As a kid growing up in the grunge era, I had always assumed Ronnie James Dio was a bit of a joke. My only memories of him as a kid were from music videos where he pranced around on rooftops and sang about rainbows and holy divers while wielding swords and shields. For a long time, I could not get past the silly image of this 5’4” (and I’m being generous) man with a receding hairline and crooked teeth, as he sang about “circles and rings” and “dragons and kings.”
When I turned 18, however, that all changed, when I bought Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell on a whim one day. Some of the song titles turned me off initially – “Neon Knights,” “Lady Evil,” “Wishing Well,” – but, I figured, it’s Sabbath, it can’t be that bad. I had been a huge Ozzy-era Sabbath fan, with the exception of Never Say Die!, their last release with Osbourne fronting the band. Tony Iommi had long been one of my guitar idols, and I’d read how Dio really gave new life to the band and resurrected their career in the 1980s, but I was still reluctant. I’m glad I put my fears aside, as Heaven and Hell pretty much blew me away from the start. “Neon Knights,” as silly as the lyrics may have been on the page, sounded completely genuine and honest coming from the convincing, powerful pipes of Ronnie James Dio. Damn, I thought, I was wrong about him all along.
I had the pleasure of seeing Dio (the band) open for Iron Maiden in the summer of 2003. I had avoided most of Dio’s (the band, again) recorded output due to those cheesy music videos I referenced before, but seeing the band live really made them connect with me a lot more. Hearing the classics like “Holy Diver” and “Stand Up and Shout” in person made them seem a lot less cheesy, and a lot more ass-kicking. When the band busted into “Heaven and Hell” and Rainbow’s “Stargazer” (another classic from Dio’s pre-Sabbath supergroup, also featuring Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple fame), I was simply blown away.
For whatever reason, I listened to Heaven and Hell a lot in the summer and fall of 2002, and many times in the years that followed, yet I didn’t pick up it’s follow-up, Mob Rules, until about 2006. Maybe I held Heaven and Hell in such high regard that I didn’t want to be disappointed with what came after it. Either way, I regretted doing so, as Mob Rules is a classic follow-up, still very worthy of the Black Sabbath name. Around the time I got that album, rumors of the Heaven and Hell line-up of Sabbath reuniting for a tour began to surface. It ended up being the Mob Rules line-up, but a part of me realized I had to see them at some point. Luckily, that wish came true in the summer of 2008 when I saw the band co-headline at the Mohegan Sun arena with Judas Priest.
Dio was 65 at the time of this show, but you would not be able to tell judging by his energy and the power and intonation of his voice. Hearing the classic Sabbath mark II tracks in person with the guys who recorded them originally was just awesome. It also seemed that the public perception of Dio changed around this time, as he was no longer a cheesy laughingstock of metal, but a stalwart, pioneer and visionary of the genre. It seemed like the reunion with Sabbath, then re-named Heaven & Hell, really legitimized Dio for a lot of the mainstream rock and roll and metal press. The band capitalized on such good fortune and recorded a brand new album in 2009, The Devil You Know, which was met with great critical and fan reaction. The band was supposed to tour this summer, despite Dio announcing that he’d be undergoing medical treatments throughout the year. Unfortunately, that tour was cancelled just weeks ago.
I’m not going to deny that a large portion of Dio’s lyrical output is fantastical garbage, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is that one of metal’s most influential voices and pioneers has sadly passed away, after battling stomach cancer, at the age of 67. Every reaction I’ve read to the news has said what a humble, kind, funny and genuine spirit Dio was, which makes it all the more of a shame. I wish I could have gotten to see Heaven & Hell perform live one more time, as they really put on one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen. R.I.P. Dio.
Matt Steele
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