When Ozzy Osbourne was kicked out of Black Sabbath in the early ‘80s, the band enlisted journeyman vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who had made a name for himself singing in Rainbow, among other bands. The two singers were polar opposites: Osbourne’s lyrical matter dealt with Satan, and he lived to party; Dio was more the Dungeons and Dragons type, and was mostly a straight arrow. Over the span of three albums, Dio’s booming voice and songwriting skills took Black Sabbath in a new musical direction and helped forge classic metal moments like Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. More importantly, this body of work won Sabbath a new generation of fans (this writer and Jack Black included), who were interested in hearing more than “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.”

After the Dio era ended abruptly (after the band finished its last tour, Dio never heard from guitarist Tony Iommi or bassist Geezer Butler again), Sabbath reunited with Ozzy and the Ozzfest mega-brand was born. Ca-ching! Dio went on to release several albums (some of which spawned commercially successful releases like Holy Diver) and forged ahead with his solo career.

Then came word that Rhino was putting together a best-of compilation, Black Sabbath: The Dio Years. With Iommi and Butler tired of playing the same set list for the past decade, one thing led to another and Dio flew to England to record with Iommi, and three new songs surfaced. Excited by revisiting songs they hadn’t played together in 15 years (working with a singer whose brains weren’t scrambled must’ve also appealed to Iommi and Butler), they decided to take the show on the road. Sabbath drummer Bill Ward wasn’t interested in touring with Dio, so veteran sticksman Vinny Appice (who’s played and recorded with Dio and Sabbath) was enlisted.

That brings us to Saturday night at Jones Beach where the band—dubbed Heaven and Hell, in order not to confuse unknowing diehard Black Sabbath and Dio fans (a few were still confused and expected to hear Ozzy era hits)—made their second New York appearance (the first was at Radio City Music Hall, and the event was filmed for the excellent DVD just released by Rhino, Heaven and Hell Live at Radio City Music Hall).

Veteran metal-lite iconoclasts Queensrÿche opened the show (we only heard a few seconds of their last song from section Q in the parking lot) and was followed by Alice Cooper. Cooper, 59, and his fiery band of young whippersnappers, blazed through a set of pure rock ‘n’ roll that could give Velvet Revolver a run for their money. As the band tore through hits like “I’m Eighteen,” “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” and “School’s Out For Summer,” Cooper and his cronies (including drummer Eric Singer, who’s played with Kiss and aced his drum solo) exuded the same tenacity as if they were headlining Madison Square Garden.

Dressed in head-to-toe leather, Cooper mixed in campy performance art shtick as his band rocked out. He was as charming as he was diabolical. Whereas Marilyn Manson (who’s obviously taken a few cues from Cooper) is pure evil, Cooper is a campy, sinister vaudevillian who derives pleasure in making your heart skip a beat.

Cooper mockingly beat a clinging female dancer and a bloody ballerina, while zombies walked the stage and were carried off in stretchers by cloaked goons. At one point, Cooper wheeled out a baby carriage, picked up the tike and drove a spike through its body. (He was promptly hanged for his crime.) Cooper was also corralled by masked thugs and placed in a straightjacket, but he continued singing and didn’t miss a beat. Finally, there was the encore where Cooper, dressed in top hat and tails, closed with his pop-metal nugget “Poison” and left the stage to a thunderous ovation.

Heaven and Hell’s set was a far more serious metal affair. Opening with the rumbling riffs of “E5150” on a gothic church set, they tore through “Mob Rules,” “I,” and the slow metal stomp of “The Sign of the Southern Cross.” Their extended version of “Voodoo” led into Vinny Appice’s drum solo (an improvement from his last New York offering, but still a bit pedestrian). “Falling Off the Edge of the World” (see YouTube footage below) was one of the highlights as Iommi—the godfather of heavy metal—pounded out ten tons of riffs while Geezer Butler—who is by far one of the most underrated bassists—laid down some of the heavyiest bottom-end ever heard.

After the perennial crowd-pleaser “Die Young” came the rendition of their epic metal masterpiece, “Heaven and Hell.” Clocking in at over ten minutes, this song is to heavy metal what “Stairway to Heaven” is to ‘70s rock. Since the show had to be over by 10:45 due to Jones Beach's fascist rules, there was time for only one encore, the fast-paced anthem “Neon Knights.” For a band whose members are all pushing 60, Heaven and Hell played with the skill and aplomb which their younger counterparts can learn from.

As I left the show, I asked my friend’s father (I’ll call him Mr. K), who joined us at the last-minute due to the appearance of an extra ticket, what he thought of Heaven and Hell’s set. Mr. K has a great knowledge of rock music that dates back to his college days when he saw The Who, The Doors, and Black Sabbath perform at his university before they became superstars. Though he was impressed by Heaven and Hell’s musicianship, he shook his head in disbelief and declared their set a bust. For him Black Sabbath without Ozzy is like Van Halen fronted by Sammy Hagar; it just wasn’t kosher.

If I learned anything from Saturday night at Jones Beach, it’s that you’re never too old to rock ‘n’ roll.