30, 2007, performance at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall was released in late August of ’07, where Dio and co. filled the hallowed venue with powerful renditions of “Children of the Sea,” “The Mob Rules,” “Neon Knights” and — of course — “Heaven and Hell.”

Following the tour, Heaven & Hell would enter the studio to cut their sole album under the new moniker, The Devil You Know, in 2009.

“This is a heavier album than any of its three predecessors; whether it’s due to the band members’ advancing age or the influence of anxieties felt throughout the world outside the studio, it’s the closest in spirit to the first two Black Sabbath albums, themselves forged in the psychic darkness that was the tail end of the 1960s,” wrote Phil Freeman for Allmusic.com at the time of The Devil You Know’s initial release. “It’s not until ‘Eating the Cannibals,’ track seven of ten, that the band revs into high gear the way it did on ‘Neon Knights’ and ‘Turn Up the Night’ 20-plus years ago.”

Heaven & Hell *Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007-2009*, Rhino 2026

A little over a year after its initial release in April of 2009, Dio would succumb to stomach cancer at age 67. But not before he delivered one final classic with his Sabbath bandmates that gets an overdue upgrade as part of a new box set from Rhino honoring the Heaven & Hell era by collecting its brief but crucial catalog.

In addition to Radio City and Devil, this box — called Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007-2009 — also includes Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell – Live at Wacken. Recorded live at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany on July 30, 2009, the band plays a triumphant set featuring standout renditions of “Die Young” from Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules’ “Falling Off The Edge of the World” along with material from The Devil You Know.

The collection marks the first time the complete Live From Radio City Music Hall performance appears on vinyl, and features eight tracks making their vinyl debut, including studio recordings from The Dio Years and select live performances. The Blu-ray expands the set with video from Live From Radio City Music Hall, plus band interviews.

Both editions include an illustrated book with new liner notes by Hugh Gilmour, along with a replica tour book and poster, making this a must-own for Sabbath and Dio fans alike.

Breaking Out Of Heaven (2007–2009)

4CD Track Listing

Disc One: The Devil You Know

“Atom and Evil”

“Fear”

“Bible Black”

“Double The Pain”

“Rock And Roll Angel”

“The Turn Of The Screw”

“Eating The Cannibals”

“Follow The Tears”

“Neverwhere”