Black Sabbath: Previously Unreleased Rehearsal Recording from 1979 Surfaces

A previously unreleased recording of Black Sabbath rehearsing the Dio-era track “Heaven and Hell” has surfaced.

The recording comes from the estate of live band member and frequent collaborator Geoff Nicholls, who plays bass here but contributed keyboards and additional guitars to the band’s live show, while standing off stage, for a number of years. Nicholls is also credited with keyboards on 10 Black Sabbath albums, and was tapped for bass on this recording while Geezer Butler was away from the band dealing with a divorce.

Nicholl’s estate posted the following statement along with the recording:

“Geoff Nicholls passed away 4 years ago, 28th January 2017. This upload is a tribute to him.

“I recently found this SONY C-90 tape cassette amongst the thousands in Geoff Nicholls’ archive. On the inlay card is written ‘ ON & ON HEAVEN & HELL ORIGINAL VERSION GEOFF PLAYING BASS.’

“Inside the cassette case was a Maxell UD 90.

“The B side is written ‘On + On HEAVEN HELL ORIGINAL GEOFF ON BASS’

“Nowhere does it say that this is Black Sabbath on the cassette.

“On And On Heaven And Hell may have been the original working title.

Have a listen to this rare piece of metal history below.

[via Loudwire]