Jake E. Lee Talks Ill-Fated Mismatch With Dio

Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee explained the reason why his collaboration with another legendary Black Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio did not last long.

Prior to being hired by Ozzy to replace the late Randy Rhoads, Lee worked for a short with Dio in 1982 with Ronnie ultimately tapping Vivian Campbell to play guitar in his namesake post Sabbath solo band.

Lee was asked about why things did not work with Dio during a recent interview with the Cobras & Fire podcast and responded,
"I think that [Dio] was looking for more of a European sort of sound. 'Cause back then, and maybe to this day - I don't know - heavy metal, you had the American version and you had the European version.

"And the American version relied a lot on VAN HALEN; that was kind of the American metal sound. And I am more of that school - of Eddie Van Halen, Southern California. There was a bunch of us. And I was more of that. Maybe a little busier on my rhythm stuff than Dio would have liked. And I think that was the main reason."

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