Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, and Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( , born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is also Vinny Appice's ...

Career

Appice took up the drums at the age of nine, taking lessons from the same teacher as his brother

. When he was sixteen, Appice and his band BOMF met

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Record Plant Studios The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

. Lennon took a liking to the group and used them as a backing band in several performances, including the final one before his death. He moved on to record with

Rick Derringer Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was ...

Derringer A derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver nor a semi/ fully automatic pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. ...

(1976), ''Sweet Evil'' (1977), and ''Derringer Live'' (1977), before forming his own band Axis and recording ''It's A Circus World'' (1978). Appice joined

during the tour in support of the '' Heaven and Hell'' album in 1980. He was quickly brought in to replace original drummer Bill Ward, who quit the band mid-tour due to personal issues. Appice arrived for his first show with Black Sabbath at the Aloha Stadium in Hawaii with his entire drum kit packed into the back of a car. He was forced to learn the band's songs on stage, using hastily written crib notes for each unfamiliar song. A sudden rain storm made the ink run on Vinny's notes. According to an interview conducted at NAMM in 2012, Vinny stated that at the end of the show during the bows he tossed the notebook into the crowd. Appice subsequently appeared on the Black Sabbath albums '' Mob Rules'' (1981) and '' Live Evil'' (1982). In late 1982 he left Black Sabbath along with vocalist Ronnie James Dio and formed the band Dio. They recorded ''

Holy Diver ''Holy Diver'' is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio, released in 1983. Vocalist Ronnie James Dio had just finished his first tenure in Black Sabbath, whose drummer, Vinny Appice, he took with him to put together his ...

'' (1983), '' The Last in Line'' (1984), '' Sacred Heart'' (1985), ''

Intermission An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte ( ...

'' (1986), and ''

Dream Evil Dream Evil is a Swedish heavy metal band, assembled by producer Fredrik Nordström in 1999. History Producer Fredrik Nordström had the ambition of creating a power metal band of his own for a long time, but had difficulty finding anyone w ...

'' (1987). In December 1989 Appice left Dio and briefly teamed up with

Dokken Dokken is an American glam metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. It split up in 1989 and reformed four years later. The band had several hit singles which charted on the Billboard Hot 100, such as " Alone Again", " In My Dreams", and " Burn ...

bassist Jeff Pilson in the band Flesh & Blood. After joining World War III in 1990, he returned to Black Sabbath in 1992 for the ''

Dehumanizer ''Dehumanizer'' is the sixteenth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on June 22, 1992. It was Sabbath's first studio album in over a decade to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice, and their first ...

'' album and tour. "I like Vinny – he's a nice chap,"

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...

reflected to the Sabbath

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

''Southern Cross''. "Vinny was asked to continue with the Sabbath thing, but he didn't. I like Vinny's playing." Appice rejoined Dio and they recorded '' Strange Highways'' (1994) and '' Angry Machines'' (1996). Prior to the 1996 tour, Appice played drums for Las Vegas–based guitarist, Raven Storm, on his album The Storm Project, which also involved long-time Dio engineer and producer, Angelo Arcuri. Arcuri was also a childhood friend of the Appice brothers. In 2005 Appice appeared on a rap recording by ''Circle of Tyrants'', whose lineup included Necro, Ill Bill, Goretex, and Mr Hyde, also collaborating with

Alex Skolnick Alex Skolnick (born September 29, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and one of the songwriters of the thrash metal band Testament and has played with several other bands, including The Alex Skolnick Trio, Tr ...

. Appice played two shows in Las Vegas with the

Sin City Sinners Sin City Sinners is a group of musicians who perform self-penned originals and rock and roll covers at key venues throughout Las Vegas, Nevada. The band is composed of a tight-knit group of core members: Brent Muscat (ex-Faster Pussycat), guita ...

in October 2009. Appice rejoined his Black Sabbath bandmates Ronnie James Dio,

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

, and

in 2006 as Heaven & Hell, touring and releasing one studio album, '' The Devil You Know'', before Dio's death in 2010. Heaven and Hell 29

In 2006 he recorded the CD Dinosaurs, together with Carl Sentance,

Carlos Cavazo Carlos Cavazo (born July 8, 1957) is an American guitarist best known as the guitarist for Quiet Riot during their commercial peak. He has also played with Snow, 3 Legged Dogg, Hollywood Allstarz, and Ratt. Biography Cavazo was born in Atlant ...

and Jeff Pilson. The CD was produced by guitarist-musician Andy Menario (leader of

Martiria Martyropolis is a historical episcopal see of early Christianity, in what was the Roman province of Mesopotamia, now located in modern Turkey. It is now a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. Historical diocese The diocese was centered on ...

band) and featured lyrics written by Italian poet Marco Roberto Capelli, who is also

's lyricist. He is currently participating in "Drum Wars" shows with his brother Carmine, which feature a guest appearance from vocalist

Paul Shortino Paul Shortino (born May 14, 1953) is an American rock singer and musician who has sung for Rough Cutt/The Cutt, Quiet Riot, Bad Boyz, and Shortino. He briefly recorded with J.K. Northrup as the duo, Shortino/Northrup. He has also recorded as a ...

. Appice formed the band Kill Devil Hill with former Down and Pantera bassist

Rex Brown Rex Robert Brown (born July 27, 1964) is an American musician. He is best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Pantera, from 1982 to their disbandment in 2003. As of their reunion in 2022, he is the band's only constant member. Brown i ...

, guitar slinger Mark Zavon and lead vocalist Dewey Bragg. Kill Devil Hill's self-titled debut album was released May 22, 2012, via Steamhammer/SPV and landed at No. 9 on the Billboard Top New Artist Albums (HeatSeekers) Chart, No. 41 on the Top Hard Music Chart and No. 50 on the Independent Album Chart. Following the death of Dio frontman Ronnie James Dio in 2010, the original lineup of Vinny Appice on drums,

Jimmy Bain James Stewart Bain (19 December 1947 – 23 January 2016) was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo ...

on bass,

Vivian Campbell Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio, and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). Campbell has al ...

on guitar and

Claude Schnell Claude Schnell (born May 17, 1955) is an American keyboardist who has been a member of the bands Magic, Rough Cutt, Dio, and Last in Line. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in France, when he was six years old his family mo ...

on keyboards reunited along with vocalist Andrew Freeman to perform covers of Dio songs they originally recorded. On November 25, 2013, it was announced that Appice had formed a new band called WAMI, which features vocalist Doogie White, bassist Marco Mendoza, and 16-year-old Polish guitarist Iggy Gwadera. On February 12, 2014, the upcoming album title was revealed to be ''Kill the King'', due for release in the spring. On February 25, the album cover and track listing were revealed. On March 10, 2014, it was announced that Appice had left Kill Devil Hill, and that former

Type O Negative Type O Negative were an American gothic metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, percu ...

drummer

Johnny Kelly Johnny Kelly (born March 9, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the former drummer of gothic metal band Type O Negative. He is the current drummer for the bands Silvertomb, A Pale Horse Named Death, Kill Devil Hill, Danzig, and Qu ...

was his replacement.

Last in Line Last in Line is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2012 by former members of the original lineup of Dio. The band's name comes from the 1984 Dio album '' The Last in Line''. Following the death of frontman Ronnie James Dio in 2010 ...

began recording tracks for a new album of original material in April 2014, followed by the release of a snippet of the new track "Devil in Me" in June. The album, produced by former Dio bassist, Jeff Pilson, was announced to have an expected release date in early 2016. In early 2014 Appice joined hard rock band Hollywood Monsters where he played on the album ''Big Trouble'' (on 8 tracks out of 11) which was released in 2014 on Mausoleum Records. The album features Steph Honde on vocals and guitars,

Tim Bogert John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III (August 27, 1944 – January 13, 2021) was an American musician. He graduated in 1963 from Ridgefield Memorial High School in his hometown of Ridgefield, New Jersey. As a bass guitarist and vocalist he was best ...

on bass, Don Airey on keyboards and

Paul Di'Anno Paul Andrews (born 17 May 1958), better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is a British/Brazilian heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albu ...

on lead vocals on the bonus track. The same year, Appice was a guest performer on

Eli Cook Eli Cook (1814–1865) was Mayor of the City of Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the he ...

's album, ''

Primitive Son ''Primitive Son'' is the sixth album by Virginia-based blues rock artist, Eli Cook. It was released in April 2014. The album leans more to the grunge/ hard rock side of Cook's work, and features a slew of guest musicians such as Leslie West an ...

''. In 2015, it was announced that Appice will appear on the EP "Mainly Songs About Robots" by Australian progressive rock band

Toehider Toehider are a progressive rock band from Melbourne, Australia. Their influences include progressive rock, pop, hard rock, metal and folk. Toehider was founded in 2008 by Michael Mills. After the release of their debut EP ''Toe Hider'' in the sam ...

, to be released in September 2015. One week later on November 17, Last in Line released a music video for their premiere single "Devil in Me", and announced that their debut album, entitled ''Heavy Crown'' would be released on February 19, 2016. The band will release a studio album of original material without Schnell. The same year, Appice was invited to play drums for a new project of

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and former

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guitarist

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, called Joel Hoekstra's 13, with an album called ''Dying to Live'', released on October 16. On September 30, the new Resurrection Kings band was announced. The band is formed by Appice with former Dio guitarist

Craig Goldy Thomas "Craig" Goldy (born November 6, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio and Giuffria. Early musical life Goldy was born in San Diego, California. Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, R ...

Sean McNabb Sean McNabb (born September 24, 1965) is an American actor and bassist. While still on tour with rock bands, he is also acting and writing, composing, and singing music for TV and film. In 2015, he released his first solo music as a lead singer, ...

on bass and Chas West on vocals. On January 18, 2017, Appice was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History for his contributions to Heavy Metal drumming.

Discography

John Lennon

*''

Walls and Bridges ''Walls and Bridges'' is the fifth studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was issued by Apple Records on 26 September 1974 in the United States and on 4 October in the United Kingdom. Written, recorded and released during his 18-month ...

'' (hand claps on "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night"; uncredited) (1974)

Rick 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) *''

'' (1992) *'' Black Sabbath: The Dio Years'' (2007) *'' Live at Hammersmith Odeon'' (2007)

Dio

*''

'' (1983) *'' The Last in Line'' (1984) *'' Sacred Heart'' (1985) *''

'' (1986) *''

'' (1987) *'' Strange Highways'' (1993) *'' Angry Machines'' (1996) *'' Inferno – Last in Live'' (1998)

Hear 'N Aid

Hear 'n Aid Hear 'n Aid was a charity record recorded by a large ensemble of 40 heavy metal musicians and released in 1986. The project was organized by Ronnie James Dio, Jimmy Bain, and Vivian Campbell, all from the band Dio. Proceeds from the album wer ...

– ''"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" (

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 Last in Line is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2012 by former members of the original lineup of Dio. The band's name comes from the 1984 Dio album '' The Last in Line''. Following the death of frontman Ronnie James Dio in 2010 ...

* '' 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

)

Stagma

*''Stagma'' (2018)

Concreto (Brazilian Band)

* ''Lama EP'' (2018)

References

External links

Vinny Appice Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2012)
Vinny Appice Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appice, Vinny 1957 births Living people Musicians from Brooklyn American heavy metal drummers American rock drummers Black Sabbath members Dio (band) members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Heaven & Hell (band) members Kill Devil Hill (band) members American people of Italian descent 21st-century American drummers