In 1979 Black Sabbath let Ozzy Osbourne go and brought in Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Rainbow. The song they recorded that October in Miami and Paris came out the following April as the title track of their ninth album, "Heaven and Hell." Forty-six years later, in September 2026, Kim Hyuk Gun (김혁건) and THE CROSS BAND shared their cover on THE CROSS OFFICIAL.
This piece is for anyone coming to THE CROSS BAND's "Heaven and Hell" cover for the first time. It covers Black Sabbath, the original song and the musicians who played on the cover.
01.Heavy metal, born in Birmingham
Black Sabbath formed in Birmingham, England, in 1968, founded by Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne. When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted them in 2006, it described them as the band that "delivered heavy metal into the world."
Osbourne was fired in 1979, and former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio took his place. On "Heaven and Hell" the line-up was Dio (vocals), Iommi (guitar), Butler (bass) and Ward (drums), with Geoff Nicholls on keyboards.
02.The title track of April 1980
"Heaven and Hell" is the title track of Black Sabbath's ninth studio album, released by Warner Bros. on 18 April 1980. Martin Birch produced it, and it was recorded in October 1979 at Criteria in Miami and Studio Ferber in Paris.
The writing is credited to Dio, Iommi, Butler and Ward. Iommi wrote most of the music and Dio wrote the lyrics; Dio said the song is about the choice each person makes between good and evil.
The album peaked at No. 9 in the UK and No. 28 in the US, and eventually sold a million copies in the US. Kerrang! ranked the song No. 3 among the 20 greatest Black Sabbath songs in 2020, and Louder put it at No. 2 of 40 in 2021. On stage it often stretched out with long solos and audience participation — the live video on Black Sabbath's official channel runs 12 minutes 47 seconds.
03.THE CROSS BAND's "Heaven and Hell"
THE CROSS BAND released its "Heaven and Hell" cover on the official YouTube channel, THE CROSS OFFICIAL, on 23 September 2026. Kim Hyuk Gun sang, with Han Seung-ju (한승주) on guitar, Moon Jin-young (문진영) on bass, Kang Sun-woo (강선우) on drums and Hong Young-eun (홍영은) on keyboards; Choi Yun-young filmed it.
The band kept the mood of the original and added parts that had only been heard in Black Sabbath's live versions. The cover runs the full song at 6 minutes 52 seconds.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Original | Black Sabbath, "Heaven and Hell" |
| Released | 18 April 1980 · Warner Bros. |
| Album | Heaven and Hell (9th studio album) · produced by Martin Birch |
| Writers | Dio · Iommi · Butler · Ward (lyrics by Dio) |
| Original line-up | Dio (vocals) · Iommi (guitar) · Butler (bass) · Ward (drums) · Geoff Nicholls (keyboards) |
| Charts | Album: UK No. 9 · US No. 28 |
| Cover musicians | Kim Hyuk Gun (vocals) · Han Seung-ju (guitar) · Moon Jin-young (bass) · Kang Sun-woo (drums) · Hong Young-eun (keyboards) |
| Cover video | 23 September 2026 · 6:52 · THE CROSS OFFICIAL |
04.Five old-school rock covers
"Heaven and Hell" is one of five old-school rock covers by THE CROSS BAND. The song from Ozzy Osbourne's first solo album, released the same year after he left Black Sabbath, continues in Ozzy Osbourne's "Mr. Crowley" cover, and Deep Purple — grouped with Black Sabbath in the "unholy trinity" of British hard rock — in Deep Purple's "Burn" cover.
The series also includes covers of Jimi Hendrix's 1967 song "Little Wing" and Prince's 1984 song "Purple Rain". The full list is in THE CROSS BAND's Rock Covers.
05.Listen again
The "Heaven and Hell" cover and THE CROSS BAND's other cover videos are on the official YouTube channel, THE CROSS OFFICIAL. The band is introduced on the THE CROSS BAND page, and live bookings go through the Booking page.
The song of choice Dio sang in 1980 returned to the stage in the autumn of 2026 in Kim Hyuk Gun's voice.