DIO cds

Dio is a heavy metal legend, this man has been around for years, playing in Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, then in his own band Dio. When I was a teenager and into my later years I had everything he sang own. The man has an awesome voice. But as I grew older I started leaving the metal behind and staying more in the realm of Rock, more toward the softer to uptempo side. A lot of Christians (which I am now proudly one) have long put his music down as almost satanic, and I can see why they thing that. But if they never grew up listening to him and playing Dungeon and Dragons I can see the misunderstanding. Dio does dive into that realm and he does sing of dragons and beasts, but it is with man overcoming them, just what we fantasized about playing D&D. Dio always keep his music clean and no cussing and nothing offensive, what a lot of metal people do not do. So I understand both sides.

Although I no longer own any Dio cds other than a stray concert here and there, I know all the songs, but to refresh my self I borrowed a friends Dio collection to give them another listen...

Holy Diver (A) Great metal cd, Ronnie has the voice and Vivian Campbell has the Axe. Stand out songs on this headbanger is Stand Up And Shout, Holy Diver, Don't Talk to Strangers, and Straight Thru the Heart

The Last In Line (B-) Too much more of the same, and not enough of the new. Still a good cd. The title track is Dio at his best. Nothing bad but nothing else outstanding.

Sacred Heart (B) Better than the last cd, but not as good as his first. Title track plus Rock And Roll Children, Hungry For Heaven, Another Lie, and Just Another Day are the stand outs. King Of Rock And Roll show how bad the cd can be, along with Fallen Angels.

Dream Evil (C-) This cd was boring when it came out, and still is. Only a couple of songs make this cd worth listening too. All The Fools Have Sailed Away is classic Dio, and Naked In The Rain burns like acid rain. But for the rest....

Lock Up The Wolves (B-) One of Dio's lowest sailing cd , but one the better ones I liked. The cd is more rock and less metal. Wild One, Between Two Hearts, Night Music, Lock Up The Wolves, Twisted, Why Are They Watching Me and the slow My Eyes, are all good songs. Rest of the cd is big miss.

Strange Highways (C+) Dio tries to return to the heavy metal sound of the mid 80's, and comes close on the songs, Strange Highways, Hollywood Black, and Give Her The Gun. Bring Down the Rain is ok, but rest of the cd is pretty weak.

Angry Machines (D+) Poor sounding cd, most of the songs seem thrown together, just to put something out. Dying In America, This IS Your Life, and Don't Tell The Kids, all make for a good listen compared to the songs on rest of the cd. But when compared to the other good songs on other Dio cds, they don't hold up as well.

Magica (B) This epic rock opera is just that, epic. Maybe a little too epic. Dio returns with story dealing once again with his favorite story lines D&D. At times it is a bit much, but it is typical Dio, over the top and loud. Standouts are Lord Of The Last Day, Fever Dreams, and Feed My Head. Nothing bad on here either.

Killing The Dragon (B+) Dio keeps coming back, and it takes a lot to keep this man down. The title track tells it all, Dio is in his territory now, and at his best. The title track along with Rock And Roll, Scream, Guilty, and Throw Away Children are in the classic Dio vein. rest of the cd is pretty good too.

Master Of The Moon (C-) One For The Road starts the cd off very strong, but nothing else comes close to matching it. What a shame to start off so strong and fall so quick.

Stand Up And Shout; The Dio Anthology (A) is the best of the Dio collections out there. Runs from his Elf years to the Strange Highway cd.

On the Sabbath side

Heaven And Hell (A) was always one of my favorite metal cds. I not much into metal, really now a days I steer clear of it, but this cd is awesome. The title track is one of Dio's best. Neon Knights is a solid rocker, and Children Of The Sea starts off majestic before opening up to full throttle. Wishing Well has a mean riff thru it, and Lonely Is The Word is a haunting song. The other songs are well above the metal make too. And the title track is Sabbath's best ever.

The Mod Rules (B-) Is a poor follow up to the Heaven And Hell cd. Falling Off The Edge Of The World is great fast paced rocker, and really the only song that doesn't seemed forced to live up to the previous cd. The title track is another good song, but the rest are just average metal.

Dehumanizer (D) Time Machine, and TV Crimes are great songs, the rest is to downbeat for me.