THE DIO YEARS

For me, today started with the terrible news of Ronnie James Dio's passing yesterday May 16th 2010. As far as I knew the man was in great shape and he had recorded a fine album with Black Sabbath not more then a year ago. Leading up to that 2009 "Heaven and Hell" album, Sabbath released this great compilation covering all albums recorded with Ronnie James Dio and a couple of new songs.

The album takes the albums in a chronological order, from the acclaimed Heaven And Hell, the ripping Mob Rules, up to the underrated Dehumanizer. The selection of songs contains most fan favourites, but given the huge amounts of superb songwriting on each of these albums, there will always be missing pieces, such as Sign Of The Southern Cross or Buried Alive. But no complaints, Dio revitalized Black Sabbath back in 1980 and he helped creating some of their best work. This compilation offers most convincing proof of that.

The three new songs don't shed any new light on the Sabbath with Dio sound, but each of them is just great and a mandatory gem for the fans, not in the least due to Dio's contribution. The Devil Cried is slow, heavy and epic, with vintage Iommi riffs battling it out with Dio's impressive vocal chords. Shadow of the Wind is a sweeping doom ballad and Ear In The Wall is a solid rocker. Even at the age of 64 Dio still stood head and shoulders above all classic metal vocalists.

R.I.P Dio. You will live on in our rock 'n' roll hearts forever.