Comments

1. Chris Tatton says

   March 13, 2012 at 6:11 am

   Just in case you didn’t know, Joe. Holy Diver has recently been released on a 24 carat gold CD.

   Reply
2. Mason says

   September 14, 2013 at 7:45 pm

   I’ve seen Ronnie James dio live a bunch of times. The first was the Heaven And Hell tour in 1980, then I saw him on this tour, the Last In Line tour, Dream Evil Tour, Strange Highways Tour, Magica tour, The Radio City Music hall Show, and the last show he ever played in Atlantic city. The best one was definitely Radio City Music Hall.

   Reply
3. Mason says

   September 15, 2013 at 8:49 pm

   Ronnie James Dio. The Man was amazing. And I was lucky enough to see him live ten times.
   1. Heaven And Hell Tour.
   2. Holy Diver Tour
   3. Last In Line Tour
   3. Sacred Heart Tour
   4. Strange Highways Tour
   5. Angry Machines Tour
   6. Magica Tour
   7. Killing The Dragon Tour.
   8. Master Of The Moon Tour
   9. The Radio City Music Hall Show
   10. His Final Show In Atlantic City.

   I first heard of Dio when Heaven And Hell came out. I had been a Sabbath fan since 1976, so I was skeptical of this new singer. Then I put on the album, and was reassured that Sabbath still kicked ass. When I went to go see Sabbath on that tour, some guy was tailgating and was blasting Man on The Silver Mountain on his 8-track machine. I knew it was Dio’ s voice, but I knew it wasn’t Sabbath. So, I asked the dude what it was he was playing and he said it was Rainbow. The day after the show, I went to my local record store to look for some Rainbow. I picked up rising. It blew my mind. After that, I wanted to know more about Dio. I went back and ended up buying a non-dio rainbow album. I was like “What the fuck?” Obviously, I found out that dio only did 3 Rainbow albums. I got the other 2 and was hooked. Then, I found out from my friend about Elf. I picked up the self titled album and again fell in love. I then, went and got other elf stuff. So, dio was like becoming my favorite singer at the time. And I was glad he was with my favorite band. I remember the day Mob Rules came out. I went down to the record store and there ever only 2 copies of it left. (Either they didn’t order enough, or everyone in my town were Sabbath fanatics.) So, I picked up the one and while the clerk’s ringing me up, I notice these 2 guys arguing over who would get the next copy. Well, it escalated into a fight. Then the clerk pulled out a baseball bat and broke the one guy’s nose. He told the other guy to pay for the album or else he was next. Anyway, Mob Rules Blew my mind. It was my favorite album at the time. Then, live evil came out. Which sucked. Then, I heard that dio had started a solo band. I remember when holy diver came out. My girlfriend at the time bought me it on cassette as a present. I put it on and I realized that the shit that was live evil, (it’s actually not as bad as I’m making it out to be) was just a one time thing. I followed dio’ s career intensively. Even when I got into the thrash explosion and when I got into the grunge revolution, Ronnie James Dio was always on my radar. Even when Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and all the metal gods fell off my radar, Dio stayed. When Magica came out I was in a really shitty place. I was going through a second divorce, the fate of my 1 yr old was in jeopardy. (Luckily, I got full custody.) My life was in the shitter. No Music was really grabbing me, my main passion (film) was kinda in a real meh kinda place. Then magica comes out. I was like, “ok”. I bought it, put it on and it blew me the fuck away. Magica was the turning point at that point in my life. It just got me back into music, it put me into a better mood. I got custody of my daughter and that bitch was out of my life. Dio was still on my radar putting out great albums. Somewhere along the way, I found out about his rockabilly stuff. I dig it. An Angel Is Missing is a great song. So, then he gets back together with Sabbath again. I saw them twice as Heaven And Hell. My older Son got me tickets as a birthday present. We went together, and the show kicked ass. The last time was Ronnie’ s last show ever. It was amazing. I then found out that dio left Black Sabbath (For the 3rd time.) and was going to be doing Magica 2 and 3. Due to my personal connection with the first one, I was excited as hell. Then, he was diagnosed with cancer. I had myself convinced that he wouldn’t die. Then, he died. I was shocked. The guy who basically guided me through life with his music since 1980 was dead. I was heartbroken. But, hey- dio was the best motherfuckin’ singer in hard rock and metal. We have all his great music to remember him by. From the rockabilly shit to Elf to Rainbow to Sabbath to the Dio band, Ronnie James Dio was a fucking God.

   PS. When I saw Dio in 2004, I met Ronnie. A friend of mine was banging the guitar tech. And he got her 2 backstage passes. She gave the one to me. So I went back stage and talked to dio. He was so fucking nice. Probably the nicest celebrity I ever met.

   Reply
4. Robert says

   July 4, 2014 at 7:59 am

   I was able to see Dio in 2000/2001 when he played at Pops in Sauget, IL.

   Reply