Post by Erik Rupp on May 9, 2014 15:21:47 GMT -5
Ronnie James Dio passed away on May 16, 2010 leaving behind an amazing legacy of great music.
His recorded works started in the late 1950's and continued up until just months before his death. He, as most Rock fans know, was (and still is) best known for his time in three bands - Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and DIO. All three groups put out stellar albums, and Ronnie was always a huge part of the reason why those albums were so good. Ronnie wasn't just a singer. He was a multi instrumentalist who could play guitar, bass, and keyboards among other instruments. He worked with some of the most iconic musicians in Rock, including Ritchie Blackmore and Tony Iommi. He co-founded Rainbow with Blackmore, creating some truly great Hard Rock albums with the former Deep Purple legend. He helped modernize and streamline Black Sabbath's sound, bringing new life to a band that many had written off as passe. From there he formed his own band and proceeded to release some of the best straightforward (non-Thrash) Heavy Metal albums of all time.
But of all the DIO albums, which ones are the best? Which ones are the weakest? And are any of them truly, "Bad?" Saying that the DIO albums are ranked below from, "Best to Worst," might indicate that one or more of them weren't good, which wasn't actually the case, so...
Here is the official Vista Records list of the DIO (the band) albums, ranked from top to bottom!
1. Holy Diver (1983)
Holy crap, Batman!!! That Holy Diver album is amazing! Ahhh, if we could only get Burt Ward to record those lines. It might be the most accurate thing he ever said as an actor! Holy Diver is an amazing album. When Ronnie left Black Sabbath and focused on his upcoming solo album (which was already in the planning stages), he turned that solo album into a full blown band. He kept drummer Vinnie Appice from Black Sabbath, brought in former Rainbow bandmate Jimmy Bain on bass, and after auditioning several guitar players he settled on newcomer Vivian Campbell from Northern Ireland for that key role. DIO, the band, had been born. This wasn't just a solo album or a solo project, this was going to be a full blown band (albeit with Ronnie firmly placed as the band's leader). While Ronnie already had several songs largely ready to go, he didn't have a full album's worth of material. Campbell turned out to be an inspired choice to be the band's guitar player as he was not only a great player, but he also provided the music for some of the greatest Hard Rock and Heavy Metal songs of all time. The collaboration between Ronnie and Vivian resulted in some truly amazing songs. On Holy Diver those songs included, "Gypsy," "Invisible," and one of the band's biggest FM Rock Radio hits, "Rainbow In The Dark." Holy Diver, the album, was a case of catching lightning in a bottle.
From the opening guitar riff of the breathtakingly uptempo, "Stand Up And Shout," to the final fade out of, "Shame On The Night," Holy Diver stands as as a timeless classic. Ronnie wrote both the legendary title track and the fan favorite, "Don't Talk To Strangers," by himself. Bain contributed to the songwriting on the aforementioned, "Stand Up And Shout," (a highlight of not only this album, but of DIO's entire catalog), the pulsatingly powerful (yet melodic), "Straight Through The Heart," as well as, "Rainbow In The Dark," and, "Shame On The Night." Even Appice got into the songwriting, contributing to, "Caught In The Middle," "Invisible," "Shame On The Night, and, "Rainbow In The Dark." Holy Diver truly was an album from DIO, the band, not Ronnie James Dio, the man.
And everything works on Holy Diver. From the songwriting to the musical performances to the audio production and the mix, Holy Diver is an excercise in superlatives. The weakest track on the album, "Caught In The Middle," is still a good song that would be a standout on lesser albums. Holy Diver proved that Ronnie could thrive outside of a group with legendary members (Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow) or outside the context of a legendary band (Black Sabbath). The only problem that Ronnie faced with Holy Diver was putting out such an all-time great album right out of the gate. How could he and the band ever hope to match it? Forget about topping it, how could the band ever meet these standards on relatively short notice? (Bands in the 80's generally released albums every 12 to 24 months, with about 18 months being the average time between albums for major acts.)
2. The Last In Line (1984)
Well, Ronnie, Vivian, Jimmy, and Vinnie couldn't match the sky high standards of Holy Diver come release number two, but The Last In Line came very, very close. (Close enough that the difference didn't really matter.)
The same line-up was in place, and the band had a full tour under their collective belt to gel further as a unit by the time they started writing and rehearsing for what would be the band's second album. The studio engineer from the first album, Angelo Arcuri, also returned to take part in the project. The only new ingredient was keyboard player Claude Schnell. Ronnie himself had handled what few keyboard duties there were on the first album, but for The Last In Line he decided a full time, dedicated keyboard player made more sense. Schnell would not only play in the studio, but he would tour with the band as well, allowing the band to more accurately recreate the songs live.
Like Holy Diver, The Last In Line opens up at a breakneck pace with, "We Rock," a song nearly as good as the previous album's opener. "We Rock," leads into one of DIO's best (and most iconic songs) ever in it's title track. "The Last In Line," is absolutely timeless, and absolutely flawless. From it's softer, mellow, melodic intro to the rest of the pulsatingly heavy mid tempo song, "The Last In Line," is pure. The excellence of the song carries the album as a whole as, again, there isn't anything here that is less than good. Songs like, "Breathless," "I Speed At Night," and, "One Night In The City," are all heavy, but solidly melodic with good hooks to go along with the power and attitude.
If Holy Diver was a 10 out of 10, then The Last In Line is a 9.75 out of 10. The difference in quality between the two was infinitesimal. But, again, the band had painted themselves into a corner, only this time they wouldn't be able to come as close to matching the quality of their last album as Sacred Heart suffered from problems within the band. The quality level would drop noticeably next time out.
3. Killing The Dragon (2002)
By 2002 DIO, the band, had become Ronnie James Dio and whomever he happened to employ in the band at that given time. It was still a band, still a collaborative effort, but it more resembled the Big Band Jazz groups of the 1940's through the 1980's than an actual name Rock group (with those Big Band groups the bandleader was the name, such as Woody Herman and his Thundering Herd, and the band had turnover every year changing out at least a couple of the musicians in the group). More importantly, by 2002 DIO's brand of Heavy Metal had lost favor and lost the attention of the youth. DIO was yesterday's news.
And DIO had been criticized for a decline in album quality through the late 80's into the 90's. While none of DIO's albums were truly bad, some of them clearly didn't meet the standards of the band's first two albums.
But just when you wrote Ronnie James Dio off he came roaring back, and that's just what happened here. Killing The Dragon was generally accepted by most fans as a welcome return to form for DIO, the band. Some fans called it the best album since Dream Evil. Others went further and said it was the best DIO album since The Last In Line. I have to side with the group that says it's the best since DIO's 1984 album. It's not a whole lot better than Dream Evil or Sacred Heart, but from my perspective it is a better album with stronger highlights.
The title track (this time leading off the album) is an excellent uptempo track with some slight classical influences. It's like a really good Yngwie Malmsteen song with stronger vocals and vocal melodies. But what really sets Killing The Dragon apart from some of DIO's post Dream Evil albums is the balance between the slower or mid-tempo songs and the uptempo tracks. On Killing The Dragon there is a true balance, and not only is there balance, but most of the songs are very well written. This is a very good album that works well as a whole. That being said, there are some clear highlights here: the title track, "Along Comes A Spider," "Scream," "Better In The Dark," "Push," and, "Before the Fall." New DIO guitar player Doug Aldrich was invaluable to the band as he brought a high level of energy that revitalized the group. Fomer AC/DC (and by this time longtime DIO) drummer Simon Wright gives an excellent performance, and Jimmy Bain is exceptional as a co-writer on most of the album's tracks.
Killing The Dragon may be the last great (or, more accurately, near-great) DIO album, but it was a great return to form for a band that helped define Heavy Metal in the early to mid 1980's.
His recorded works started in the late 1950's and continued up until just months before his death. He, as most Rock fans know, was (and still is) best known for his time in three bands - Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and DIO. All three groups put out stellar albums, and Ronnie was always a huge part of the reason why those albums were so good. Ronnie wasn't just a singer. He was a multi instrumentalist who could play guitar, bass, and keyboards among other instruments. He worked with some of the most iconic musicians in Rock, including Ritchie Blackmore and Tony Iommi. He co-founded Rainbow with Blackmore, creating some truly great Hard Rock albums with the former Deep Purple legend. He helped modernize and streamline Black Sabbath's sound, bringing new life to a band that many had written off as passe. From there he formed his own band and proceeded to release some of the best straightforward (non-Thrash) Heavy Metal albums of all time.
But of all the DIO albums, which ones are the best? Which ones are the weakest? And are any of them truly, "Bad?" Saying that the DIO albums are ranked below from, "Best to Worst," might indicate that one or more of them weren't good, which wasn't actually the case, so...
Here is the official Vista Records list of the DIO (the band) albums, ranked from top to bottom!
1. Holy Diver (1983)
Holy crap, Batman!!! That Holy Diver album is amazing! Ahhh, if we could only get Burt Ward to record those lines. It might be the most accurate thing he ever said as an actor! Holy Diver is an amazing album. When Ronnie left Black Sabbath and focused on his upcoming solo album (which was already in the planning stages), he turned that solo album into a full blown band. He kept drummer Vinnie Appice from Black Sabbath, brought in former Rainbow bandmate Jimmy Bain on bass, and after auditioning several guitar players he settled on newcomer Vivian Campbell from Northern Ireland for that key role. DIO, the band, had been born. This wasn't just a solo album or a solo project, this was going to be a full blown band (albeit with Ronnie firmly placed as the band's leader). While Ronnie already had several songs largely ready to go, he didn't have a full album's worth of material. Campbell turned out to be an inspired choice to be the band's guitar player as he was not only a great player, but he also provided the music for some of the greatest Hard Rock and Heavy Metal songs of all time. The collaboration between Ronnie and Vivian resulted in some truly amazing songs. On Holy Diver those songs included, "Gypsy," "Invisible," and one of the band's biggest FM Rock Radio hits, "Rainbow In The Dark." Holy Diver, the album, was a case of catching lightning in a bottle.
From the opening guitar riff of the breathtakingly uptempo, "Stand Up And Shout," to the final fade out of, "Shame On The Night," Holy Diver stands as as a timeless classic. Ronnie wrote both the legendary title track and the fan favorite, "Don't Talk To Strangers," by himself. Bain contributed to the songwriting on the aforementioned, "Stand Up And Shout," (a highlight of not only this album, but of DIO's entire catalog), the pulsatingly powerful (yet melodic), "Straight Through The Heart," as well as, "Rainbow In The Dark," and, "Shame On The Night." Even Appice got into the songwriting, contributing to, "Caught In The Middle," "Invisible," "Shame On The Night, and, "Rainbow In The Dark." Holy Diver truly was an album from DIO, the band, not Ronnie James Dio, the man.
And everything works on Holy Diver. From the songwriting to the musical performances to the audio production and the mix, Holy Diver is an excercise in superlatives. The weakest track on the album, "Caught In The Middle," is still a good song that would be a standout on lesser albums. Holy Diver proved that Ronnie could thrive outside of a group with legendary members (Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow) or outside the context of a legendary band (Black Sabbath). The only problem that Ronnie faced with Holy Diver was putting out such an all-time great album right out of the gate. How could he and the band ever hope to match it? Forget about topping it, how could the band ever meet these standards on relatively short notice? (Bands in the 80's generally released albums every 12 to 24 months, with about 18 months being the average time between albums for major acts.)
2. The Last In Line (1984)
Well, Ronnie, Vivian, Jimmy, and Vinnie couldn't match the sky high standards of Holy Diver come release number two, but The Last In Line came very, very close. (Close enough that the difference didn't really matter.)
The same line-up was in place, and the band had a full tour under their collective belt to gel further as a unit by the time they started writing and rehearsing for what would be the band's second album. The studio engineer from the first album, Angelo Arcuri, also returned to take part in the project. The only new ingredient was keyboard player Claude Schnell. Ronnie himself had handled what few keyboard duties there were on the first album, but for The Last In Line he decided a full time, dedicated keyboard player made more sense. Schnell would not only play in the studio, but he would tour with the band as well, allowing the band to more accurately recreate the songs live.
Like Holy Diver, The Last In Line opens up at a breakneck pace with, "We Rock," a song nearly as good as the previous album's opener. "We Rock," leads into one of DIO's best (and most iconic songs) ever in it's title track. "The Last In Line," is absolutely timeless, and absolutely flawless. From it's softer, mellow, melodic intro to the rest of the pulsatingly heavy mid tempo song, "The Last In Line," is pure. The excellence of the song carries the album as a whole as, again, there isn't anything here that is less than good. Songs like, "Breathless," "I Speed At Night," and, "One Night In The City," are all heavy, but solidly melodic with good hooks to go along with the power and attitude.
If Holy Diver was a 10 out of 10, then The Last In Line is a 9.75 out of 10. The difference in quality between the two was infinitesimal. But, again, the band had painted themselves into a corner, only this time they wouldn't be able to come as close to matching the quality of their last album as Sacred Heart suffered from problems within the band. The quality level would drop noticeably next time out.
3. Killing The Dragon (2002)
By 2002 DIO, the band, had become Ronnie James Dio and whomever he happened to employ in the band at that given time. It was still a band, still a collaborative effort, but it more resembled the Big Band Jazz groups of the 1940's through the 1980's than an actual name Rock group (with those Big Band groups the bandleader was the name, such as Woody Herman and his Thundering Herd, and the band had turnover every year changing out at least a couple of the musicians in the group). More importantly, by 2002 DIO's brand of Heavy Metal had lost favor and lost the attention of the youth. DIO was yesterday's news.
And DIO had been criticized for a decline in album quality through the late 80's into the 90's. While none of DIO's albums were truly bad, some of them clearly didn't meet the standards of the band's first two albums.
But just when you wrote Ronnie James Dio off he came roaring back, and that's just what happened here. Killing The Dragon was generally accepted by most fans as a welcome return to form for DIO, the band. Some fans called it the best album since Dream Evil. Others went further and said it was the best DIO album since The Last In Line. I have to side with the group that says it's the best since DIO's 1984 album. It's not a whole lot better than Dream Evil or Sacred Heart, but from my perspective it is a better album with stronger highlights.
The title track (this time leading off the album) is an excellent uptempo track with some slight classical influences. It's like a really good Yngwie Malmsteen song with stronger vocals and vocal melodies. But what really sets Killing The Dragon apart from some of DIO's post Dream Evil albums is the balance between the slower or mid-tempo songs and the uptempo tracks. On Killing The Dragon there is a true balance, and not only is there balance, but most of the songs are very well written. This is a very good album that works well as a whole. That being said, there are some clear highlights here: the title track, "Along Comes A Spider," "Scream," "Better In The Dark," "Push," and, "Before the Fall." New DIO guitar player Doug Aldrich was invaluable to the band as he brought a high level of energy that revitalized the group. Fomer AC/DC (and by this time longtime DIO) drummer Simon Wright gives an excellent performance, and Jimmy Bain is exceptional as a co-writer on most of the album's tracks.
Killing The Dragon may be the last great (or, more accurately, near-great) DIO album, but it was a great return to form for a band that helped define Heavy Metal in the early to mid 1980's.