HEAVEN & HELL's METALWAY Cancelation: Video Footage Of DIO's Speech Available

June 22, 2009

Video footage of HEAVEN & HELL frontman Ronnie James Dio explaining to the audience at last night's (Sunday, June 21) Metalway Festival in Zaragoza, Spain that the band would not be able to perform because guitarist Tony Iommi was "very, very ill" can be viewed below.

Sergi Ramos of The Metal Circus, who attended last night's event, told BLABBERMOUTH.NET, "The stage was already set with all [HEAVEN & HELL's] gear and backline, and after a 45-minute delay in the showstart, an ambulance was called to the backstage area and the techs started dismantling their stage gear. There was a big confusion for about half an hour, and afterwards a member of the organization [came up on stage and] explained what happened to Tony, telling [the crowd] that the show wasn't cancelled yet [and] that a doctor was trying to determine whether he could go on or not. After a few minutes, while the next band [SAXON] was setting up their stage gear, Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice appeared on stage [see photo below] to adressed the issue in front of the crowd. Ronnie kneeled on stage as if to say 'sorry' and proceeded to tell the crowd that the show could not go on due to Tony's back problem and that they would make it up at another time and place when it's possible. Ronnie even sang a bit of the chorus section of 'Heaven And Hell' for the audience. GOD FORBID, who were casually in the backstage area with their friends OPETH, stepped in to play a show after SAXON finished its set."

As previously reported, HEAVEN & HELL's June 16, 2009 concert at Museumsmeile in Bonn, Germany was professionally filmed by WDR's (German public TV) series "Rockpalast" and will be broadcast the morning of July 13 at 00.25h.

For more information, visit Rockpalast.de.

Photo credit: The Metal Circus

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