Vinny Appice Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock drummer of Italian descent and the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice. He is best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and Big Noize. Appice took up the drums at the age of nine, taking lessons from the same teacher as his brother Carmine Appice. When he was sixteen, Appice and his band BOMF met John Lennon at Record Plant Studios, leading to him appearing on several Lennon recordings. He moved on to record with Rick Derringer on Derringer (1976),
Carmine Appice and the "Modern Drummer" Hall of Fame in 2014. Appice is credited with influencing later rock drummers including Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain, Aerosmith's Joey Kramer, Roger Taylor of Queen, Phil Collins of Genesis, Rush's Neil Peart, Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee, Slayer's Dave Lombardo, Richard Christy, Chris Grainger, David Kinkade, Ray Mehlbaum, Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, Ian Paice of Deep Purple, Anvil's Robb Reiner and Eric Singer of Kiss. His best-selling drum instruction book "The Realistic Rock Drum Method" was first published in 1972 and has since been revised and republished as "The Ultimate Realistic Rock Drum Method". It covers the