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Black Sabbath, Unreleased Ronnie James Dio Era Song 'Slapback' Listen here


A rehearsal recording of BLACK SABBATH playing a previously unreleased song apparently called "Slapback" in 1979 during the pre-production sessions for the band's "Heaven And Hell" album can be streamed below. The track, which features Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar and Bill Ward on drums, was uploaded to YouTube by Gary Rees, the stepson and executor of the estate of SABBATH's longtime keyboardist Geoff Nicholls.

The "Slapback" upload comes a month and a half after Rees shared a previously unreleased rehearsal recording of BLACK SABBATH playing the "Heaven And Hell" title track during the same sessions. That recording featured Nicholls on bass due to Geezer Butler's absence during the initial writing stage for the LP.

Rees stated about "Slapback": "This latest upload from the Geoff Nicholls estate I believe is called 'Slapback' from the scrawling on the cassette and the chorus. This is from the same cassette as the 'Heaven & Hell' upload on this channel. It doesn't sound like a typical SABBATH song if it is them but it does sound like Ronnie James Dio." Source Blabbermouth


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