Out of the land of Ozzy

IN the beginning, there was Ozzy Osbourne, a singer of grim, gloomy tales in the British heavy-metal band Black Sabbath. The group made rock history and fueled the first big wave of the metal masses. But when the singer was invited to leave abruptly in 1979 (and began a successful solo career), the story did not end. His replacement was Ronnie James Dio, an American with a vocal style more darkly operatic than Osbourne’s bug-eyed howl.

And it was a hit, with its own arena tours and platinum albums, drawing yet another generation of metal fanatics into the Sabbath fold. That would not last either. Dio quit the band (twice), followed by other singers and players, and the original Sabbath eventually reconvened in the ‘90s for several tours with Ozzfest.

But the most unexpected twist came with last year’s announcement that the Dio-era band was also reuniting as Heaven and Hell, while the Osbourne-fronted Sabbath sat in hibernation. “It’s unheard of,” says bassist Geezer Butler of the existence of concurrent versions of his band. “We’re the only ones that have ever done it. Some people think we’re nuts.”

The reunion of Dio, Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Vinny Appice began with the recording of three new tracks for a Black Sabbath anthology, “The Dio Years.” The new release is being followed by a planned year of touring, delivering Heaven and Hell (a name taken from the title of their 1980 album) to the Forum on Wednesday.

Not everyone is impressed. Within hours of the announcement, the Osbourne camp responded with a statement declaring “there is only one Black Sabbath,” and promised that the original lineup would be recording and touring again, though no specific plans have materialized as Osbourne prepares to release “Black Rain,” his first album of new songs in seven years.

Regardless, Butler and Iommi say they could wait no longer -- and also missed performing the material written with Dio for three studio albums, including 1981’s “Mob Rules” and 1992’s “Dehumanizer.” “It was getting frustrating playing the same 10 songs on Ozzfest year after year,” Butler says of the early Sabbath repertoire. “On sound checks, we used to run over ‘Heaven and Hell’ and ‘Mob Rules,’ and we used to say these songs are too good to waste. It would be great to go out and tour with them again.”

On a recent Sunday, Dio and Butler are sitting in a back room at the Ivy, the Ventura Boulevard antique shop of Dio’s wife, Wendy. The singer is dressed in slim velvet flares and a jacket that reads “CCCP,” sipping beer from a glass. Butler, bearded and burly on a couch, drinks hot tea. Dio says the idea of a reunion never occurred to him before being contacted about recording the new tracks. “The writing sessions went so smoothly, and it was really fun,” he explains. “I had forgotten how good we did it together. The whole thing seemed very optimistic.”

In an interview by phone from England, Iommi says, “We could have actually stormed along with an album, the way it was going. We were coming up with riffs and ideas, left, right and center.”

Founding drummer Bill Ward was originally set to be part of Heaven and Hell but dropped out and was replaced by Appice, the drummer for most of the Dio-Sabbath years. (Ward was not available for comment.) Iommi claims full ownership of the Black Sabbath name, and has used it through the years as the only consistent member from the beginning. He chose not to resurrect it for the tour with Dio.

“We could go out now as Black Sabbath if we wanted to,” Iommi says. “But going under Heaven and Hell, people can make their own minds up. At least it lets people know what we’re doing. Otherwise, people would be asking for [Osbourne-era songs] ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Iron Man.’ ”

After this tour ends in December or January, the Sabbath future will perhaps again be uncertain. Another album with Dio, Osbourne, or none at all? No one could say, and Dio isn’t looking that far ahead. He smiles and says, “Getting to this point was hard enough.”

weekend@latimes.com

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Heaven and Hell with Megadeath and Machine Head

Where: The Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Price: $29.50 to $49.50 ($22 for parking)

Info: (310) 330-7300, www.thelaforum.com