Ronnie James Dio rumoured to tour with Black Sabbath members

Ronnie James Dio and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi have recorded two new songs for a new anthology, and now there's a rumor about a tour. The Spanish website rafabasa.com is reporting exclusively that Dio, Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward will tour next summer, and that the major heavy metal festivals in Europe have already been contacted. While Dio was a member of Sabath in the early '80s, after Ozzy Osbourne went solo, the site claims the group can't tour as Black Sabbath for legal reasons, so they'll call themselves Heaven & Hell -- which was the title of the first album Dio recorded with Sabbath, back in 1980. There's been no comment from Iommi, Ward, or Butler, and a Dio representative would neither confirm nor deny the story.

The songs Dio and Iommi have recorded are for a greatest-hits package of Dio's time in Black Sabbath, which resulted in three studio albums -- Heaven & Hell in 1980, Mob Rules in 1981, and Dehumanizer in 1992. There was also a concert set called Live Evil in 1982.