Ronnie James Dio fronted Black Sabbath between 1979 and 1982, and then again between 1991 and 1992. Though his tenure with the band was short, his legacy was massive. In an interview with Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley, Dio-era drummer Vinny Appice said Dio "hated" singing the Ozzy-era songs and caught more than enough shit from fans about Ozzy's absence.
Appice said his appearance in the band went largely without drummer, as he was "sitting in the back".
"Not really, because you're the drummer — you're sitting in the back… Ronnie had to put up with people in the front, like 'Where's Ozzy?' signs and all this 'Where's Ozzy?' stuff, and he had to do that. And he hated singing those songs — he hated singing 'Iron Man' and 'Sweet Leaf' and the Ozzy songs. That's why eventually Heaven & Hell years later, so we didn't play the old stuff anymore."
Appice also recently said he feels both he and Dio should've been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, as they were integral to the band's legacy.
"How many bands have changed over the years? And some of [the changes were] important. Ronnie took Sabbath to a new level. At that point, they needed it. And we were both in the band, so they should do an extended band thing up to a certain point, I guess."
"As far as I'm concerned, it was the original Sabbath and the Dio Sabbath together — with Bill and with me. He played on Heaven And Hell, and I played on Mob Rules and the rest of 'em — the most important. There was a lot of versions of Sabbath after that that were a little different."
