bassgeezer Dio had arguably already been the key element in the masterpieces that are Rainbow’s Rising and Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell. I don’t think there was any doubt he could go it alone and he proved it beyond any shadow of a doubt with his band’s debut Holy Diver. He did, however, make some remarkably shrewd choices of musicians to assist him. He took Vinny Appice from Black Sabbath with him on drums and Jimmy Bain his band-mate from Rainbow on bass and keyboards. His coup de grace though was the discovery of guitarist Vivian Campbell. All in all this was an incredible heavy metal recipe.

Kingcrimsonprog Dio’s fourth album Dream Evil is the last studio album to feature Claude Schnell and the first to feature gutiarist Craig Goldy (previously of Rough Cutt, but not at the same time as Claude.) Craig ably and deftly handles guitar duties and although his style is slightly different to previous guitarist Vivian Campbell, fits into the overall Dio sound perfectly.

Dream Evil is a bit of an interesting one, in that some fans say it isn’t as good as the first three (or two in some cases) albums and some say that it is great and the last good Dio album. Personally I find Dream Evil to be everything I want in a Dio album, I think it is strong and well written, I like the general style and the majority of the songs are up there with the best Dio has to offer.

I will admit that there are one or two songs that seem a tad weak or generic when listening to the album from beginning to end, but which are fine in isolation. Still, the album contains tracks like ‘Sunset Superman,’ ‘Dream Evil,’ and ‘All The Fools Sailed Away,’ that no right minded Dio fan could ignore, some of the best material the band put out and essential for any best of compilation.

The only real problem I can find with Dream Evil is that the production (largely because of the keyboard sound) has dated somewhat, which may be a problem for some fans who only like Dio’s harder and heavier material… but the band slowly introduced keyboards more and more over the previous three albums and it just feels like the logical progression here.

Another thing that needs pointing out is that Dream Evil isn’t some weird departure; with the exception of the scope of keyboard usage, and the introduction of an almost-power-ballad, Dream Evil is stylistically bang on the trademark Dio formula, riffy fast songs mixed with mid paced melodic numbers, soaked in Dio’s great voice and guitar solos all over.

Guitar solos have always played a big part of Dio’s sound and even with a new guitarist on board, Dream Evil does not disappoint in this department. And while guitarist Vivian Campbell was gone, at least spokes-daemon “Murray” returned for the album’s front cover, shame he never took off in quite the same way as Vic Rattlehead, Snaggletooth or Eddie.

To summarise; as an album, Dream Evil is worth a place in your collection, it is up there with the best Dio albums, if just shy of being able to be called a contender for best Dio album. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get into Dio and who has already bought and enjoyed Holy Diver.

Kingcrimsonprog Dio’s Third Studio album Sacred Heart is an absolute must-have for Dio fans.

The album may not feature trademark-Daemon Murray on the art work (like on the band’s first, second and fourth albums) but don’t let that lead you to expect anything from the band that you didn’t want or expect. Sacred Heart takes the formula of the first two albums pretty strictly, giving you exactly what you want from Dio… hard and heavy rock/metal music with fantasy themes, big guitar solos and the voice which separates Ronnie James Dio himself from the crowd.

This was the last Dio album to feature Northern Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell and some people say that his playing isn’t as good here as on the first two albums, but to my ears his performance is great and the guitar solos on the album are strong and, crucially, memorable.

In a move similar to Heart’s ‘Cook With Fire,’ the album opener ‘King Of Rock And Roll,’ is inexplicably either live or live in the studio with crowd noise on top (not explained in the notation) but luckily the performance is absolutely incendiary… especially on drums, Vinnie Appice absolutely destroys his drum kit in one of the most energetic performances I’ve ever heard… it isn’t even overly flashy but he plays the absolute hell out of the kit and proves himself years ahead of his time, with a modern approach to drumming that wasn’t necessarily present on a lot of early 80s music. Incidentally, aforementioned track is one of the best songs Dio ever released.

The rest of the album, back in studio recording territory, is equally good. The music is a little more keyboard driven than the band’s first two albums (perhaps keyboardist Claude Schnell had integrated into the band more at this point), but still has a hard, rock centric attitude and plenty of interesting and memorable riffs.

All the early Dio albums had at least one foray into 80s commercial territory, and Sacred Heart is no different, with ‘Hungry For Heaven,’ and ‘Shoot Shoot,’ adding some diversity to the trademark Dio sound. Some listeners may care to skip these tracks for not being heavy enough or their slightly cheesy keyboard sounds, but I find them to fit quite well with the heavier and faster material, providing contrast.

To summarise, Sacred Heart is a great album and if you enjoyed any other Dio album then you really ought to check out Sacred Heart too; more lyrical references to rainbows, more guitar solos and generally great songs… what more could a Dio fan possibly want ?

Kingcrimsonprog Line Dio’s second studio album The Last In Line is a really strong album, full of heavy and hard rocking songs that draw upon the fantasy lyrics for which the band is remembered, lots of guitar solos and of course, Ronnie James Dio’s distinctive and unique voice.

If you’ve heard Holy Diver and are wondering where to explore next, The Last In Line should definitely be considered for your next step.

The line up on the album is the same as that on Holy Diver (Dio, Campbell, Bain, Appice) only with the addition of Keyboarder Claude Schnell, who brings a different feel to the keyboards which would gradually become more prominent with subsequent releases.

The album begins, as with all the first four Dio albums, with a fast and energetic opener that is followed by a considered and mid paced title track. The rest of the album is a mixture of hard and heavy material (Breathless, Evil Eyes) speedy numbers (I Speed At Night) and some more commercial melodic moments (Mystery)

As usual with Dio, you get great performances and top notch musicianship (Vivian Campbell in particualr deserves special mention on this album), plenty of memorable riffs and choruses, a fair production job and a bunch of lyrical references to Rainbows. Put simply, if you enjoyed anything else Dio has done, you will enjoy this too.

Put simply The Last In Line is a fantastic album, up there with the very best Dio material and well worth buying if you haven’t already.

Kingcrimsonprog Diver What can be said that hasn’t been already ? Holy Diver is one of the most respected albums in Rock and Metal and Ronnie James Dio himself is one of the most talented and respected artists in the world, be it in Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath or Dio.

Put simply, Holy Diver is one of the few albums that lives up to its hype. The album is as good as people say it is and there is a reason is held in such high esteem, the sheer quality of the music and of course, Ronnie James Dio’s much lauded voice and performance.

The album contains a good mixture of material of various tempos and moods, from the fast and heavy (such as opener Stand Up And Shout) to mid paced numbers like the title track to more melodic numbers like Rainbow In The Dark and my personal favourite Dio track Caught In The Middle.

The great thing about Dio is that it was always more than just a solo act from a famous singer, but an imensly talented band in its own right and Vivian Campbell’s guitar work is absolutely fantastic. The rhythm section of Jimmy Bain on bass and Vinny Appice on drums is rock solid and provides absolutely first class playing and delivery.

One thing that sets Holy Diver apart is that the album features considerably less Keyboards than the next few Dio albums, giving it a distinct sound even in the Dio catologue, seeing as Claude Schnell had not yet been hired when the album was written.

If you are thinking about getting Holy Diver I’d strongly recommend that you do, you will find one of the most enjoyable albums you’ve ever heard. This isn’t the sort of album that you listen to one or two times and then shelve forever, this is the sort of thing you’ll still be listening to for months and months.

Kingcrimsonprog Dio’s Holy Diver Live is a very enjoyable release from one of Rock and Metal’s most famous artists.

During the two hour run time the band play a selection of songs from Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio in addition to performing the entire of the Holy Diver album.

If the band’s line up or the concert’s tracklisting bothers you then feel free to give this a miss, but for everyone else you’ll find a very strong Live Blu Ray indeed.

The sound, both in terms of recording quality and mix is simply excellent and the picture quality is very high, with suitable camera work and a good pace of editing.

Ronnie James Dio’s performance live is fantastic as always and the band which includes Doug Aldrich on guitar, Rudy Sarzo on bass and Scott Warren on keyboards are on top form, performing professionally and delivering the material with flair and enthusiasm.

Drummer Simon Wright even performs a surprisingly enjoyable and musical drum solo, which is lengthy enough to sink your teeth into but still short enough that it never becomes boring.

The band also enliven the material with little twists on the material here and there, such as different drum fills or guitar licks than on record as well as adding dynamic endings to some of the songs which faded out on their original albums.

The only complaint to be had about the film is that there are one or two shots in which the drums on screen are blatantly not coming out of the speakers (simple editing mistakes, where you can see snare rolls in the background during sections without snare rolls) but there are only about three such mistakes in the whole film and therfor not really worth too much concern.

Otherwise, this is a superb release, a strong performance of a selection of classic material, shot and sounding excellent.

Even though there are already a lot of Dio DVDs available, Holy Diver Live is definitely worth getting unless you lost all interest in the prospect of Dio live DVDs anyway, in which case you already know this isn’t for you. For everyone else, this is highly recommended.