RONNIE JAMES DIO – A TRUE HEAVY METAL WARRIOR!
RONNIE JAMES DIO – The prolific and ultra legendary lead singer for bands: Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, DIO and currently Heaven & Hell. A Heavy Metal warrior is Ronnie James Dio… in my Metal opinion. I grew up following Ronnie James Dio, as countless other Old School Metal fans did as well. Without question, the Heaven And Hell and Mob Rules albums from the Dio fronted Black Sabbath are Heavy Metal benchmarks, never to be duplicated and only to be revered. Thanks to these two albums, 1980 and 1981 were a time when Heavy Metal shed away any identity crisis and made a lasting mark on the world. Ronnie James Dio, through his vocals and lyrics, gave Heavy Metal a new found darkness that I couldn’t resist, from Man On The Silver Mountain to Lady Evil to Mystery.
A new DIO album always incited the Heavy Metal psyche within me… the anticipation of hearing Dio’s vocals once again, on all new songs. I could probably carry on for another five thousand words, explaining just how personally important Dio’s vocals and lyrics have meant to me, throughout the decades. As the years have gone by, I never have taken for granted any of my favorite bands or musicians. I couldn’t think of it. I always feel lucky when I get to see a band I like, live and onstage. Seeing DIO years ago at The New Haven Coliseum was a Metal thrill, (seeing Savatage and Megadeth open up for DIO made it a triple Metal thrill too). Best Metal Buddy Scott and friend Rob should remember that evening… they left me stranded in a dark, cold and foreboding New Haven alley while I was taking a leak, after the concert. Gee Metal whiz… no pun intended. I found my way home though… fellow Metalheads are always eager to lend aid to one another in time of need.
There isn’t a week that goes by, where I don’t listen to part of or a whole album that Ronnie James Dio is lead singer on. It’s just been that way… and I hope it never stops.
What makes Ronnie James Dio so special is his ability to connect through song… his lyrics come to life if you let your Metal mind wander. Plus, Ronnie James Dio is a fighter… that’s what being a Metalhead is and always will be about.
I always and forever will love the DIO album – The Last In Line, (from 1984), especially the title track. Yes, the video for The Last In Line may have been outdone over the years with newfound special effects and video technology… still, this music video brings back some very cool Metal memories for me. I hope you enjoy this unreal great DIO song as much as I do… if so, crank it up LOUD and raise the horns to the air!
LONG LIVE RONNIE JAMES DIO!
Stone.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
March 19, 2010 at 12:06 am
Cool man. my little brother is a huge fan of Ronnie James Dio. I my self enjoy his huge vocals (he has a helluva set of lungs on him). He has this talent for making insanely epic tracks. I am a young metal head myself (16) and listen to a lot of Archenemy, Black Sabbath, System of A Down, Meshuggah, Metallica (their old stuff), Gojira, Tool, Children Of Bodom, Behemoth etc. Please point me out to some good bands i may have not listened to yet. So yeah man sounds like you got some rel positive nostalgia going on there.
March 19, 2010 at 7:14 pm
All solid bands you are into there, from looking at your list. If you like Behemoth, you should check out Satyricon… any album by them, especially Vocano and The Age of Nero. Since you wrote System Of A Down, then definitely sink your ears into Scars On Broadway. Hopefully you are getting into Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Overkill. Don’t shy away from Rainbow, Slayer and Pantera too! Kittie is a heavy duty, all female Metal band that is worth checking out. Between the Buried And Me and Dream Theater are great for Progressive Metal.
I could go on and on here… just dive into some of these bands that may be new to you and have a Metal ball! You listen to a cool mix now, keep it going! Believe me, I and so many other Metalheads out there, really get diverse with the bands we listen to.
You will find how so many bands just seem to “link” up to other bands… it’s fun tracing the Metal “family tree”.
Stone
March 19, 2010 at 10:41 pm
Dio’s the man. Hopefully we can get a new album from him in the next year or two since he’s been writing while being ill.
March 20, 2010 at 10:57 am
Let’s hope! He seems to be turning the corner for the better too, based on his latest treatments. Wendy Dio keeps giving updates on the official DIO website.
http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/
March 22, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Dio > everyone.
May 19, 2010 at 10:38 am
Ronnie James Dio will certainly be missed by the metal community. He brought a lot of energy and left a legend.
http://www.lessonsthatrock.com