In 1979 Black Sabbath hit the road for "Heaven & Hell," and thus Sabbath mark II is born!
After the "Never Say Die" tour Ozzy Osbourne was done with the band and had been let go. When the band convened in Los Angeles, Ronnie James Dio was introduced to Tony Iommi by the future Sharon Osbourne, then known as Sharon Arden, daughter of Sabbath's manager Don Arden. Dio was looking for a new project after leaving Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow,
"Sabbath was a band that was floundering," Dio said. "And, with my inclusion in it, we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, cared a lot about each other, and knew that we could do it again – especially under the banner of a band that had been so successful."
Sabbath's line-up would go into a state of chaos, during the recording, as Bill Ward was battling personal issues, and would leave the band, and Geoff Nicholls would take over on bass, as Geezer Butler was going through a divorce. Dio would double as bassist and vocalist, until Butler returned to the band and Nicholls stayed on as keyboardist.
Heaven and Hell was recorded at Miami's Criteria Studios and Studios Ferber in Paris with Bill Ward on drums, and Bill would start the Heaven & Hell Tour, but Ward's personal issues, would force him to leave the band, and Vinny Appice was brought in to replace him. This would mark a major shift in Heavy Metal, as it marked the shift from what was the 70's sound of Heavy Metal, to the sharper introduction of New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and the rise of what would be hair metal in LA, and the future birth of Thrash. Ozzy Osbourne would land on his feet, marrying Sharon and creating a new super group of his own on his way to having a dominant solo career, and Black Sabbath would go on with it's new line-up that saw the band boom back in popularity.