The other day I was talking to a few friends about bands that replaced their lead singer and still were able to be as good or even better as before. It didn't take long before Dio was brought up in the conversation.
Ronald James Padavona, also known as Ronnie James Dio or just "Dio" was one of the great voices of heavy metal and a huge influence of mine. He made a name for himself as the frontman of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and also as a solo artist. He was brilliant in all of those capacities and it's not a stretch to say that he helped to shape heavy metal into what it is today.
Unfortunately, Dio left us in 2010 after losing a long battle to cancer but his work lives on the many, many immortal songs that he gifted to us.
A curiosity about Dio is that he is known for popularizing the sign of the horns in heavy metal. He claimed that he got it from his Italian grandmother, who used it to ward off the "evil eye".
To remember this god of metal, I selected a few songs of different phases of his career. I hope you enjoy it!
Rainbow - Man on the Silver Mountain
There are many great songs from his Rainbow years but this one is rather special to me. The first time I listened to it I couldn't stop wondering what he wanted to say with those lyrics. I never got to a final conclusion and "the man on the silver mountain" will assume different meanings to me depending on the day but this song is definitely forever imprinted in me.
Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
Right after leaving Rainbow, Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne, who had just been fired from Black Sabbath. It's not an easy task to replace the Madman himself but Dio did such a great job that even today there are many people who prefer Dio's Sabbath over Ozzy's. I won't get into that discussion this time (another post, maybe?) but the fact is Dio and Black Sabbath's leader Tony Iommi connected instantly and produced masterpieces such as this one:
Dio - Holy Diver
The track Holy Diver, from the homonymous album, is probably one of the most famous songs that Dio ever wrote. Backed by a group of excellent musicians, this was the very first album of the Dio project and it was an instant classic!
Dio - Rainbow in the Dark
Another great track of the album Holy Diver (did I mention this is a great album?), Rainbow in the Dark was the song that introduced me to Dio, and therefore I couldn't leave it out of this list!
Bonus track - Dream On (Aerosmith cover)
It's not an easy task to cover one of the greatest songs by one of the greatest rock bands in history, but that's just what Dio did. Joining forces with guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteem, Dio delivered a powerful and touching version of the classic Aerosmith song. This song is so good it should be in a future post of my "Best Rock Covers" series!
That's it for today guys! I hope you enjoyed my humble tribute to one of the greatest singers and personalities of heavy metal and rock n' roll!
\m/