Some people get off on slagging Dio, some
jokers who call themselves critics continue to blast Ronnie James for sticking
to his guns. Most of whom at the same time praise people like Eminem and
Fred Durst. I take the opposite approach; I actually respect Dio far more
than I do a lot of metal artists who came out of the late 70’s and 80’s.
When you bought a Dio album, you always knew what you were gonna get; a kick ass
metal album stepped in mythological images, satanic overtones and Dio’s
unmistakable vocals, and yes--wizards, dragons and all-- it was Dio. He never
really strayed far from that formula, even when he made the jump from Rainbow
to Black Sabbath to his own band Dio, you could always count on him to
stay pretty consistent. In the late 80’s that wasn’t always the case with
metal performers, Judas Priest took the dive to synthesizers, even Ozzy
seemed to tap into a bit of trend following (just go back and look at the
photos for “The Ultimate Sin” and listen to the album, you’ll hear what
I am talking about.) While Dio isn’t afraid of experimenting, he never
ventures too far out of his proven sound that people could accuse him of
selling out or cashing in on a trend.
As a young metalhead, “Holy Diver” and
“The Last in Line” were in heavy rotation on my turn table along with Dio’s
Sabbath albums “Heaven and Hell” and “Mob Rules” so I basically grew up
with him and I, like many, was a bit disappointed with his third studio album,
“Sacred Heart”, it seemed to lack the fire that drove his previous music
but none the less, he kept putting out albums and I kept buying them, even
after he replaced Vivian Campbell with Greg Goldy (a mistake in my opinion).
While his later albums never sold as well as his earlier work, Dio has
maintained a steady consistent quality to his work after “Sacred Heart”.
In fact, many expected his 2000 concept album “Magica” to be a big hit,
but alas it was put out by Shitfire Records, a label that couldn’t sell
a CD even if it was from a top selling current band like Linkin Park if
they were giving them away for a dollar each.
If “Magica” was the start of the return
to true Dio greatness than “Killing The Dragon” will kick that into high
gear. In many ways, this album should have been the follow up to “The Last
In Line” as Dio focuses his writing more clearly on being, well, Dio and
had a bit more freedom this time around since the album wasn’t restrained
around a set concept like "Magica", yet it still manages to tell a story.
The title track kicks the CD off in perfect form, a song that sounds like
it would have been right at home on “Heaven and Hell” with it’s machine
gun like rhythmic guitar chucks and Dio’s mesmerizing vocals. The second
track, ”Along Came A Spider” has a tiny bit of the feel of “Invisible”
in the vocal treatment, even though overall, it really sounds nothing like
the classic Dio song. But it appears to come from the same spiritual place.
Other standout tracks include “Better In The Dark”, which again has the
classic Dio fronting Black Sabbath feel to it. “Throw Away Children” is
about as close to a ballad you’ll hear from Dio and it packs a mean punch!
Guitarist Doug Aldrich is a welcome addition
to the band; his style seems to fall between the mountains Iommi and Campbell,
not a bad place to be!
So the bottom line is Dio is back, even
though he never really went away. If you like your metal with evil overtones,
steeped in the mystical tradition with visions of far away times when dragons
and wizards ruled the world, then you got one more great album to add to
your collection. I know a lot of our readers are too young to know who
Dio is, so if you want something with a bit more musical substance than
“I did it all for the Nookie”, then you might be pleasantly surprised with
what you find here. It sure beats the hell out of the slop that the corporations, a.k.a. major record labels, are spewing forth these days!
This album is just one more reason why Dio is a legend!
Posted by mushroomhead kal:
Dio is one of the best metal bands ever! ROCK on forever, RJD.
KAL
Posted by Kirill:
Dio is The God of hard and heavy sound! Will always be! One of if not the best rock singer!
Posted by Pete
I just have to say, I bought this CD based on this review. That was a week ago and I had to order ALL of the DIO CD's after hearing this one. The phuckin guy is one of the best singers I've heard! And man, a metal band that actually knows how to do cool keywords, the guitarist is the man and the drummer kicks ass. Thanks aG for turning me on to this band.
Posted by Justin
Mad props to Dio for keeping it real and not selling out or changin' when so many other cool metal bands did.
Posted by Real Metal
If you get past the midevil stuff, the music just flatout kicks ass.
Posted by Lars
If James had a voice like Dio we wouldn't have sold out.
Posted by Foxxtrot
Finally a reviewer who gets it and sees how awsome people like Dio are getting screwed. Screw the lables, I'll keep buying Dio records until I'm old and gray, he's the best. Long live rock´n´roll
Posted by nu-metal warrior
My brother drug me to a Dio show and I was like I don't want to see no old dude but you know the f-u-c-k-ing band rocked! I love the new stuff and all but there isn't anything like this out today. I have a hard time going back to Fear Factory or slipknot after listening to Dio. Thanks for showing me the way.
Posted by Spitfire Record Exec
Who cares about the artist, as long as we make money
Posted by Nik
I love this CD. I got hooked on Dio with Rainbow and he has never disappointed me once. He has the strongest voice in metal ever. Go buy this CD.
Posted by Lemmy
Ozzy may be the godfather of metal, but dio is GOD
Posted by Jordan:
Five stars? Come on this one goes to 11! Love Dio, one of if not the best metal singer ever.
Posted by Max-metal:
Dio f*uckin rocks! This dude just get better and better with every record!
Posted by Jason Timberwood:
Ozzy is the Godfather of Metal; Dio's very close to it
Posted by wolfie:
Dio is the metal-god !! Long live rock´n´roll
