Ronnie James Dio: C or D?(now RJD R.I.P.)

I saw dio live in the 'eighties, and it was shit. Worse than anvil or ratt even, though not worse than zodiac mindwarp, who probably was a kind of proto-darkness figure. 1/2 way through the gig i got so bored w/thee sluggardly feel, naff solos and general crapness that I left the auditorium and went to the bar where i eavesdropped on the roadie's conversations, which were teh funney.

rainbow - meh. nowt nor summat.

I could have been a dreamer
I could have been the one to fly
I always could have been a dreamer
Cause dreamers never die, no!

i like the first rainbow album. not all the way through, but there are a few decent tracks.

*His Majesty Rod "Whose Boots They Are Not Fit To Tie" Evans is another matter

yes. "the last in line" also classic. plus turning the DIO logo on the covers upside down to find that it spells DEVIL = CLASSIC

I just got Mob Rules! It's fucking awesome! Country Girl is a champagne jam! It's secretly a better album than Heaven and Hell, but don't tell anyone, it'll be our secret!

The town has a lot of Sicilian immigrants (his real last name is Pardovana). Apparently, Little Ronnie was the originator of the Devil Horns metal sign (that is, the thumb, index and pinkie finger) — or rather, his little Sicilian grandmother was, as she used it to ward off the evil eye. He learned it from her and the rest is history...

http://www.dimwhit.com/dio/mp3/index.html

I grew up just north of Cortland (in Syracuse). My dad gave Dio a few singing lessons many, many years back. I worked with a woman from Homer, which is a small town just outside of Cortland, and she was still pissed at Ronnie because when he got big he was going around telling people he was from Cortland when in fact he was from Homer. Funny shit. Maybe Homer should protest the naming of that street.

My fiance wants to know, QN: what's your family name?

Native, Homer is something like two/three miles away from Cortland. With modern strip mall sprawl, I'm sure one would never know when passing from one town to the other. But this woman was just so damn upset about Ronnie not giving Homer its due. We both worked at a fabric store in the early-90s.

The last name is Farrar, and like so many from that area my grandparents are from Italy.

This guy ain't afraid to admit he's from Homer. Cortland is given props for being a dairy community that bred a surprising number of big time rockers.

I'll side w/Cortland in the Cortland vs. Homer battle. My high school sweetheart went to SUNY Cortland.

-- Martin Skidmore

(I should mention this is me posting the above, not Martin!)

-- Ned at Martin's place

Aww Damn! I so wanted that to be martin.

haa six guitar solos, one after the other wtf

Uh, s/b VIV Campbell, of course. (Bonehead.)

I've heard that 1987's Dream Evil is supposed to be pretty good. It's odd, though, that Rhino Flashback reissued that, but not The Last In Line. I picked up a Rock Candy remaster of Holy Diver a few years ago with an interview with Dio. After Last In Line, I don't know if anything else is really worth getting.

never cared for Dream Evil as a kid, but i should give it a second listen.

i still think Sign of the Southern Cross is his career greatest moment. \m/

holy diver and his work with sabbath is classic as far as i'm concerned. also video for holy diver is so awesomely cheesy.

Ronnie James Dio has been diagnosed with stomach cancer, his wife has said.

Writing on his official website, Wendy Dio said the former Rainbow and Black Sabbath singer was in the early stages of the illness.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8380305.stm

:( He looked really healthy when I saw Heaven & Hell in August. I'm going to send him magic healing vibes.

This is too bad. The guy has been on a roll lately. Plus I've heard he's one of the good guys (never met him myself). Definitely hope he gets better.

major bummer - I wish him the best. totally sweet guy.

Sad news.

Stargazer >>>>>>>>>>> Kashmir. Honestly.

oh man...this sucks

yeah i saw him on the first heaven and hell tour and he looked and sounded fantastic, what a performer and a pro.

I've seen him twice...and his voice is still in incredible shape. Dickinson has lost a lot of power, Halford can still do it but you can see him really push to hit those notes now, but Ronnie seems to do it so effortlessly. And he's a consummate showman. Maybe cheesy now, but respectful to the crowd, friendly, will shake a fan's hand...just a really freaking nice dude.

I love Ronnie. It could be Rainbow Dio, Sabbath Dio, Holy Diver Dio...or the hilariously hippy stuff he did with Richie Blackmore on Butterfly Ball. If elves and goblins and men on silver mountains aren't your thing, I understand that...but come on, that VOICE? He can't be anything but classic. (excepting the synth-era Dio which I really try not to think too much about)

and I'm 100% bummed about the stomach cancer news. that really, really sucks.

I've seen Dio three times...once as a headliner at MSG in '86 or so, once supporting Iron Maiden at MSG 20 years later, and again a year or two ago on the Judas Priest/Heaven & Hell/Motörhead/Testament tour. The Heaven & Hell album is in my Top Ten of '09. And I got to interview him earlier this year (feature links here and here). Terrifically nice guy.

Wow. How does stomach cancer rate on the beatability scale?

I dont think its one of the real beatable ones.

But I dont want to bring any negative vibes. So disregard my last post.

this man has killed dragons, he can beat cancer

From 3:15 to 4:45, his power is invoked and proven (NSFW cause of swear words and all):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7zDiKDbazY

We will make sure that he's very well taken care of...

That's horrible news. I wish him the best.

And I can't believe no one ever told me this existed..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZktrrqT1A0

This makes me feel bad about making that Dio/Rumplestiltskin poster. Get well Ronnie James.

Dio doing ok: http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/an-update-on-the-health-of-ronnie-james-dio/

god bless ronnie

I'm very happy to hear this.

Good news! 2010 needed some of this. I was actually a little anxious when I saw this thread was bumped.

So was I!

It's official now, and our hearts can go back to being broken for real this time.

http://www.facebook.com/OfficialRonnieJamesDio

Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May.
Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes
before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he
was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have
all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal... with this
terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever. Wendy

― A. Begrand, Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:07 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

:(

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:12 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

rip ronnie james dio

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:12 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Oh fuck. RIP, Ronnie James Dio. /m\ (sad horns)

― EZ Snappin, Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:25 PM (51 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

man, me and a couple buddies were just talking about this friday night. how dio was one of the most positive guys out there and if anyone could beat this, it might be him.

fuck.

RIP. :-(

― The world’s most violent pizza delivery man (Alan N), Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:39 PM (37 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

You better pick a Dio related work for the listening group this week Alan.

― EZ Snappin, Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:40 PM (37 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah, no doubt.

this sucks.

― The world’s most violent pizza delivery man (Alan N), Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:41 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

just one of the best performers I've ever seen too. guy was great til the very end.

― The world’s most violent pizza delivery man (Alan N), Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:42 PM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I was worried when he cancelled the Heaven & Hell tour for the summer, but still...

FU, cancer!

― EZ Snappin, Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:43 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I think this deserves its own thread

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:54 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark

Again, Rest In Piece. Throwin' sad horns /m\

between the velvet lies
there's a truth that's hard as steeeeeeel

RIP.

Can a Mod at RIP to the title? Let people know the shitty horrible reason for the bump.

at = add, obv.

got it.

I never dug the guy's music too much, reasons as per oystein upthread, but he always seemed like a decent human being whenever you read about him. What a shame.

holy fuck no :( :( :(

Oh no. Fuck no. I thought this was bumped to say he was doing well. Fuckin FUCK.

So much love for this guy. RIP Ronnie

I had first row tickets to the Heaven and Hell show last August -- one of the biggest thrills of my concert-going life. Ronnie looked and SOUNDED AWESOME. Thinking back to that show, can't believe the guy only had nine months left on the planet with the rest of us. man what goddamn shame. god did he fucking rule

gonna cover a song of his tonight at the cancer benefit I'm playing. it would be hard to really convey the impact first seeing this guy on midnight special (could have been don kirshner's but I don't think so) had on young me. that voice. the dedication to the stage. the wicked vibe. and when heaven and hell hit, man, I was terrified of that chorus. guy put in road & studio work since what - 1960? earlier? rest well man. you helped a lot of people for a lot of years and that's real.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEV4Tov1GBM

RIP

RIP indeed--this guy did nothing but bring it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkR87msW3XI

'Neon Knights' is like my ideal metal song. That single Rhino comp CD The Dio Years has been one of my very favorite albums the last couple of years and the Heaven & Hell record was superb. I'm sorry I came to appreciate this dude so late. Man, this sucks.

FU, cancer!

― EZ Snappin, Sunday, May 16, 2010 3:43 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

THIS BEARS REPEATING

"Neon Knights" is totally like top 5 of Sab song, including the Ozzy era. It's just a monster.

man I need to get that Dio Years comp still. of the three 'new' songs they included, they played "Devil Cried" on the first tour, and it's a wicked, doomy cut

One of the other new tracks on there, 'Ear In The Wall', is one of the best things on the disc.

A man so awesome he actually named himself after God.

RIP

Rest in peace, Ronnie. A golden soulful voice, and performer of "Holy Diver", an all time classic. The metal/hard rock world is one legend lesser today. We'll miss you and you are irreplaceable.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8685851.stm

and also props for your vocal work on the underrated Dehumanizer album...

there was no more direct link to what i thought in th 80s to be actual metal than the dio led sabbath and rainbow...i arrived too late to see ozzysabbath,but got there just in time to attend th black n blue tour,having already tried to decipher all th glyphs on their record covers..i started in on Rainbow and noticed that the gatefold photo of the two fans holding a banner w Rainbows name on it was actually a clumsily retouched photo of a Rush concert.Blackmore let Dio make th trip up his silvery mountains and dragons and boats and lies and swords didnt seem ironic to me one bit.If they were living inside a medieval metal fantasy park then who was i to break th spell..it was an awesome experience to be pummeled by a dwarf w leather lungs and Im sorry i spent one penny on Graham Bonnett..ELf Roollzzxxx long live rock n roll

First Dio song I ever heard was 'Last In Line' and it blew my mind. Best pipes in business...so much fakery in metal but Ronnie was the real deal. And 'Love is All' from Butterfly Ball was one of my favorite songs as a kid so I've been a Ronnie fan practically my whole life. God I'm so sad over this ;_;

"sing from your nuts don't sing from your throat"

I think this weeks metal listening club will be 3 era's of Dio week. Rainbow/Black Sabbath/Dio. I hope everyone will participate if they can.

damn girl who went to my hs and is now in an all-female metal band posting fb pictures of her chillin w/dio

Spent a bunch of time w/ the two Dio Sabbath albums recently, as they just got reissued and I was reviewing them... RJD has had a pretty wild career when you read up on it a bit. Seems like such a champ in general. RIP

Mordy's Metal Listening Club Volume #5: A Tribute To Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010) - Rainbow , Black Sabbath & DIO

Love the dry understatement via Wikipedia:

Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padavona in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an only child in an Italian family. They lived in Portsmouth until the family moved to Cortland, New York early in his life. His parents raised him in the Roman Catholic church, an experience he found unsatisfactory.

technically there were three Dio Sabbath albums in two separate eras.

So glad I saw him do the Heaven & Hell tour. Froze my ass off in Concord pavillion that night but I can still see that 'Sign of the Southern Cross' performance in my mind like it was yesterday. Sabbath with Dio was a real revelation to my smalltown ass, thinking Sabbath ended with Ozzy. What a frikking joy.

four albums, really. the "Heaven and Hell" album was a friggin Black Sabbath album, Sharon Osbourne be damned. and it was a GREAT album

plus don't forget a live double-album too

I'm still not a fan of The Devil You Know, but "Bible Black" is a masterpiece. Ronnie's last one, sadly.

Oh, The Devil You Know is a fantastic album. All the over-the-topness of the prior Dio-era albums, plus the crushing heaviosity of Paranoid and Master of Reality.

RIP

\m/ in peace

RIP Ronnie James Dio \\m// 4ever

RIP

RIP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD6d8vAL9EY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg-4E-sGbig

RIP.

those lyrics by Tenacious D kind of gave me a chill tonight:

Tenacious D - Dio Lyrics

Dio has rocked (echo: rocked) for a long, long time,
Now it's time for him to pass the torch.
He has songs of wilderbeasts and angels,
He has soared on the wings of a demon.

It's time to pass the torch,
You're too old to rock, no more rockin' for you.
We're takin' you to a home,
But we will sing a song about you.

And we will make sure that you're very well taken care of.
You'll tell us secrets that you've learned. Woah!
Your sauce will mix with ours,
And we'll make a good goulash baby.
Dio, time to go!
You must give your cape and scepter to me.
And a smaller one for KG.
Go! Go! Dio! Dio!

"Neon Knights" is understandably brilliant, but always liked the rave-up at the end of the H&H title track. Dio slays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUJH7y1yK_E

I loved this dude.

There are over 30,000 comments on the Facebook death announcement.

wendy's comment is dignified and moving.

i associate ronnie james dio more with rainbow than black sabbath, but i'm going to go back and reacquaint myself with his catalog.

Best Dio performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SedQcg-65a8

and also props for your vocal work on the underrated Dehumanizer album...

― Sherman Helmsley Teabag (Cattle Grind), Sunday, May 16, 2010 9:26 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

this is way otm. "i" is a massive track.

also, lol.

A man so awesome he actually named himself after God.

saw the man live twice...once at the medina entertainment center, a suburban shithole wedding dance hall/bowling alley...this was mid/late 90s, probably the low ebb of Dio's career...unreal show to me still..super violent crowd, a dude that looked like greg allman made my fried smoke pot, Love/Hate opened cuz the guitarist was in Dio's band....

Dio threaten to kick someone's ass...but overall they just destroyed it. played it like it was wembley fucking arena...

saw him in 08 on the Heaven & Hell tour, was good to see him back in his natural habitat, the arena....some people are too big for clubs.

to this day, can't think of another singer that could project his persona to a whole arena like that (probably get shit for saying this but the only one that really comes to mind is Bono)....

he also yelled at someone at the Heaven & Hell show, for throwing garbage onstage...He said "Believe it or not, we are professionals, and we are trying to put on a show for you....so please do not throw garbage where we work"

I thought it was so admirable. I bet he never half-assed a show in his whole life. All those thousands of shows and I bet he gave 110% for every goddamn one of them.

He's the greatest metal singer, one of the great rock singers.

Elf is awesome...Rainbow is unreal good....the two Sabbath records he did - if I'm being honest, well, sometimes I like them better than any of the Ozzy ones...I love the Ozzy ones but the Dio ones are so polished, so fat-free, more forward motion and less sludge.

When I was a kid, I saw the cover to "Last In Line" and it pretty much defined everything I hoped rock music would be...I didn't understand the difference between punk and metal then (kids understand things we don't) so I thought maybe it was punk rock, it looked scary like it was going to possess me...the creature was making the "devil sign" which some older kids had showed me in school, they said you could go to hell for making it...

I think people have put Dio in the "camp" category because sometimes we use camp as a defense...because some things are too perfect, too audacious, too hooky, too well produced, like we are afraid of that much pure pleasure, like the song "Holy Diver"...people try to laugh at it, but on the other hand you can tell they are loving it, like every second, every lyric, everything about that song is just perfect. But then we grow up and maybe we think we should like "smarter" things or more "mature" things.

but I'll always love Dio.

RIP.

p.s. i would punch dave q in the face so hard right now if i could. i really hate having to read that first post.

(He did blame Blackmore, fwiw)

Lars Ulrich remembers.

danbunny's post is so awesome. thanks dude.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j232/wunderfulmeat/Dio-Fans-1.jpg

Tony Iommi's statement.

Pretty cool interview from 2000 that's been reposted.

heard the news while in the studio yesterday :( super sad

Still gutted.

BTW guys what's the Magica album like? From one of the reposted articles I found this kind of tantalizing:

"The first thing I had was the word 'Magica,' " said Dio. "The hard part was deciding what 'Magica' was going to be. Once I decided to make it a book of magic spells, the rest of the story started filling out and the songs followed the pattern of the story."

Really like M@tt wrote upthread.

R.I.P.

sorry, was supose to read:

Really like what M@tt wrote upthread.

I've always unabashedly loved Dio's lyrics. They are really easy to make fun of (I even made a crack about "Rainbow in the Dark" in one of my reviews), and even if they don't quite make sense, the man understood the primal power in the imagery and phrasing. Plus they're incredibly memorable.

I love the lyrics to "Don't Talk To Strangers"

Don't talk to strangers
Mmmmh

Don't talk to strangers
'Cause they're only there to do you harm
Don't write in starlight
'Cause the words may come out real

Don't hide in doorways
You may find the key that opens up your soul
Don't go to heaven
'Cause it's really only hell

Don't smell the flowers
They're an evil drug to make you lose your mind
Don't dream of women
'Cause they only bring you down

Hey you, you know me, you've touched me, I'm real
I'm forever the one that lets you look and see and
Feel me
I'm danger - I'm the stranger

And I, I'm darkness, I'm anger, I'm pain
I am master
The evil song you sing inside your brain
Drive you insane
Don't talk

Don't let them inside your mind, yeah
Run away, run away, go!

No - no

Don't let them in your mind
Protect your soul

Don't dance in darkness
You may stumble and you're sure to fall
Don't write in starlight
'Cause the words may come out real

Don't talk to strangers [Don't talk to strangers]
'Cause they're only there to make you sad
Don't dream of women
'Cause they'll only bring you down
Yeah

Run, run, run, run away!

I saw Dio on the Sacred Heart tour back in '85 or '86. There was a huge mechanical fire-breathing dragon that Ronnie slew with a sword. Best stage show ever.

just little things strike me like, why did he say "jump!...JUMP!...jump on the tiger"? the two little excited jumps! are what make that line...he didn't have to do it that way...i wonder if he did it by mistake once, like went in too early on the first take than realized it made the song that much better

That moment at the beginning of "The Last in Line" where it goes from ballad to ROCKER is one of my favorite moments in music ever.

I love how he shouted "look out!!" all the time.

I saw Dio on the Sacred Heart tour back in '85 or '86. There was a huge mechanical fire-breathing dragon that Ronnie slew with a sword. Best stage show ever.

Yep. I saw this same tour at Madison Square Garden in '86, with Accept opening up. I looked up the tour dates on a Dio fan site the other day; he criss-crossed the US twice, with a European leg in between, on that tour. It was a different world.

My first exposure to Dio was back in high school, when I traded my copy of The Bloodhound Gang's One Fierce Beer Coaster for my friend's copy of The Last in Line. At the time, I agonized over that, but I think I came out on top in that deal.

I've got a second obit on the Village Voice website.

Mr Veg saw them in '84 at Oakland Arena...front-row, decked out in his full-metal uniform, including the spiked arm gauntlets...Ronnie must have approved of his metal-bringing, because he picked him out of the crowd and pointed at him with an approving set of horns. I always thought that was pretty awesome. Cause you know, he doesn't give the horns to just anyone :)

Didn't.

Sigh. Using past tense is really bumming me out.

xpost -- that was a great tribute btw. Really nice job.

Yeah good one Phil. I put a link to it on my FB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNZ7oFJ3j8k

Very good indeed Phil. Ade's also got an excellent one up:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/125706-a-light-in-the-black

I'm happy that this thread went from aging hipsters making fun of RJD to passionate metal fans talking about how he changed their lives. I think the thing about Dio that hipsters can never quite wrap their head around is that he's so damn earnest and positive. Not a single ounce of irony to him, so while he was incredibly easy to make fun of, you kind of feel like a jerk for doing so. Hell, you can see people backpedaling slightly about the man himself in that initial series of posts.

xpost Thanks unperson for that link. I was trying to remember who the opening act was--turns out it was Rough Cutt.

god fuck the beginning of this thread

It was Accept when I went (the Madison Square Garden show in June '86), and in fact I was there to see them more than Dio. But I still remember that show very vividly, something I can't say about very many gigs I've been to over the last 25 years.

I've noticed that there are a bunch of old ILM threads that start like this, where it's like S/D This Artist and it begins with a lot of challopsy "ugh Stevie Wonder (or whoever) is the WORST so overrated" type of garbage

xp

yet some pine for the old days of ilx
xposts

Like that "Does Tom Petty have any redeeming qualities at all?" thread.

yes exactly

Uh, too kind of you?

I first heard Dio via The Last in Line back in 1984, but it took me well over 20 years to finally get a chance to see and hear the man in person, at the start of the Heaven & Hell tour. That presence was incredible to witness. He was the walking example of how metal can make the littlest guy sound like a giant.

Adrien, your old review in PopMatters of the 'Dio Years' comp was what made me look beyond my "No Ozzy No Sabbath" preconceptions, and I thank you for opening my eyes.

Glad to have helped!

I saw Dio once, opening for Metallica, Lock Up the Wolves / And Justice For All tour; don't remember too much about it really. Had tickets for Dio (the band) last December (cancelled) and Heaven & Hell coming August... Such a pity, but I'm so glad he went out on such a high note with Heaven & Hell and the whole reappreciation following The Devil You Know (#4 in my year end list) and The Dio Years compilation. My favorite Dio song will always be "Neon Knights"; like Jon said above, such a perfect metal anthem and for me the ultimate testament to metal as exuberant, adrenalizing, life affirming and just plain FUN music, instead of the doom/gloom/goon stuff its often made out to be.

He was the walking example of how metal can make the littlest guy sound like a giant.

^^^^^^

That moment at the beginning of "The Last in Line" where it goes from ballad to ROCKER is one of my favorite moments in music ever.

^^^^^^^^^

"The Last in Line" for me is so all-time. "We'll know for the first time/if we're evil or divine/we're the last in line" - I can name one singer-songwriter type who was taking fucking notes when he heard lyrics than economical & rich with vibe.

that economical.

What song did u cover last night if i may ask?

Rainbow in the Dark

aw

Nice!

Spun Heaven And Hell this afternoon (Holy Diver this morning)...Neon Knights IS ear-blisteringly awesome. Joyous, even. 'Children of The Sea' though, that was my 'I always forget about this one' moment...just kind of epic and beautiful, in the way Ronnie could be. Sabbath could do epic with Ozzy, but the beauty thing, that's all Ronnie. Fuck I miss him so bad already.

Children Of The Sea is my fave dio era sabbath track

In the dark of the day
or the black of the sun
he's coming for you!
Look out!

R.I.P. Just bought Rainbow Rising Thursday, and even though I've already been listening to it twice a day maybe I'll add a third spin.

I'd like to draw your attention to the verse in 'Voodoo' just after the guitar solo, when RJD sings 'Say you don't love me-- you bur-r-r-r-r-rn', with the elongated 'burn' quickly descending 5 notes. He doesn't sing it as a smooth downward glissando, but as a descent of 5 quick, clearly defined steps-- like auto-tune before autotune. Something about it makes me feel insane every time.

A great performer, a great guy. Nothing more to say than what's been said already above. Obviously this one hurts.

RIP

Geezer's statement (here at Blabbermouth) made me tear up all over again. Rest In Piece, Ronnie.

Oh my god, that totally misted me up. <3 you Geezer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ3OjffJ1w0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXg6qHh9G1M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T7xtXzyEvk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcbwdOOQMbU&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_EovccxolI&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmbuHKuyDRc&feature=related

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8thD3PsKI1s&feature=related

awww, geezer's statement is pretty powerful stuff. ;_;

i'm on an e-mail list of metal label people who knew ronnie well, and, man, the heartache in their e-mails. oof. and just the sheer LOVE for the man. his friends would have literally died for him. story after story about how generous and genuinely NICE he was. i posted those early songs just to give people a sense of how far and how long he had travelled in the world of music. such a great voice.

love those clips, Scott!

Mr Veg told me a cool story the other day. Working for Bill Graham Presents, working a early 90's Dio show at a basketball gym in San Jose for, maybe 2000 seats. (The lean years, oof.) Young Norwegian girl was waiting by the back gates, so he talked to her to find out what her deal was, kill some time. She said she was waiting for Ronnie. He asked her if she was sure that he would see her from the bus, and she said, He always does. When he asked her if she had a ticket, she said, no it's okay, Ronnie will take care of it. He figures this girl is maybe 16, and she's been following the band around for god knows how long. So a while later the bus comes flying through the gate at 50mph...bus pulls to a stop. Sure enough, Ronnie comes out of the bus, runs back to the gate, gives the girl a hug, 'Hi how are you, great to see you!'...hands her a couple of tickets and bobs your uncle.

I thought that was the coolest thing. And I'll bet there's a million stories like that. What a guy.

So bummed I didn't go to any of the Heaven & Hell shows and will never see RJD perform. Fuck, I'd better go see BOC in Atlantic City this summer, E Bloom and Buck Dharma aren't getting any younger.

Some memorial/donation information:

Wendy Dio has asked that in lieu of sending flowers, please make a donation to the Ronnie James Dio "STAND UP AND SHOUT CANCER FUND." You can send your check or money order to the Niji Entertainment Group, 12400 Ventura Blvd. #624, Studio City, CA, 91604. We will have a Paypal link set up shortly for those that want to use a debit or credit card to make a donation to the Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund." Thank you everyone.

--

There will be a Public Memorial Service for Ronnie James Dio on Sunday, May 30th at 2:00 PM at The Hall Of Liberty located at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068. This will be celebration of the life and music of Ronnie James Dio and is open to all his friends and fans from around the world.

I'm shocked at how few of my friends made the trek to see Heaven & Hell w/Neurosis in Seattle last summer. I knew that could be my one chance and I took it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnTTYhRiqI8

this is so sad:

http://blog.vh1.com/2010-05-04/exclusive-golden-gods-awards-preview-ronnie-james-dio-on-his-comeback-from-cancer/

Afraid to click. What if cry.

I saw Heaven and Hell on all three tours -- 2007 with Megadeth opening up, 2008 as part of the "Masters of Metal" tour with Testament, Priest, and Motorhead, and then last summer when they were again headlining (Coheed and Cambria opened, whatever.) That's what makes this so hard to take, it was becoming my summer "thing" to have a Black Sabbath show to look forward to every year. I honestly expected it to just keep going on. and now that's been taken away. (sounds selfish I know, obviously nothing compared to the loss that Wendy, Geezer, and the rest of his inner circle are feeling.) I'm serious when I said upthread that being in the front row last year was one of the greatest thrills of my life. Me and my good buddy Jake went and we had goosebumps the whole time. He was such an amazing performer.

the loss feels greater too because he's someone who's music was so firmly *back* in my life after probably not honestly thinking much about him for like a decade. even though my first three Black Sabbath albums ever were in this order: 1. 'We Sold Our Soul For Rock and Roll' (on cassette), 2. 'Heaven and Hell' (on cassette), 3. 'Live Evil' (on cassette). Man I used to listen to my 'Heaven and Hell' and 'Live Evil' cassettes on my walkman on every family car trip as a kid...

then when the Heaven and Hell reunion happened, I was so into it. I bought that 'The Devil You Know' album the day it came out last year. god what a bummer this is. the world feels lonelier knowing that Ronnie is no longer here on the planet with us.

Jon you should definitely go see BOC!! They are still a lot of fun live. Rudy Sarzo on bass! I will be seeing them on the 4th of July in Naperville, Illinois...

Jon you should definitely go see BOC!! They are still a lot of fun live

^^^^ on this. On tour forever!

Wow they play at a casino on the Oregon coast with Foghat in July...

Just a word of warning: I saw them fairly recently, and it was basically a very good blue oyster cult cover band. Not nearly as good as I imagine they were in their prime, unlike Dio.

Jon you should definitely go see BOC!! They are still a lot of fun live. Rudy Sarzo on bass! I will be seeing them on the 4th of July in Naperville, Illinois...

― Stormy Davis, Wednesday, May 19, 2010 8:42 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha i wish i could embed that "needle being yanked off a record" scratching sound to automatically play when your eye reach the "Rudy Sarzo on bass!" part of that post

does he do his douchey "lick his fingers and sexually molest the bass" move still>

nah, that's just wrong. I have been seeing them every summer for the last eleven years or so (only exception being 2006, when their only Chicago area show happened to be the same night that Os Mutantes were closing out the Pitchfork fest), and they are consistently great. with Eric and Buck, you really still are viewing the heart of the band. It would be nice if Albert was there, but oh well. Buck is still such a joy to see live, his guitar playing is as sharp as ever. and the setlist is different every night. they pull out deeper cuts like "Black Blade", "Shooting Shark", "Quicklime Girl", etc...

x-post M@tt -- indeed he does still "lick the fingers". many many times throughout the performance

it's fun though. he's a performer. they are all performers. Eric does his "Cities on flame with WHAT???" "CITIES ON FLAME WITH WHAT???" thing, his intro rap to 'Godzilla', tells stories between songs. it's all good

lol glad rudy is keepin it real!

when i was a kid i bought this rudy sarzo three cassette bass lesson tape set. his lesson plans were frankly ridiculous and fairly useless to the novice.

Rudy wrote an autobio a year or so back... I'm actually pretty curious to read it. say what you will but the guy has had a pretty interesting career, playing with lots of folks. including our dear Dio.

http://www.amazon.com/Off-Rails-Aboard-Crazy-Blizzard/dp/097969289X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274312730&sr=1-1

Sarzo is a total ham on stage, which fit better with Dio than BOC.

it's fun though. he's a performer. they are all performers. Eric does his "Cities on flame with WHAT???" "CITIES ON FLAME WITH WHAT???" thing, his intro rap to 'Godzilla', tells stories between songs. it's all good

I'm pretty sure I told this story on one of the BOC threads but I saw them once (with Firehose opening!) at an abandoned movie theater in Riverside, CA. Absolutely no reason for it to be anything other than a dismal low-paying gig, but BOC played it like it was the Forum in 1977 - complete with a hilariously insane gibbering (even more insane than Peter Wolf) story/rant from Bloom warning you about the dangers of alien abduction should you and your girlfriend drive up to Lover's Lane after the show - before immediately launching into a furious version of "Take Me Away."

The combined age of everyone on stage is over 240 years here, but goddamnit it rocks harder than most anything. Old wizards stomping the earth one last time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riSwLDznuGU

Honestly, seeing Dio later in his career kinda made me start to hate Ozzy...

even though I love Ozzy, like obviously his solo shit and his Sab albums mean the world...

...but just the way he allows himself to be made a fool of, the way he dodders around for "one more" farewell tour, just hacking the fucking shows and piddling around throwing water on the crowd like a clown

seeing Dio bring it and have so much fire and even a little anger still i was so impressed.

You do know that Ozzy pours those buckets of water on himself to mask his incontinence, right?

Neurologically speaking, Osbourne is pretty much a deep-fried Snickers bar.

xpost -- uh.

Ozzy was never much of a showman, even in his prime

unperson? really?

ugh...

man, i didn't know he was that bad off.

i thought it was well known

i guess i don't read that much about ozzy now for a reason

anyway obv he's one of my all time favs, i just find the post-osbournes thing disgusting, but that's mostly sharon i guess :/

Ozzy is doing a Christmas album. Sigh.

No way it'll be better than either Halford's or Twisted Sister's.

ref'd on one of the other ilm metal threads:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_5wsTzQXzM

watched this last night. pretty great interview w/dio shortly after he got booted from sabbath post-dehumanizer.

at one point he mentions ozzy and then says something like, "ugh, why do I keep mentioning that jerk-off's name?" :-D

he's obviously pretty pissed at sabbath (understandably) but comes off as very down-to-earth otherwise. gives lots of props to his bandmates and things like that.

also writes-off side 2 of rainbow's rising as "self-indulgent shit"! :-o

pt 2 is where shit gets real, fyi

I like that, even as an older guy, he was still had his mind open to stuff like napalm death.

I think that interview may have been done at his lowest point... interestingly enough, when I talked with him for a few minutes in 2002, he said that he wasn't a big fan of Strange Highways and Angry Machines anymore.

dio otm about bosnia and iraq

btw how are those albums? kind of curious to hear them

Eh. Haven't listened to them in forever, but I remember them being pretty underwhelming.

Is Magica worth hearing? I like the concept that each song is a 'magic spell'.

Magica is pretty decent. "Lord of the Last Day" is genuinely awesome. Otherwise, though, the songs are a little too samey. If you want to listen to a later Dio album, I highly recommend Killing the Dragon.

in fact, I'm going to listen to that one right now. "It's time to be killing the Dragon -- again!"

I think that interview may have been done at his lowest point...

yeah, he gets into how the musical climate of the time (1994, iirc?) wasn't too hospitable for guys like him.

Man, I forgot how great this album was... total return to form.

speaking of, and setting aside for a moment their personal beef, i've obv been listening to a lot of Dio and honestly can't decide of Viv Campbell is an underrated monster or just a cut-rate randy rhoads. thoughts? is there any conventional wisdom on this?

Campbell was an awesome shredder on two Dio records (and Sweet Savage, who were really good), but after that he just stopped trying, going for easier gigs like playing rhythm guitar for Whitesnake and Def Leppard. He and Ronnie had a huge falling-out, and Campbell is pretty much the only significant former bandmate who hasn't issued a statement this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOwZBo8FQvo

rip

WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH To Picket RONNIE JAMES DIO's Public Memorial Service?

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=140446

disgusting.

otm comment from that article!

I would rather hang out in hell with Ronnie and all that is Metal than be in heaven with these fucked up freaks.

I predict mayhem

what assholes.

this guy rules:

COMMENT | no violence
posted by : tyranakok
5/20/2010 10:04:03 PM

I'll be there. And I'm glad I read it hear first, so that I'll be able to meditate on it, and not be goaded into violence.
Dio wouldn't want that.
In fact, it'll be just like going to a Dio concert in the 80's. They had the same kind of pricks outside, yelling at us, or carrying crosses, all kinds of stuff.
It was kind of part of the fun, and the ceremony of the event.
You kinda looked for these guys while your pulling up, and you get excited, because you know when you see them, you've arrived at the most face melting metal show around.

So, i encourage no violence, or even recognition of these sick bastards.
How great would it be, for them to not even get shouted at, and people just talk amongst themselves as they pass, like we don't even hear them. Then, we'll be strong, and not drawn down to they're small minded level.

anybody with me?

nice

wow, didn't know about this (read abt it in the quietus):

from "the butterfly's ball" apparently conceived by roger glover...this song sung by dio as a cartoon frog :)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6894193252844776081#

Ive been in Mexico the past week, just want to say, upon reflection on this thread, how great reading it has been. I only got a small opportunity to join in above, but this thread has been a great tribute to one of my musical heroes. Thanks everyone.

Michael Moore vs Phelps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhekTRrvGrI

http://www.slate.com/id/2287075/

Atlas Shrugged: Part I, the new cinematic adaptation of Ayn Rand's multimillion-selling novel, ends with a long list of special thanks. The producers thank the Club for Growth, the organization that helps liberal Republicans spend more time with their families; FreedomWorks, the non-Koch-funded Tea Party group; the Atlas Society, a think tank that promotes Rand's ideas and legacy; and Ronnie James Dio. The late singer for Elf, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath, one of the founding banshees of heavy metal, was one of the people who kept the project alive.

been binging on Dio the last few weeks, with his Sabbath albums, Rainbow, whatever I can find with him on it. God I can't believe we're coming on one year anniversary of his death :(

Whenever I listen to him it feels like he's still here...and then the album ends and I remember he's gone. Sucks.

I just bought Holy Diver earlier today, and I've been loving Sabbath's Mob Rules for the past year and playing it a lot. Holy Diver is fucking great! He had a certain presence as a vocalist whereby even though his singing is so highly mannered and demonstrative, it feels very personal and genuine and direct... A really interesting and awesome combination of qualities.

Via Ian Christe, a monument in Bulgaria:

https://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/580753_439626042743849_548607100_n.jpg

Nice!

Somehow I knew you would be the first to respond.

You sent up the batsignal :)

A friend of a friend on FB: "I would like to assume that just formed from the ether one day, bursting forth from the fires of hell."

A little context:

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=146683

Also:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5Vmv2txExk

okay lol'ing at this off the blabbermouth site:

http://www.blabbermouth.net/reviewpics/mayorkavarna1.jpg
Kavarna Mayor Tzonko Tzonev with MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio

Honestly the caption could be switched and it could still work these days.

Ned, have you been sitting for Dio statues again?

Only in my mind.

I randomly found this on Spotify and thought I'd post it here instead of the Christmas music thread.

Ronnie, Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, and Simon Wright doing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. \m/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHjc3HUrGd0

omg

I love the way Ronnie sings it like he WROTE the fucking thing, it's so rad

I mentioned Ronnie to a friend of mine, who said he had never heard of him. I sent him the Holy Diver video and he comes back to me all meh, and pointedly said it 'reeks of Saxon'.

I have no idea how he's heard of Saxon but hadn't heard of Dio, unless he's full of shit and just googled some band names to sound smart

i need new friends

reeks of Saxon

Saxon reeks of denim and leather.

lol

I have no idea how he's heard of Saxon but hadn't heard of Dio,

yeah this is kind of o_0

make him listen to Stargazer next

I am going to rain down Elf and Rainbow on him

'reeks of silver mountains'

One of my best friends calls Elf "The Shit Faces"

haha!! wtf?

Oh, and then "Feces" once he's made the first comparison. He's been using those two lines for at least a decade.

He doesn't like anything with boogie piano but grudgingly admits Faces were pretty great.

that's hilarious

is yr friend britishes? i wld say that in the uk, 'saxon' is a marginally better known word/signifier of heaviosity than dio is

I would say that was bollocks.

he's australian, doesn't even like metal

p sure he's trolling me

if he doesn't like metal his opinion on Dio or Saxon is not worth a tuppeny fart

lol I love you nv

I don't even let people in my house if they can't effortlessly sing the first verse of "Rainbow in the Dark" immediately after knocking.

I've been lonely for some time

<3

that's kind of my thing -- I literally cannot comprehend someone hearing Dio for the first time and not going HOLY SHIT THAT'S AWESOME

otm

5 years ago today

;_;

jump
jump
jump on the tiger

rocking "Holy Diver" LP tonight.

yes!!

so good

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0003/515/MI0003515838.jpg

how amazing is this cover

totes amazing
i love the chain-whip

the splashes around the priest are super dramatic. you wouldn't get that with a photo or cgi. it looks like the Great Wave off Kanagawa in there! sideways horns. full moon. what time of day is it? it looks like night at the moon but also morning/dusk over the mountains. or is that the fires of hell? it almost looks like a collage. very surreal. amazing painting. i love the flow of it all, how the chain draws the eye towards a weightless and harmonized chaos, while perfectly matching the old Germanic-style D in DIO.

Oh dear.. Ronnie James Dio Hologram Debuts at German Metal Festival Wacken Open Air

http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7461829/ronnie-james-dio-hologram-wacken-open-air-germany-festival-2016

When do we get the all-hologram Rock n roll heaven supergroup tour

for real, is this just a passing fad or are we doomed to live in a rock n roll dystopia of holographic tribute acts at every bar and venue that ponies up for the projector setup

the ghost of Dio appears

http://www.stereogum.com/1892776/surprise-ronnie-james-dio-hologram-closes-german-metal-festival/news/

I just fucked up didn't I.

his power is invoked and proven

My eyes are bleeding!

YOU’VE GOT TO BLEED FOR THE DANCAHHH

RIDE THE TIGAH

JUMP
JUMP

fucking ten years today :(

;_;

if i was a baseball player my walk-on music would be “Time To Burn”

Joey Belladonna is doing a Dio tribute set tonight featuring Rainbow, Sabbath, and Dio songs. At this tiny like 200 capacity venue ten minutes from me.

Interested to see how it sounds as his voice is definitely different than Dio's but it'll be cool to see this in an intimate space

that sounds amazing! Joey’s voice is v different as you say, but he for sure has the range. (And I think a touch of Dio-esque sincerity)

In my head I can hear Joey doing a good version of “man on the silver mountain”

He used to do Neon Knights at Anthrax shows too

Oh shit they recorded it lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHh3Itmv15Y

ok that fucking rules

I have chills 30 minutes in

Set list report!

FULL REPORT WITH MINUTE TO MINUTE DETAILS INCLUDING KEY CHANGES

“Modulation” as they call it in the biz

Neon Kinights in G#

Not in order but

Neon Knights
We Rock
Man on the Silver Mountain
Don't Talk to Strangers
Holy Diver
Last in Line
Heaven and Hell
Children of the Sea
Lady Evil
Die Young
Mob Rules
Sign of the Southern Cross
Voodoo
We Rock

Oh shit

Children of the sea! Southern cross!

Die f’in Young lol

Yea Die Young is my favorite so

D’yer Yung

I bet it was a fun show. I’ve been on a Rainbow kick. New (old) thing I checked out was Rainbow Live in Germany 1976. That is really jammy and quite good sound quality. Listened to the 3 studio Rainbow albums a couple of times in the past 2 weeks too along with some Deep Purple.

Having a family get together in my head I kept coming back to “ Black Sheep of the Family” chorus.

joey doing signs of the southern cross woweeewow

is “rainbow in the dark” a commentary on rainbow?

*sign