BY GERRY GITTELSON >LA.COM

IRVINE – Old-school heavy metal reigned supreme Saturday, as Heaven &
Hell – the moniker Black Sabbath is using now that singer Ronnie
James Dio has rejoined – teamed with Alice Cooper and Queensryche to
deliver a blistering evening of rock to a crowd of more than 10,000
loyal metal heads of all shapes and size at Verizon Amphitheatre.

Most associate Black Sabbath with original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne,
but Dio, the dark-haired little man with the booming voice who joined
in 1979, remains a more voluminous – and better – vocal force, and
for a 65-year-old Dio still sounds amazing.

The rest of Black Sabbath, er, Heaven & Hell, was spot on, too –
guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Vinny Appice.

Opening with a torrid version of “Mob Rules,” the band proved all
over again why they were such an important and pioneering force in
popular music.

If there was no Black Sabbath, there would be no Rage Against The
Machine, no Marilyn Manson, et al.

And even today, there is something compelling about Sabbath’s dark,
imagery-filled lyrics.

Consider the mighty, building rumble of “Children of the Sea:” In the
misty morning on the edge of time/We’ve lost the rising sun, a final
sign/As the misty morning rolls away to die/Reaching for the stars, we
blind the sky.

A short while later, all of us were singer together during a rousing
version of “Heaven & Hell – and it was quite a sight: “Sing me a
song, you’re a singer/Do me a wrong, you’re a bringer of evil/The
devil is never a maker/The less that you give, you’re a taker/So it’s
on and on and on, it’s heaven and hell.

Sounds kind of corny writing about it, but if you were there, it was
easy to get up in the moment.

Alice Cooper played a 75-minute set, and he had more stage props, and
arguably more familiar material in the form of such hits as
“Eighteen,” “Billion-dollar Babies,” ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy,” “Poison”
and, of course, “School’s Out.”

Backed by a tight band that included guitarist Keri Kelli, former
leader of local Glam legends Big Bang Babies, Cooper wore ghoulish
make-up, swung around various props such as a sword, a whip, or a
cane, and generally owned every inch of the massive arena stage.

The sun was just setting as Queensryche took the stage, but this
group sure came to play, too, delivering a passionate, greatest-hits
filled set that saw singer Geoff Tate fill the night air with his
majestic vocals.

A pumped-up cover of Pink Floyd’s “Welcome to the Machine” was among
the highlights.

Photo by Destinat via Flickr