The strength and power of Vinny Appice’s drumming are not merely manifested in the performances of a single band, but in the flawless contributions to countless icons from the rock and roll past and present – from Black Sabbath to Ronnie James Dio, Heaven & Hell to Rick Derringer, John Lennon and beyond!
Over the past few decades, his work appears on some of the most renowned heavy metal albums. Most recognizable are his work with Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven and Hell. Vinny Appice began playing drums at the age of nine, taking lessons from the same teacher as his brother Carmine Appice (drummer from Vanilla Fudge, Cactus and Beck, Bogart & Appice).
John Lennon met Appice and his band BOMF at Record Plant Studios. As a result, John Lennon used the group as a backing band several times, including his final concert before his death. He moved on to record with Rick Derringer on Derringer (1976), Sweet Evil (1977), and Derringer Live (1977), before forming his own band, Axis, and recording It’s A Circus World (1978). During the ’80s tour in support of the Heaven and Hell album, Appice joined Black Sabbath. Due to personal issues, Bill Ward quit mid-tour and Appice was quickly brought in as a replacement.
At Hawaii’s Aloha Stadium, Appice made his first appearance with Black Sabbath. Later, he appeared on the Black Sabbath albums Mob Rules (1981) and Live Evil (1982). Along with singer Ronnie James Dio, he left Black Sabbath in 1982 to form the band Dio.
Among their recordings are Holy Diver (1983), The Last in Line (1984), Sacred Heart (1985), Intermission (1986), and Dream Evil (1987). During December 1989, Appice left Dio and briefly joined forces with Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson in Flesh & Blood. In 1990, he joined World War III, and in 1992, he returned to Black Sabbath for the album and tour Dehumanizer. After Appice rejoined Dio, the band recorded Strange Highways (1994) and Angry Machines (1996). Appice reunited with fellow Black Sabbath musicians Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler, and Tony Iommi in 2006 as Heaven & Hell; the band toured and recorded one studio album, The Devil You Know, before Dio’s passing in 2010.
Vinny is also featured on numerous film soundtracks, including Wayne’s World 2, Heavy Metal, Iron Eagle, and Bedazzled. A world-renowned drum clinic performer, Vinny is the author of the drum instruction book “Rock Steady” and the DVD “Hard Rock Drumming Techniques.”. Vinny’s powerful drumming style has been cited in numerous books about Black Sabbath and Dio.
For his contributions to heavy metal drumming, Vinny Appice was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History. He will be at The MusicCons Music Collectibles Extravaganza in Boxborough Massachusetts all weekend signing autographs, offering selfies and photo ops, Friday 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm. Saturday, 10:00 am until 6:00 pm, and on Sunday, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Credits Include:
John Lennon
Walls and Bridges (hand claps on “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night”; uncredited) (1974)[15]
Rick Derringer
Derringer (1976)
Sweet Evil (1977)
Derringer Live (1977)
Axis
It’s A Circus World (1978)
Ray Gomez
Volume (1980)
Black Sabbath
Mob Rules (1981)
Live Evil (1982)
Dehumanizer (1992)
Black Sabbath: The Dio Years (2007)
Live at Hammersmith Odeon (2007)
Dio
Holy Diver (1983)
The Last in Line (1984)
Sacred Heart (1985)
Intermission (1986)
Dream Evil (1987)
Strange Highways (1993)
Angry Machines (1996)
Inferno – Last in Live (1998)
Hear ‘N Aid
Hear ‘n Aid – “Stars” (1986)
World War III
World War III (1990)
War & Peace
The Flesh & Blood Sessions (1999 / 2013)
Raven Storm
The Storm Project (2001)
Mark Boals
Edge of the World (2002)
Power Project
Dinosaurs (2006)
3 Legged Dogg
Frozen Summer (2006)
Heaven and Hell
Live from Radio City Music Hall (2007)
The Devil You Know (2009)
Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell (2010)
Kill Devil Hill
Kill Devil Hill (2012)
Revolution Rise (2013)
Suncrown
“Children of the Sea” (Black Sabbath cover) (2012)
Hollywood Monsters
Big Trouble (2014)
Capture the Sun (2016)
WAMI
Kill the King (2014)
Martiria
Revolution (2014)
Toehider
Mainly Songs About Robots (2015)
Ian Ray Logan & Serpent’s Ride
Between Lights and Shadows (2016)
Joel Hoekstra’s 13
Dying to Live (2015)
Running Games (2021)
Stonehand
When the Devil Comes (2015)
Resurrection Kings
Resurrection Kings (2016)
Last in Line
Heavy Crown (2016)
II (2019)
Ian Ray Logan & King of Twilight
Reaching Dreams (on “Success Is to Live (the Life)”) (2017)
Adrian Raso
Frozen in Time (2017)
The One Man Electrical Band
Symptom of the Universe (2017)
Dark Things (2018)
Appice
Sinister (2017) (with his brother Carmine Appice)
Stigma
Stigma (2018)
Concreto (Brazilian Band)
Lama EP (2018)
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