It’s not only singer Ronnie James Dio who is in the wars over at the Heaven And Hell camp. Guitarist Tony Iommi, who has had stem-cell treatment on a dodgy hand, may have to go under the knife again. And drummer Vinny Appice is recovering from surgery on his shoulder. Maybe the band should be renamed Heaven And Ail!

Iommi spoke with Andy Coleman from Birminghampost.net about H&H’s various ailments:

On Dio (who has been diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer): “Ronnie’s doing better, he’s been responding well to treatment. He’s very positive and has been in the studio in LA this week doing a bit of singing. He has to fly to Dallas (from his Los Angeles home) for chemotherapy every two weeks and has injections daily in his stomach.’’

Concerning his stem-cell treatment, Iommi had this to say: “The cartilage between the thumb joints of my right hand, my fret hand, was rubbing, bone to bone. They’ve cured that but the bone’s been pushed back and I’ve been told I may need another operation to pull the bone up. I don’t particularly want to go there because I have a friend, also a guitar player, who had that operation and it all went pear-shaped which put me off a bit.’’

On drummer Vinny Appice (who had surgery on his right shoulder in late November): “He’s doing alright, he’s doing all his exercises. I don’t know if he’s started playing yet but he soon will be. I had the same operation on my arm four or five years ago.’’

The good news is that bassist Geezer Butler’s grazed knee is healing nicely.

Heaven & Hell are playing Classic Rock’s High Voltage festival on July 24/25. Get your tickets here.