ASSOCIATED PRESS: Ronnie James Dio, the metal god who replaced Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath and later piloted the bands Heaven & Hell and Dio, has died, according to his wife and manager. Dio announced last fall he was suffering from stomach cancer. He was being treated at a Houston hospital, according to his website. “My heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45 a.m,” said a statement by Wendy Dio posted Sunday on the site and confirmed by publicist Maureen O’Connor. Wendy Dio said that friends and family were able to say their goodbyes to her husband, and asked for privacy. She concluded: “Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.” MORE

BLABBERMOUTH: It was only a month ago that Dio, 67, spoke about his battle with cancer with the Artisan News Service on the “black carpet” of the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, which took place on April 8 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. When asked about how he had been feeling since he was diagnosed with the disease late last year, Dio said, “Well, I feel good and bad at times. It’s a long process. Chemotherapy is a… I never realized what a difficult thing it was to go through. It’s a real cumulative effect — the more you have, the more it piles up on top and it takes longer and longer to get over it. I find it very difficult to eat. I don’t like to eat anyway, so I guess that’s OK. But I know I have to. But this makes it very, very hard.  MORE

TENACIOUS D (Feat. Dio & Meatloaf): Kickapoo

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