‘Into The Void: From Birth To Black Sabbath – And Beyond,’ Geezer Butler’s upcoming book, will be released on June 6 in North America. Prior to this event, the bassist spoke with the ‘Far Beyond Metal’ podcast about his time with Black Sabbath and the time when Ronnie James Dio took over for Ozzy Osbourne. When asked if it was unusual to see various people on stage at one point during the interview, the bassist explained: “It was at first when Dio came in, because Ozzy was running all over the stage, getting clapping, and getting everybody up.” Ronnie was considerably more serious, putting his personality ahead of everything.”
Butler quickly warmed up to Dio and the enthusiasm he brought to the band, despite his initial skepticism. amid another interview with Billboard in 2021, he even said how the late singer and drummer Vinny Appice gave Black Sabbath fresh life amid a difficult period. The bassist’s words were as follows: “[Ronnie and Vinny] rekindled the band’s enthusiasm.” After Ozzy died, we were all on our last legs.
We were on the verge of calling it quits. But Ronnie provided a lot of energy; he could play guitar and bass and express himself both vocally and instrumentally. He was also a fantastic writer…Vinny was in the same boat. Ronnie recognized him and invited him to come down and rehearse with us, and he fit right in, so we continued.” During Dio’s tenure with the band, Black Sabbath recorded two albums, ‘Mob Rules’ and ‘Heaven and Hell.’ The restored deluxe editions of the two albums were released in November 2022.