DIO RECORDS
"No, Ronnie James Dio hasn't succeed to renew this time either. After the last half-failure "Sacred Heart", you would have hoped that he at least could repeat his success with "Holy Diver" halfly. But now he seems to have become stagnant as a songwriter. Take a break Dio, and wait until the inspiration comes back - you still have fans left."
(Review taken from Frida 1987. Originally written in swedish.)
"Ronnie James Dio may not be the biggest, if you see to his length. But when he opens his mouth, he mostly sings the ass off from most of the people in his surroundings. Even so on his new album "Lock Up The Wolves" who shows up the new band with 18-year old guitarrist Rowan Robertson and our own Jens Johansson at the organ. The musical contributions are faultless and Ronnie sings great as usual, but even though the quality at the songs beats the previous album "Dream Evil" with horselengths, they don't live up to the lustre of the old days. Really heavy, almost Sabbath-esque often, and "My Eyes" , "Evil On Queen Street" and "Twisted" is close to the classics quality. But Dio doesnt't go all the way, and the question is if he ever gets so far anymore."
(Review taken from Okej 1990. Originally written in swedish by Anders Tengner.)
"Dio's career went straight down, and no one was sorry when Ronnie James Dio put the band on hold, to return to Black Sabbath. Why buy this profitcollection when you can invest in Dio two first superb albums "Holy Diver" and "The Last In Line"?
Avoid!"
(Review taken from Expressen 1992. Originally written in swedish by Martin Carlsson.)
4/5
"'Jesus, Mary And The Holy Ghost': both the first song on Dio's sixth album, and the exclamation that it could well provoke from the more religious Metal fan on first listen. It's Ronnie James Dio's most adventurous track in years, putting all the usual derision over his 'predictable' fast openers to rest, and starting off with a riff as un-Dioesque as can be. Then the tempo alters and Dio's voice enters via a megaphone; it's a jolting statement of intent.
After driving Black Sabbath to create their greatest album since 'Mob Rules' ('Dehumanizer', last year), Dio has wasted no time whatsoever in assembling a new band: his old mucker Vinny Appice on drums, plus Tracy G and Jeff Pilson from World War III. It's a line-up considerably more precise and bloody-minded than that which recorded the last Dio album, 'Lock Up The Wolves'.
Despite the initial innovation of 'Jesus...' and the odd unusual move elsewhere, it should be stressed that 'Strange Highways' is still a traditional Dio album. The title-track, for example, lumbers quite typically. But if you're a Dio fan, then the song-writing and the sheer charismatic force of Ronnie's performance will be as attractive.
Tracy G wraps each song in barbed wire, and moments like the highly potent 'Firehead', 'Evilution' (one of Dio's heaviest in a while) and the classically-styled 'Bring Down The Rain' make 'Strange Highways' a fine continuation fo the Dio legend.
This is the finest Doom that money can buy."
(Review taken from Kerrang! 1993. Written by Jason Arnopp.)
STRANGE HIGHWAYS
1/5
"Maybe this was expected, even though it feels really sad to get it confirmed. Ronnie James Dio have had his time in the ring, but is now knocked and down for the count.
The last album with Dio was a failure, the reunion with Black Sabbath was a failure - and when he now has reformed a brand new Dio, what else could you expect ... but a failure.
Ronnie makes his best to sound modern. It's hard and heavy and noisy. And boring.
Will he rise again for a new match?
I doubt it."
(Review taken from Okej 1993. Originally written in swedish by Anders Tengner.)
6/10
For most people Dio is probably dead and buried nowadays, and no one manages to bother when a new Dio-record is released. But shame on the ones that gives up!
Very hard and heavy, the new 'Strange Highways', reminds a lot of early Black Sabbath with a new raw and fresh Dio sound. The opening-track, 'Jesus, Mary And The Holy Ghost', could well have fit in on Sabbath's 'Volume Four'. The album continues in a very heavy and aggressive speed, and even though there are no sure classics like on 'Holy Diver', the songs are very much equally good and easy to listen at. To my favourites belongs the heavy title-track and the very tough 'Hollywood Black'. The style and speed is the same almost the whole album, and that could be a bit boring sometimes, but rather this heavy "Doomy-style", than another 'Lock Up The Wolves'-album!
Lyrics has never been Ronnie James Dio's strong side, and there are no lyrical masterpieces given here either.
Well, Dio is always Dio, just in a much heavier class than before on this album."
(Review taken from Metal Zone 1993. Originally written in swedish by Lena Graaf.)
3/5
"The little man with the amazingly big voice is back - now with a more modern sound. Ronnie James Dio has made an album with a sound worthy Black Sabbaths heaviness and darkness. The only thing that Dio can't handle as good as before is the songwriting. Heavy, angry and therefore enjoyable, but the songs doesn't make it all the way."
(Review taken from Aftonbladet 1996. Originally written in swedish by Annika Sundbaum-Melin.)
2/5
"The little man with the big voice is heavier than ever on his own and the sound is remarkably fresh. Still it doesn't really fit. Nothing engages and then Dio shrinks yet another centimetre."
(Review taken from Expressen 1996. Originally written in swedish by Martin Carlsson.)
3/5
"The good Ronnie James Dio is still going strong. It's actually getting really empty around the heavy metal throne. Dio has still the strength and above all the voice left. And that is nothing you can blame, for example, Rob Halford of . Then it's about whether you like this music or not. Talking good about Dio hardly won't give him any new fans. Clearly is that his latest record, 'Angry Machines', beats the precursor with horselengths. He has certainly a long way to the quality he showed up on Black Sabbath's 'Dehumanizer', if you should mention his latest achievements. Dio hasn't learned yet how his music should be produced, but you can hear that he is working on that. Something that doesn't has changed with him, is his lyrics. Count how many times he sings the word "brain"."
(Review taken from Stereo. Originally written in swedish by MS.)
INFERNO review written by Karin Beks
(CD 1)
1. JESUS, MARY AND THE HOLY GHOST. How good that Dio, unlike he
did in the past, does not open with some straightforward up-tempo
rocker. Instead the listener is battered with this fast
composition full of quicksilver-black rhythmic fluctuations, off
of 'Strange Highways', the latest of his two recent very
'difficult' albums. It's a proclamation of intent, for neither a
more crushing nor a more darkly 'infernal' start could be
imagined, and so one senses that even if afterwards one's going
to get a lot of older more accessible songs, they'll be unlikely
to sound quite as they used to. From the very first second the
band makes an interesting sound. Tracy G has quick crafty fingers
that sting as well as buzz. The band makes opaque broadscape
music composed of pinched yet pungent expressionist elements -
like nails fastly driven (or etched) into an overdriven brain.
The owner of that brain - the traveller through this desolate
(un)religious mindscape - supplies, from moment zero, deadly
precise characterization. Seems the 'voice-warming-up' effect
familiar from live recordings is foreign to him. He punctuates
and punctures each syllable in a satirical, mean, hard-driving
staccato. In contrast to this, the central lyrical 'Now I lay my
soul to sleep, pray the Lord to keep my soul...' passage swelters
in legato, without however disrupting the biting atmosphere. In
the studio version the vocal part was distorted into a bleakly
inhuman mechanical sound, with 'now I lay...' suddenly free of
distortion and sung in a mezza voce fragile of intonation and
intent, making it a temporary human haven. Live no distortion is
attempted, and since 'now I lay...' is sung far more weightily
and distantly than it was in the studio, the contrast achieved
with the surrounding thin malice differs considerably from the
contrast achieved in the studio version. Both versions are in my
opinion equally good. Tracy G follows suit with one of his best
solos. This is the music he composes, and therefore the music he
performs best. In the 'nightmare, electric chair, you might not
go to heaven' passage, Dio shows his exceptional sensitivity
concerning the diverse possibilities and tone colours of the
accompanying instruments: as Tracy G switches to very heavy
rhythm effects, Dio's voice reflects every sharply syncopated but
now very fulsome note he plays. They go straight into:
2. STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HEART: a slower song which being from the
band's very first period - Dio album 1, 'Holy Diver' - instead of
their last, constitutes an unexpected though not a senseless
combination. Surprising is, however, that they play it louder and
more heavily than they do 'Jesus...', whereas with the respective
studio versions it was the other way around. The present live
version of 'Straight'...' is slower than the original, and (as do
some other pre-'Strange Highways' tracks on 'Inferno') it has
acquired a darker, more fulsome and 'infernal' sound. However,
excellent though this version is, honesty prompts to admit I
wouldn't trade it in for the original. For that is, in my
opinion, one of the most utterly heartrending things this singer
has ever done. Right from my first introduction to it, all or
most of the 'Holy Diver' album struck me as being one continuous
self-therapy session. As sublimated autobiography hiding itself
behind the cloak of fantasy, so to speak (but then I suspect this
applies to much of Dio's work). After having been involved in and
removed himself from two highly notable bands, he was surely prey
to a mixture of anger and self-reproach. Thus the original
'Straight Through The Heart' sounds as if it's slowly drawn out
of him; each new sentence and section being like a new thought
striking him then and there, so that the experience, the memory
is relived and reintensified and unwillingly-determinedly
imparted to the outside world. It's as if he's planting that
knife over and over again into an imperfectly healed knife wound,
to heal himself forgood. Listening to it I feel a bit like a
mental voyeur. And somehow it always strikes me as remarkable
that it's possible to be so loud and so introverted at the same
time (more or less the same, by the way, goes for another 'Holy
Diver' song, i.e. 'Shame On The Night', but where 'Straight
Through...' is a complaint, 'Shame...' is an indictment). Certain
studio performances are so perfect, so intense, yet so much tied
up with a certain moment in time, that one simultaneously longs
and fears to hear new versions of them. They simply cannot be
improved upon. Yet again, this new version is very impressive,
but it's more like a distant warning, its anger sounding more
majestic. The atmosphere is unremittingly dark and 'heavily'
intellectual. A notable point: in certain phrases Dio breaks up
the legato so as to underline even more the rhythm section's
disjointed drawn-out whiplashes. Tracy G plays a very fine
lyrical solo - quite unlike but certainly not inferior to Vivian
Campbell's original.
3. Well, one better DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS if one wants to ward
off getting it 'straight through the heart'. The unforgettably
beautiful lyrical intro to this second 'Holy Diver' classic on
'Inferno' is sung more heavily and darkly - less mezza voce, that
is, but with extremely well-rounded tone - than used to be Dio's
custom; this is a fully valid as well as moving alternative
option, fitting the present modernized context to a tee.
Subsequently, in 'cause they will only bring you down...' that
well-known emphatic 'banged-down' effect on 'down' is, to my
ears, less crude and more cutting than it was formerly, and in
that vein he proceeds until the guitar solo, which is neither
similar to Campbell's original nor, in my opinion, very special.
Tracy G relies here far too much on trills where he should be
searching for dimension and colour. Then Dio returns, inspiring
him to forget about his whammy-bar and show what he's really
capable of, and so their ensuing shared improvisations, including
some bluesy guitar fills, are among 'Inferno''s most memorable
moments. As Dio suddenly switches from this unsurpassably noble
romantic sorrow to a 'shouter' improvisation not unlike the one
at the end of 'Voodoo' on Black Sabbath's 'Live Evil' album, the
temporarily lulled listener too is harshly reawakened to the
reality of this being a nightmare warning rather than a dream.
4. HOLY DIVER. The present piece of bleak and oblique - subject-
and atmosphere-wise - submarine fantasy (social? religious?
autobiographical?) makes me hold and lose my breath even more
than the original version did. (For some truly in-depth
imterpretations of this song's subject-matter I refer you, by the
way, to what 'Sonia' and Vladimir Milovidov have written in the
Dio Newsgroup). Dio and his band 'ride the tiger' mentioned in
the song as perhaps they never did before. They thunder along a
place which I envision as the bottom of the sea of night where
beings in pitchblack-enwrapped Romanesque-futurist churches
struggle valiantly to rise towards the light out of the night of
the soul. For its undiluted concentrated tension this is one of
the 'Inferno' tracks to which I've been returning most
frequently. In short: Dio demonstrates what purely predatorish
phrasing is all about. Tracy G, unfortunately, offers only
another generalized metal guitar solo in which trills rather than
form abound. Still: a classic composition which assumes here more
truly 'infernal' proportions than ever before. The drum solo now
follows, which I'll skip (I'm one of those hopeless people who
tend to skip their drum solos, I'm ashamed to say). However,
coming from Vinny Appice I don't doubt it's a great one. From
hence, after three songs off of the 'Holy Diver' album we go back
in time even more, towards the title track of Black Sabbath's:
5. HEAVEN AND HELL, which starts with some funnily plaintive
improvising by Dio. Then he has a shock in store as he
consciously does *not* intone the start of the 'sing me a song
you're a singer, do me a wrong you're a bringer of evil...'
section in the expected beseeching-challenging way, but as a
full-frontal attack - in cooperation with Tracy G who's
introducing abstract, sometimes almost industrial touches. But
no, Dio's fooled us, for in the remainder of 'sing me...' he
proves to be fluctuating between very quickly changing moods, all
brimming with new-found expressionist inflections. Band and
singer are tough as nails in especially the first 'and it goes on
and on... it's heaven and hell', except for Dio's fragile but
brief 'the lover of life's not the sinner, the ending is just a
beginning', which is in exact reflection of a little synth
segment. The band plays splendidly in the passages prior to the
traditional improvisations; subsequently during those
improvisations they all whip themselves up into ever intenser
sound and fury. In my opinion, Dio's way with the traditional
'black shade' improvisation has now definitely grown more
interesting, more mature than it was before. The fact that he
skips the entire 'white shade' improvisation, however, speaks
volumes about this updated 'Inferno''s mood and underlying
intention. All this leads up to 'The world is full of kings and
queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams...' becoming
here an especially merciless conclusion, thanks also to Appice's
mechanical 'noise' and a Tracy G who indulges once more his
addiction to trills - this time to excellent and truly innovative
purpose.
6. DOUBLE MONDAY. The 'hell' aspect superseding the 'heaven'
aspect is further emphasized by the fact that at this point was
selected this impression of a more 'down-to-earth', more modern -
in the musical and the social sense of the word - type of human
hell (I use the word 'human' intentionally since I suspect
'Heaven And Hell' to be about *this* life rather than afterlife).
For we've returned to latter-period Dio - to his latest album,
'Angry Machines', this time - with its relatively non-fantasy
social comments. 'Double Monday' is a creepily intimate piece of
heavy, dissonant alienatedness, crushingly performed by the band.
I've one minor criticism though: Dio misses out on the chill-out
colouring of the central lyrical 'feels like snakes and spiders
crawling up your body...' passage, which in the studio version
added contrast and relief. And so, back we go once more to Dio
album 1:
7. STAND UP AND SHOUT. This is a song I've never greatly cared
for, and as is his wont in it Dio's delivery is rather
monotonously aggressive. Still, I presume a relatively
uncomplicated up-tempo metal thing is needed now and then, and I
won't deny it's excellently played. A possible underlying
viewpoint dictating this choice might be that unless 'Inferno''s
'protagonist'(yes, sometimes I seem to sense traces of a concept
album-like approach) braces himself by such a rush of positive
energy, he won't be able to face, without perishing, the approach
(off of 'Angry Machines'):
8. HUNTER OF THE HEART. A mighty black predator's growl, which
has to be heard to be believed, wells up from the depths of Dio's
soul and vocal chords, preliminary to the arrival of this
stampeding, awe-inspiring man- or rather mind-eater. As far as
the playing of the band is concerned, this version undoubtedly
(as has been remarked by various previous listeners) overshadows
the original. Dio keeps working himself up into astounding,
rumbustious, insane elation (finding ultimate relief in an
improvisation - a very very looney tune - over an entire upward
scale). In the studio version he exuded a more veiled and
watchful menace (the 'hunter' lies waiting in the sun prior to
striking, after all). There, this figure with whom everything
tended to go 'straight through the heart' feared he'd be
destroyed by this particular 'head hunter', whereas in
'Inferno''s context he dares stand up to him and, as befits any
hero, create a happy ending by killing the 'dragon' - but the
real outcome is insanity all the same, only it's a different
kind. Or at least those were the presumably nonsensical thoughts
going through my head when last listening to 'Inferno'. Anyway,
to think of an 'ugly', dissonant, modern variation on the
slaying-of-monsters theme of the 'Sacred Heart' album, is
probably overstretching it. Anyway, the follow-up or consequence
is one more huge backward-leap in time, to the seventies, those
legendary times when rainbows were conceived....
(CD 2) 9. MISTREATED/CATCH THE RAINBOW.
Tracy G's intro is marvellous and memorable, almost as good, in
my opinion, as that by another really heavy though very different
'Mistreated' interpretor, namely bluesplayer Mel Galley in
Whitesnake's 'Live At Donington' video from '83. When Dio sets
in, I notice he still stretches to the limit the ultimate
syllable of the word 'mistreated' like he did twenty years ago
with Rainbow, and it's remained as beautiful an inflection as
ever. To that enormous sustained note there's now a touch of
vibrato which I find very moving. So does Tracy G, it would
appear, since he instantly reflects the sound. Otherwise this new
version is notably different from Dio's Rainbow versions with
Ritchie Blackmore. Those remarkable Spanish influences then
instructing vocals and guitar, are gone; it's played much slower
now, and atmospherically Dio's interpretation is somewhat closer
to David Coverdale's ('Mistreated''s creator) than it was before.
While this is a great version I can't help preferring the Rainbow
interpretations for their still deeper and stranger uniqueness,
though. But no, I take that back: with the improvisations a
'different story' begins. For the track soon becomes one of this
set's absolute highlights as Dio gradually moves from rebellion
to sadness, then proceeds in that inimitably melancholic way of
his into the hummed section from the end of the (original)
opening part of 'Catch The Rainbow'. Switching back to that
song's beginning he successfully transforms the two very
different compositions into a coherent unity and story - to my
relief there's no 'potpourri' effect whatever. 'Catch The
Rainbow' has been recreated into the 'Mistreated' character's
ineffably sad memory of a love lost long ago - never forgotten,
never known why... Compared to the Rainbow live versions his tone
is now far darker and vibrato-imbued - like little quivers of
pathos in a nightly lonesome sea -, from which of a sudden he
soars to the heights, introducing some new lines on the theme of
'we will fly to the sun' - and if a midnight sun existed, surely
*this* would be its colour? (is it very wrong of me to suspect
that the slightest grain of nostalgia for long-lost Rainbow days
also comes into this?). He changes over quite effortlessly again
to some equally moving 'Mistreated' improvisations, while Tracy
G's very inspiredly preparing the way for an excellent
unaccompanied guitar solo, which is alive - or rather lifeless -
with alienating angst-ridden dissonance (admittedly, somewhere
prior to this he'd played a few bluesy runs which to my ears had
sounded heartlessly sentimental in a Steve Vai sort of way). And
onwards we go, to the title track of Dio album no. 2, for a
change:
10. THE LAST IN LINE. This is rather good, but not perhaps really
another highlight, I'd say. Dio achieves just as gargantuan an
effect in it as he always did, yet the present version seems to
me heavy rather than differentiated, and plainly dark rather than
dark and richly coloured - and this starts already with the
full-throttled lyrical intro (like the one to 'Don't Talk To
Strangers', a track in which Dio is, however, at his best).
Mighty impressive, no doubt, but better live versions exist. I
must add, though, that my opinion tends to vary according to the
mood I'm in. I think, by the way, that it's a pity 'Inferno''s
programme - apart from the Rainbow and Black Sabbath compositions
- includes only tracks from Dio's latest (i.e. 'Strange Highways'
and 'Angry Machines') and earliest (i.e. 'Holy Diver' and 'The
Last In Line') pairs of studio albums. Naturally the greatest
audience favourites are on the first two albums, and
stylistically these probably suit a modern 'revisal' better than
would songs off albums no. 3 and 4 (i.e. 'Sacred Heart' and
'Dream Evil'), yet that's overlooking certain compostions on
album no. 5 'Lock Up The Wolves', such as the title song or 'Evil
On Queen Street'.
11. RAINBOW IN THE DARK. After 'The Last...', Dio reconstructs a
second specimen of his typical massive first-period fantasy
architecture - off of the popular 'Holy Diver' again -, and this
one too turns out more shatteringly loud and dark than perhaps
ever before, with the difference that, compared to 'The Last...',
I find its gloom profounder and its equally aggressive vocalizing
far more interestingly inflected. A certain poppiness inherent in
the original's guitar/synth combination has also disappeared.
Tracy G, regrettably, offers another exchangeable solo (His
pounding rhythm effects in the song proper are already present in
nascent form in Craig Goldy's playing in, for instance, the
otherwise very different though very good version on Dio's
earlier live album 'Intermission'.). And onward we go to the
title track of the second Black Sabbath-featuring-Dio album:
12. MOB RULES. This band can really play this
hell-bent-for-anarchy riff , surely one of the vilest ever to
have come from Tony Iommi's 'poison pen'. While Dio, the other
half of that baroque pair of 'satanic majesties', proves to be at
least as apt at his undermining, 'rabble-rousing activities' here
as he was all those years ago on Black Sabbath's 'Live Evil'.
He's nervous like an (alley)cat, panicky, foul, afraid - all in
one. Vocal beauty and purity being evidently and rightly *not*
his ideal in this song, his delivery abounds with Wagnerian
'Sprechgesang' touches. in short, this is perfect
characterization. Tracy G too plays like one possessed, adding
here and there some jumpy jilting jazziness. Yet after all this
destructiveness the Rainbow Rises Again:
13. MAN ON THE SILVER MOUNTAIN/LONG LIVE ROCK AND ROLL. 'Man
On...' too is excitingly played, paced by the band in a more or
less funky rhythm, and - like all of 'Inferno', lest I forget -
it sports fantastic drumming by Vinny Appice. The vocals aren't
clean or perfect, and aren't intended to be - but this time for a
different reason, since this is 'encore' time. The same goes for
'Long Live Rock And Roll', including the obligatory sing-along
session. To be honest, I could have lived without one as well as
the other. Plenty of good performances of 'Man On...' exist
already (yes, as it never was one of my favourite
Rainbow/Blackmore compositions anyway, I can't help becoming
irritatingly subjective at this point), while Dio's best
performance of 'Long Live...' remains, as far as I'm concerned,
the studio one, which has insidious charm and humour aplenty
beside power. Well, alright, the 'Intermission' version is
certainly good entertainment as well. But I'm not an admirer of
potpourris in general and Dio's well-known fondness for them is a
bit beyond me. I'd rather not hear such songs at all than hear
only some disjointed fragments of them, unless, as in
'Mistreated'/'Catch The Rainbow', they've been forged into a
really comprehensive unity. Still, band and audience are
unquestionably having a Hell of a time... so *that* should be the
bottom line, not all that grumpiness of mine...
14. WE ROCK. In the interest of variety, four aggressive up-tempo
rockers (i.e. tracks 11 to 14) shouldn't be programmed
consecutively. Yet however that may be, I confess this one held a
nice surprise for me. For whereas the perennial 'Holy Diver'
favourite 'We Rock' has never been a favourite of mine (see my
remarks about 'Stand Up And Shout', more or less), I've wanted to
hear it again and again since I got 'ear to ear' with it in its
present updated incarnation. New exhilirating rhythmic changes
have been added, Tracy G makes his guitar neigh and rear like a
thoroughbred horse, and Dio the ringmaster, the 'dancer', is a
miracle of infernal glee and authority.
SOME AFTERTHOUGHTS
'Inferno' is an excellently produced, natural and modern sounding
set - entirely overshadowing in this respect (and others) the
previous rather dry and tinny live album 'Intermission'. On my
stereo a tiny treble lift ensures even better dynamics and
liveliness. The vocals are to the forefront without I think
overly drawing attenton away from Dio's marvellous band, who're
stars in their own right (although I have to concede that Jeff
Pilson, the formidable bassist of the 'Strange Highways' and
'Angry Machines' albums, exceeds in my opinion Dio's tour bassist
Larry Dennison). Tracy G, given his recently acquired
'controversial' stature, merits closer discussion. I've said this
before: when Dio asked Tracy G to join him, this was, I guess,
because he sensed the latter's potential as a composer of modern,
abstract, dissonant metal. And Tracy G *did* instantly prove his
'modern mettle' on 'Strange Highways'. Yet what he may not
perhaps at that moment have quite taken into account, was that on
tour he'd have to play so many older songs written by his
predecessors in a melodious vein that couldn't be farther removed
from his own. (I'm not implying any veiled criticism of Dio here,
by the way; it's quite clear that, in order to make people come
to his shows, he has to play a lot of old favourites). It's
unreasonable to expect any artist who happens to be not only good
but conspicuously good at a certain style (which is rare enough!)
to be equally good or even interested in, any number of different
styles. Very few artists in any field have that sort of
versatility. Who'd ever expect a specialist of 'fine painting' to
be a specialist of 'abstract painting' (or whatever) also, or
vice versa? Would Ritchie Blackmore cut a really fine figure if
he'd have to play Tracy G's compositions? But don't let me be
misunderstood. I think Tracy G is doing a very fine job overall.
Still, to my ears he clearly does have his strong and his weak
points here. He's wonderful is his own work or when he can bring
out the rhythmic propensities of the older songs - he's a
fantastically exciting rhythm player. Or when Dio and he do
improvisations together. Or when he can do a solo in older music
whose context somehow allows exclusively bleak abstract moods
('Mistreated'/'Catch The Raibow'). Now to the issue of Tracy G's
much-publicized 'disrespect' towards his predecessors' solos:
there are some guitarists who *will* play other people's solos
and still make them definitely their own, and there are some who
won't and don't. That's all fine with me. His weakness lies in
his soloing in some of the older songs, and it results, I
suspect, from his desire to add his own stamp, combined with the
problem of how to really mentally connect as a creative artist to
that style of music. On this level he might also be compared to a
great painter who's always worked in blacks, whites and greys but
suddenly has to switch to colours. And this brings me to another
point. Dio plays a lot of old favourites while clearly wishing to
project the atmosphere of his latter-day style at the same time,
so he's evidently created a compromise in the form of
modernizing, to some extent, his older work. The two new
modern-style studio albums (as well as Black Sabbath's
'Degumanizer') were far darker than the older ones, and now he's
making the old songs sound that way too. Now Dio has always been
a vocalist who thrives on close interaction with his guitarists -
and it's abundantly clear he and Tracy G have exceptionally
strong interaction. Yet this dark atmosphere in the older songs
is created by a vocalist whose voice has not only darkened but
grown even larger than before, and by a very loud guitarist who
mainly deals in dark and - in particular - very steely tone, less
in emotionally changeable, intermediate (dark) colour. It's a
logical and intensely effective combination, but it has its
dangers all the same... There are some moments on 'Inferno'
anyway when I feel that for whatever reason the very best isn't
quite brought out of the great colourist that Dio is (the
greatest, perhaps, I've ever heard). But however that may be,
this slightly altered, more baritonal-coloured, but fresh,
rounded and impressively luscious voice has lost none of its
unmistakable timbre and is still one of the greatest and most
expressive sounds humanly imaginable. That a man who's been
continually singing since the early '60s, creates a sound and
exudes an energy, emotion, intensity, depth, personality and
utterly youthful exuberance for which many 25-year-old vocalists
would I suspect gladly sell their souls or dance with the devil,
is a marvel beyond words. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the
cover is well designed and looks most attractive, especially
thanks to that dreamy action photo of the 'protagonist'. My
congratulations to the person who took it. So... when all's said
and all's done, this is as fine a live album as they come...
Yours Karin Beks, The Netherlands
2/5
"Dio is more than acceptable pathetic (the man is about 60 years old!). It is easier to get touched by this cavalcade of hits - which goes from Rainbow, to Black Sabbath and Dio - when you have peeled off the visual.
But the fact that "Holy Diver" is being ignored except for "Rainbow In The Dark", is as hard to melt as the horrible guitarsolo."
(Review taken from Expressen. Originally written in swedish by Martin Carlsson.)
Notice: Martin Carlsson later claimed that he was only given one promo-CD from the recordcompany. It said nowhere that it was going to be a double-CD. The grading might have been different then. /Mårten
DIO'S INFERNO - THE LAST IN LIVE
3/5
"This liverecord from Dio's last tour, almost could have been a greatest hits album.
Some Rainbow songs, two from Black Sabbath and a whole bunch from the group Dio, where most of them is from "Holy Diver".
The album is no must in the recordcollection, but definately a pleasant contribution. It is nice to hear how Ronnie James Dio and his companions makes talented versions of the old classics for the 90's as well.
(Review taken from Aftonbladet. Originally written in swedish by Bella Stenberg.)
DIO'S INFERNO - THE LAST IN LIVE (SPV 085-18842 P2)
9/10
"It was only last March that a rejuvenated Dio played a one-off show in London and although I had tickets for the show I somehow managed to find an excuse not to attend. By all accounts I seem to have missed a real smoker of a gig and now, just to rub salt into the wounds, comes this sizzling live treat recorded during the very same tour.
I don't know, but there's just something so special, so exciting about the prospect of a live album that captures the imagination, maybe it's because a band ultimately stand of fall by their performances in the live arena where they have to be at their gladiator-like best or just the fact that it conjures up images and memories of how metal should be heard; loud, raw and in your face.
'Dio's Inferno...' certainly holds true on all these qualities yet still manages to elevate itself high above your average live metal offering due to the electrifying array of the collective talents involved. Guitarist Tracy G. is in blistering form as he stamps his identity on all manner of magical metal moments as the band trawl through one of the richest back catalogues of classic metal action available (I find it strange that he was subjected to such a merciless and damning assassination of both his talent and character in a Kerrang! review based purely on the fact that his name is Tracy, yet they continue to praise the living shite out of a bloke called Marilyn!) The powerful pounding heart of this particular metal monster is driven by the muscular partnership of Vinnie Appice (drums) and Larry Dennison (bass) whose sumo rhythmic beat is relentless as it is granite solid while the roar of the beast comes from the little big man himself Ronnie James Dio, with a voice as big as his heart he captivates his audience with a powerful and soulful display of vocal dynamics.
The jagged 'Jesus, Mary And The Holy Ghost' is the first to engulf you in a firestorm of hostile riffs and angry vocals before the relatively melodic calm of 'Straight Through The Heart' and 'Don't Talk To Strangers' remind you just how good some of Dio's solo material really is. The immense 'Holy Diver' follows and is spoilt only by an unnecessary drum solo that only succeeds in strangling the CD's natural flow and is the CD's one true moment of weakness. Listen, drum solos are godawful and boring to watch in concert at the best of times (unless you're watching Kiss or Motley Crue), so let's leave them out of live albums in future please.
The long list of Dio-orientated classics march on whether it be solo material 'We Rock', 'Stand Up And Shout', 'Double Monday' and 'The Last In Line', Rainbow classics 'Long Live Rock 'n Roll and 'Man On The Silver Mountain' or the huge slabs of Sabbath riffage 'The Mob Rules' and a superb scaled down version of 'Heaven And Hell', being stripped of the usual extended solos and audience sing-a-longs and closer to the original album version it sounds truly magnificent in all its restored glory.
However, the real highlight is a stunning version of 'Mistreated' which perfectly showcases thetalents of both Tracy G and Dio. Tracy certainly ain't no Richie Blackmore but he does enough to command your respect here while Dio himself is in punishing form turning in a display that will give Mr. Coverdale nightmares as he utilises his powerful range with such passion and rage before 'Mistreated' seamlessly unfolds into the graceful 'Catch The Rainbow' with consummate ease, in a word joyous.
Like I said before, there's nothing quite like a live album to set the soul on fire and 'Dio's Inferno...' can pride itself on ranking up there with the best of them, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll indeed."
(Review taken from Hard Roxx, issue no 29 - February 1998. Written by Gordon Speirs.)
MAGICA (SPIT 020)
You can't hardly read one single review about Ronnie James Dio without his age being mentioned. But what is said in his birth-certificate is completely uninteresting; if you sing like this metal-veteran, it doesn't matter if you are thirty, fourty or sixty years old.
Since the start at the end of the 1950's (!), his powerful voice has echoed like a true hero-singer in a Wagner opera, and gilded songs with Elf, Black Sabbath and Rainbow. And after that he has contiunued under his own name (well, his real name is actually the uncool Ronald Padavona), and being one of the greatest voices of metal of all times. The last years his career has halted though.
But those of you who saw Dio on Sweden Rock Festival and Monsters Of The Millennium last year, can see that Ronnie still has the hunger to be in the game.
This is being confirmed with new album "Magica". Though it does contains crap like Ronnie reading out loud like Astrid Lindgren (Swedish author, writing children-books), for the last twenty minutes of the album, and robot-voices and other stuff that shouldn't be on a rock-album.
But when it rocks, it rocks hard. "Fever Dreams", "Turn To Stone" and "Feed My Head" are in many ways as good as anything on his first three albums. It is heavy and driven on the same way.
Dio is once again a name to count on. Not because of his old works, but with a new heavy album in the luggage.
(Review taken from Close Up, issue 38 - March/April 2000. Originally written in swedish by Jerry Prütz.)
MAGICA (SPITFIRE/PLAYGROUND)
2/6
Ronald Padavona, more known as Ronnie James Dio, doesn't give up. Unfortunately. During the early 1980's, before thrash-metal hit us, he was big. I remember annoying concerts with Dio at Hovet (arena in Stockholm) where he bounced around in Peter Pan-shoes. He was doing the dragons and demons concept back then. And that is what he is doing now. He shouts as bad as before, but now the music is even lamer than before it that is possible. Brrrr.
(Review taken from Svenska Dagbladet, 24th of March 2000. Originally written in swedish by Stefan Malmqvist.)
MAGICA (SPITFIRE/PLAYGROUND)
If there is one artist you always can trust on live, then it is Dio. With a big and wide song-material to pick from (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio), and one of the best rock-voices in the world, he always presents quality. But it has been a while since he succeded on record. "Angry Machines" was a disappointment, the songs felt most stagnating and poor, except for "Hunter Of The Heart", where it really flashed. Therefore, it was with excitement I listened to "Magica", but even though I want to hail it, I can only give it an doubtful OK. The vibes from the 70's and the 80's is there, and both Rainbow- and Black Sabbath parts shows, but not much is happening, and the burning feeling is missing. But after a few listens, some songs starts to stand out, especially "Fever Dreams", "Turn To Stone" and "Challis", which actually rocks at loud volume. The stupid imaginary story about "Magica" is just something to gasp at, but happily enough, Jimmy Bain from the Rainbow-days is back, which might open the possibility for a Rainbow re-union, which is wanted by many including me.
(Review taken from Groove, #2. Originally written in swedish by Thomas Olsson.)
MAGICA (EAGLE/PLAYGROUND)
2/5
No one can blame Ronnie James Dio for not having a huge voice. The little man has more than enough of voice, but that doesn't mean that he can steer up any song-material at all with that voice. "Magica" is no fun experience. It is filled with nice, promising intros, but all of them turns out to be the same old boring rock. Heights at the same level as "Holy diver" and "The last in line" is totally out of sight. Maybe Dio should seek some new working-partners and try some different ways. It is hard to only live on your old works.
(Review taken from Aftonbladet, 17th of March 2000. Originally written in swedish by Johanna Strömqvist.)
KILLING THE DRAGON (PLAYGROUND)
2/5
Ronald James Pardovana (!), more known as Ronnie James Dio, does not give up. His last record, Magic (!), from 2000, showed that his band Dio, really was back to the sound they had at their breakthrough album Holk Driver (!). And Killing The Dragon doesn't move away from that track. If you like hardrock the way it sounded in 1983, when people jumped around in Peter Pan-shoes on the stage and fought with fake-sword against fake dragons, then Dio is the man. Personally I think it sounds very out-dated.
(Review taken from Slitz, June 2002. Originally written in swedish by Stefan Malmqvist. Faults are noted with (!).)
KILLING THE DRAGON (PLAYGROUND)
4/6
Ronnie James Dio doesn't need a closer presentation. Efter more that 40 years in the business, most rocklovers should have heard him in one band or another.
The last albums more modern and hard sound has been put behind in advance for the more classic sound from the beginning of his solocareer. Classics like Holy Diver and The Last In Line can be hinted in the songs. And in some way it feels that this is the way Dio should sound. The songs doesn't have the same bite as before, though, sometimes it feels like they have gone more on experience than creativity. Dio's songs are performed by good musicians (as always) and of course, Dio's voice is splendid (you get more impressed for every year). And some of the songs, Push and the title track for instance, has all chances to become cultsongs in hardrock-circles.
Also listen to: Dio - The Last In Line
(Review taken from Svenska Dagbladet, 24th of May 2002. Originally written in swedish by Henrik Kolbjér).
KILLING THE DRAGON (SPITFIRE/PLAYGROUND)
2/5
Sometimes you get surprised that some artists can manage to go on. Ronnie James Dio hade - as so many other rockers of his generation - his quality and commercial highpoint in the beginning and middle of the 1980's. That's when he and a handfull of well chosen musicians classics like "Holy Diver", "Last In Line" and "Sacred Heart", of which all are parts of the hardrock must haves.
But the small and nice man doesn't give up, and keeps putting out albums as time have stood still the last 17-18 years. Songs like "Scream", "Better In The Dark" and "Throwaway Children" could have been taken directly from the mentioned milestones above, and indicates a real shake-up since the more than allowed hard to get concept-piece "Magica" from 2000. These 3 semi-hits aren't enough by far. And it pains me to see another one of my heroes to run around with no relevancy. Neil Young was right, sometimes it is better to burn fast than slowly fade away.
(Review taken from Aftonbladet 7th of June 2002. Originally written in swedish by Mattias Kling).
KILLING THE DRAGON (EAGLE/PLAYGROUND)
2/5
After the tired concept-opus "Magica", Dio at least deliver a product he at least doesn't have to be ashamed of. Naming the album "Killing The Dragon" just shows that the ambition is to return to 1983/84, when Dio's dragons and demons ruled the hardrock-world. The tempo is pretty slow, and when it speeds up in "Better In The Dark" it is mostly a nostalgic pass to "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll".
(Review taken from Expressen 17th of May 2002. Originally written in swedish by Martin Carlsson).
KILLING THE DRAGON (SPITFIRE/EAGLE)
4/5
(Review taken from www.daylightsuffering.com Written by Mårten Jacobsson).
The beginning of this song, when
the guitar comes in, has a distinct Iron Maiden feel too it, in the sense that a
lot of Maiden songs are played while riding their e strings in triplets. But
that quickly gives way to the classic Black Sabbath/Dio sound! Nice and Heavy…I
believe this song will definitely quickly become a Dio classic!
The words, at first glance, conjure up images of battles between dragons and
dragon slayers, castles, knights, etc. But after further consideration, I
believe there is a deeper meaning behind the words; I believe these lyrics are
actually referring to Internet addiction, while possibly alluding also to
Internet predators. In this frame of thinking, if you will read the lyrics while
keeping the following concepts and word associations in mind, I think you will
see my meaning.
“Silence
We hunt for the queen
Sign of the cross
And pray in between”
Parents obviously want the best for their children, but while parenting doesn’t
come with an instruction handbook, we do our best, and hope and pray that our
children will adhere to our teachings and get the best out of it, and that no
outside influences will adversely
affect their inner selves. In the previous passage, “queen” would represent the
perfect product that the child(ren) could become with our teachings…a “holy
grail” of a person, if you will.
“Something's taken a child”
Meaning the addiction to the internet, spending most waking hours on it, takes
the child(ren) away from what their full potential could be.
”And it all must end
Time to be killing the dragon again”
“Dragon” here represents the addiction.
“Oh to be never afraid
Of wolves at the door
Howling for more”
“Wolves at the door howling for more”…Could this be alluding to Internet
predators? Or maybe to the addiction rearing it’s ugly head in the form of
temptation?
“Kneel and behold your new king
Digital dreams
And wonderful things
To tease you
Small gods with electrical hearts
And it all will end
Time to be killing the dragon”
"Digital Dreams" - “Small gods with electrical hearts”…Pretty obvious, isn’t it?
A computer…the Internet.
On second thought, this song could just be about technology in general, couldn’t
it?
Please keep in mind that I could be way off base here, and this is just a
concept that came to MY mind while reading these lyrics. This song could just as
easily be about something entirely different!
This song has an epic feel to it. It’s right here, in your face, and makes no apologies! (But, to be sure, It has absolutely NOTHING to apologize for!) The guitar solo is played fast and furious, precise, and has a touch of Yngwie feel at the end of the solo. This is a very strong song and, if it doesn’t simply kick you in the ass right away, will definitely grow on you very quickly!
This one has a very “Heaven And Hell”ish feel to it in the beginning. Again, nice and heavy. This is one of those songs that could get so much radio play that it’s over killed.
A fast song. One of those songs that will have your feet tapping right along to the beat. Definitely one that will pick you up and kick you in the ass right away. It’s got a great bass line. The guitar simply moves right along at the speed of light. Destined to be one of the greats.
This one has a very nice, slow acoustic and vocal introduction, which sounds great. The main riff has a very Led Zeppelin feel to it…in the vein of Kashmir. This is the kind of song that you could sit in the dark, headphones on, eyes closed, volume up all the way, and just lose yourself in. I do feel, however, that the chorus on this song leaves something to be desired.
Now here is a strong chorus with a great hook! It’s no wonder spitfire used the chorus of this song as a sound clip on their website to “push” this album! ;-) This one will have you singing right along with it in no time flat!
Another heavy sounding song. Nice time change just before the guitar solo. This song’s got a nice hook that will remain with you well after the song has ended. Ronnie does a great job with his own backing vocals towards the end of the song.
Oh man…what
can I say that will do this song justice? A tragic masterpiece! The hook (and
WHAT a hook it is!) is all over this one! The chorus is simply enchanting and
exceptional. Doug’s guitar tone fits the feel of the song very well. This song
has a slow steady rhythm, with a Sabbath feel (especially the guitar solo).
This song takes on the task of portraying the life (and death) of one runaway
child, used as an example of the nightmarish life of neglect and abuse that way
too many children, (indeed, even one is too many!!!), must endure at the hands
of uncaring, selfish, unscrupulous, perverted predators that infest this world
and prey on the lives of these poor lost children. These so called people
pretend to be someone that will care for these children, and say that they will
provide for them, all so that they can profit from there evil plans of what they
have in store for the children…usually prostitution. Then when these children
are no longer profitable, or their “usefulness” has expired, they turn their
backs on these children. The song doesn’t touch on what caused the death of this
particular child, be it A.I.D.S., drug abuse, murder, or whatever, but that, I
believe, is because all of these things (and more) are causes of death every
single day that
ends the lives of these innocents.
If the words and feel don’t make you hate anyone and everyone that has ever
taken advantage of a child…and make you want to donate to
Children Of The Night,
then the children’s voices at the end will have you whipping out your wallets so
fast you’ll have friction
burns on your behind! This song tugs very efficiently at the heartstrings. It
can and does have the tears straining to break free from the confines of your
eyelids…my advice? Let ‘em flow! And make sure to visit
Children Of The Night
and make your donations to help these poor,
unfortunate children who so desperately need our help! EVERY PENNY COUNTS!!!
The children’s chorus has helped Ronnie give this song just the edge it needs to
be one of the most emotional cries for help that this listener has ever heard.
Any cry for help is a sad event, but when a cry for help comes in the form of a
song, such as this one, it does it’s cause justice and helps bring relief…And
though the reason for this song’s existence is a sad one, the song is a pleasure
to listen to …this is one that will stay with me for years to come!
Dio said “Let there be a masterpiece of a song”, and there was. Dio looked at
it, and saw that it was good! And he called the masterpiece “Throw Away
The Children”.
This song
has a good riff, the two Hammond solos have a very Deep Purpleish sound to them,
with a touch of old Uriah Heep thrown in for good measure. And though this is a
good song, after the first spin, it doesn’t strike this listener as one that
will be one of my favorites…but who knows, given the chance of a few more spins,
maybe all that will change. But for now, the review for this song ends like
this…”And on the ninth song, Dio rested.”
UPDATE…I’ve changed my mind! ;-)
This song has indeed grown on me, in fact, there is not a song on the entire
album that I dislike in any way, shape, or form! I’ve listened to the album now,
front to back, many, many times over, and just simply cannot get enough of
it…and that includes this song!
Great groove and hook…It has the
feel of a great sing-a-long! I could well imagine sitting around the campfire
with a guitar in hand …and everyone belting out the lyrics for this at the top
of their lungs into the night’s darkness. Curious eyes glowing from the
darkness, as they watch with puzzlement the humans dancing around the open fire.
This song has the unmistakable sound of another band Ronnie fronted for several
years…Elf!! I can’t help wondering if this song is meant to get us ready for
another Elf album in the not too distant future? Now THAT would be something!
But would also have this listener worried that maybe Ronnie was thinking of
retirement, as it could easily mark a career that’s come full circle. Let us
hope that this would not be the case, as I’d like to look forward to new
material from Ronnie for years to come! This one also has the sound and feel of
the Sacred Heart era, which is a very good plus in my book!
Now I know there are a few out there who didn’t especially like the Sacred Heart
era (a very small number, one would hope)…but really, I mean seriously, COME ON!
Someone should very lovingly, but sternly, slap some sense into these misguided
souls! ;-)
(This was a joke people, please no one get their shorts all bunched up over
this! I realize people have a right to their own screwed up opinions, and heaven
knows……I have mine!!)
So, to conclude this listeners review, Ronnie is in top form on this album! But,
of course, he never fails to simply astound! This album, I believe, will
continue Dio’s climb back up the charts. I predict that this will be the best
album of the year…PERIOD.
Doug, the newest member of Dio, is technically precise, delivers just the touch
each song needs, be it fast, furious, and in your face, or slow, melodic, and
emotional. This is one fan that hopes Doug will stick around for a VERY long
time to come!! This album is easily one of the best albums I’ve heard in
years…literally! It is a pleasure to listen to, and I predict that it won’t
leave my CD player for months to come…(and then, and only IF it happens, that’ll
only be for short intervals!!)
Grab this one immediately! You don’t want to miss out! You will never be happier
with a purchase of music as you will with this one!
(Thanks to Mark K. Rakes also known as Strype)
(Epic, 1972)
8/10
"The group Elf, gives you early hardrock, model 1972. The group didn't make any bigger success, and passed away after three records in the early 1970's. They are most known these days, being the group there Ronnie James Dio started his recording-career, even though it said Ronald Padavona on the record covers at that time.
This is the debut and the producers are the not totally unknown Roger Glover and Ian Paice from Deep Purple.
In todays standards, this isn't much hardrock, it feels more like blues or boogierock with powerful piano-playing.
But it doesn't matter; the record is really nice anyway and it has got a distinct production. Roger Glover later produced Nazareth during their days of glory in 1973 - 1974, and he probably learned a lot here."
(Review taken from a swedish magazine. Originally written in swedish by RY.)
World War III review written by Sani Anttila
Terve Dio fans!
Do you guys remember the time when Jimmy Bain, Vinny Appice, Tracy Grijalva and Mandy Lion worked together? Well it was around 89' or 90' when they decided to make some traditional heavy metal music, but as it turned out their record company (Hollywood Records) wasn't that interested of promoting it. It's almost impossible to actually find www3 album from anywhere... but if you have any luck at all, you might bump into it sometimes. For months I have listened it from a bad cassette copy and i didn't even have all the songs in it. Finally I managed to find it from the local record shop (they are selling also used lp:s and cd:s) and I was a happy fellow.
ok here is the complete tracklist:
Time For Terror Love You To Death
Over The Rainbow (short intro)
Call Me Devil
Children Of The Revolution
Go Down
Love At First Bite
The Harder They Come
Atomic Sex Appeal
Drive You Crazy
The Cage
1. Time For Terror starts with *Eddie Van Halen* style of guitar torture intro, which I did not like that much...this kind of stuff has become some sort of a cliché since the first Van Halen album. The Main riff is pretty powerfull, which I think could be the maintheme for the Beavis And Butthead show... [ I have this vision of B&B moshing with their forefinger and index finger high...uh, you know what those two weirdos are alike] The Music reminds me of Judas Priest which is fine with me. Mandy Lion's voice sounds like mix between Lemmy Kilmister and angry Rob Halford. Mandy Lion ain't no pretty throat, that's for sure! Lyrics are little better than most of Mandy's personal *horny animal porn poetry* . The Lyrics are basicly a statement to assholes...nothing special or unique, but they seem to fit into the atmosphere. Tracy's first guitarsolo is ok for this song, but it could have been done much better. Tracy's solo in the end of the song is little better than the first solo. Mandy is shouting like some pissed off demon, which is little corny[he does that a lot]. Jimmy Bain and Vinny Appice are playing together as a motor behind Tracy's guitar and Mandy's voice.
my points: 7
2. Love You To Death could be a song made for Alice Cooper[1986-92 era], because it really reminds me of stuff like Poison and Prince Of Darkness. I really love this song to death. I have always loved Alice Cooper, so this is definitely one of my favourite tracks from ww3. Vinny and Jimmy are really smoking with this tune and it really shows in Tracy's guitarwork, which is better than most of the album's guitarparts . The Mainriff is a classic which could easily break some bones in my body. Mandy sings this song like some sad and lovesick werewolf. If you guys have ever seen the movie "Howling" you know what I mean. I'm really impressed with Tracy's guitarwork in this tune. Lyrics are again dealing with Mandy's personal *bed experiences...*
my points: 9+
3.Call Me Devil is not a bad rock tune in musically, but the lyrics...ah yes the lyrics...oh dear! They are really bad, if ya know what I mean. This could be one of those tunes that can be heard from the eighties Kiss and Ac/Dc albums. Vinny and Jimmy are doing a fine job with Call Me Devil and Tracy is just adding his *horny* guitarparts that should give somewhat sexual athmosphere.
my points: 8 points
After this track is over, the whole album is changing towards Spinal Tap.
4.Children Of The Revolution is actually
an old T-Rex song made by Marc Bolan. The Song starts with
children choir and then our animal singer Mandy is trying to ruin
the heavenly mood by his usual raspy voice.
my points: 6
5.Go Down is a typical hard rock track that doesen't give the listeners anything new that hasn't heard before. This is excactly what Kiss was doing in the middle eighties. h ere are some lyrics: "I need to touch you now And taste your skin Why don't you follow me Let's commit a sin"
my points: 5+
6. Love at First Bite is just...well it's...uh... ya know it's a song like Spinal tap would play. What can I say really, but enough is enough. I didn't like this track at all. again some of the totally breathtaking lyrics for you horny people out there! "Honey don't be scared Because this isn't gonna hurt you much Come on take my hand I'm gonna lead you to the promised land" There was absolutely nothing about this tune that I liked. I hate to say this but this was one of the most silliest songs that I've ever heard.
my points: 4+
7. The Harder They Come is little better than the two previous tracks, but the lyrics are again just total bunch of Beavis&Butthead soft porn stuff... Butthead says:"Uh, is this like intelligent Dr.Ruth music?" Ok here's another funny line that our favourite poet Mandy Lion has come up with: "You heard about me About my skills You also heard that Mandy kills for thrills Old women blush The young ones squeal And they all know me for my steel appeal" think about... "bees do it, birds do it..." ...musically this is pretty good track which could be a track from Holy Diver.
my points: music 8+
lyrics [which I think were absolutely hilarious in a way]: 9+
8. Atomic Sex Appeal review because I keep laughing my bollocks off...geez What a total Spinal Tap this has become... I don't know if this is the worst track, but it certainly has it's moments. Tracy's guitarsolo is something that Slash or eddie Van Halen would play, and I guess it *fits like a glove*
music: 5+ lyrics:
9.Drive You Crazy is also one of those Kiss meets Ac/Dc. Vinny Appice is doing cool rhythm changes, but it doesen't save the song.
10. The Cage is much better than most of the stuff in ww3. I especially loved Tracy's rhythm guitar sound. The Song starts with Jimmy Bain's bassguitar and Mandy's nihilistic and dark voice. This time I tried to ignore Mandy's lyrics and concentrate on the music itself,which was actually ok. The First guitarsolo was little boring and short, but the second solo was much better and more emotional. If the lyrics would have been some other topics than sex, this could have been a killertrack.
I was very dissapointed by this album. If Ronnie would have been the vocalist and if the lyrics would have been other topics than just animalistic sex, it could have been much better. The First 3 tunes from ww3 were very good in my opinnion, but the rest of it was just way too corny. There might be some Motorhead and Kiss fans out there who might enjoy this kind of stuff, but I personally don't like much of this kind of stuff. "God Damn-looking good tonight Because you're wearing next to nothing I don't know how to handle myself 'Cause my attraction keeps on growing Come on baby feel that bulge You call love and make me shiver Come on honey and forget about the money What I got goes so much deper"
Sani" I got bulge in my pants"Anttila
4/5
"It's been a long time, but Tony Iommi, master of the leviathan riff, still plays in a world gone black. Let's just forget the past few Sabbath albums. By that token, let's forget the past few Dio records too. They were all crap; and who were all other Sabbath singers anyway? Is 'Dehumanizer' a cynical contrivance to rescue two careers gone dreadfully awry or a sincere effort to recapture a bit of Sabbath's glory? Who cares. This reunion of the Sab's 'Mob Rules' lineup - Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Vinnie Appice and a certain diminutive gent named Dio - is the best Sabbath record since 'Heaven And Hell' and the best straightahead, dread-inducing heavy-metal record in ages.
Is it a great Black Sabbath album? Not in the same way 'Vol. 4' and 'Master Of Reality' were. That's the stuff of grimy legend that even its voice of paranoid madness, Ozzy Osbourne, will never touch again. But 'Dehumanizer' is a great effort nonetheless, with Iommi vomiting riff upon riff with a vengeance not heard from him in years - a reminder of why James Hetfield constantly pays homage to the man. From the opening roar of 'Computer God' to the last crunch of 'Buried Alive', it's all guitars swoping like vultures, drums that sound like cannon fire and vocals more passionate than anything Ronnie James got close to in his dungeons/demons/dragons phase. 'Dehumanizer' is easily the best thing he's done since, well his last Sabbath album!
There are touches of the old Sab here and there, the first being 'After All', which opens with Dio snarling the question, "What do you say to the dead?" The sludge kicks in, and the interogation of the afterlife begins. 'TV Crimes' is a speedy blow to anyone who's ever doubted any of these players' credibility, but Sabbath knows what gear to keep it in most of the time - low and slow. 'Letters From Earth' is another new classic in the old tradition. It's heavy and crushing and will teach the Troubles and Cathedrals of the world a thing or two about the definition of doom.
Listening to 'Dehumanize', the past two decades and Iommi's tarnished legacy fade away, and it almost seems like your ears never stopped bleeding."
(Review taken from RIP. Written by Mike Gitter.)
2/5
"When Ronnie James Dio's group Dio no longer made any masterpieces (like 'Holy Diver'), he took a look at his balance and forgot about all the previous arguments with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler in Black Sabbath. With that, the Sabbath-crew that made 'Heaven And Hell', 'Mob Rules' and 'Live Evil' could reunite and make old fans jump up and down of joy.
It is about Dio as vocalist, Iommi on the guitars, Butler on the bass and Vinny Appice behind the drums. That there are any other reason than to milk the last money out of the Sabbath-name, is hard for me to believe. Even though Ronnie James Dio still has a admirable voice, most of the songs sounds pretty fatiguing and bored. Of course there are heaviness and playing-skill enough, but then what?
'TV Crimes' and 'Time Machine' (from the movie 'Wayne's World') raises over the other material, there titles such as 'Buried Alive' and 'After All (The Dead)' shows that Sabbath hardly can't be accused of being exaggerated optimistics or raising the mood.
The cover is also worth mentioning because it is really stinking and pathetic. Like a parody of how really ugly hardrock-covers looked in the beginning of the 1980's."
(Review taken from a Slitz. Originally written in swedish by DB.)
1/5
"Like many others, I hoped that Ronnie James Dio's reunion with Black Sabbath would lead to a great album. Both parts needed that. Unfortunately it went down the drain. Compared to the albums Black Sabbath made with the vocalist Tony Martin, this is pure crap. Not because Dio sings bad - he never does. But there isn't any feeling at all!
Probably is Black Sabbath trying to be a little bit rougher, become more modern, more deathmetal, less inflated production. The result is that the production sounds like a garage-recording. There aren't any flow, no heaviness. Tony Iommi's heavy riffs seems to have blown away. Vinny Appice is an excellent drummer, but with that drumsound on a record, you would kill any world-drummer. Geezer Butler sound uninspired. Not even the songs keep the same high level as before.
Maybe it's hard for them pretending to be friends, when they have been stabbing each others backs for ages. Maybe it's something you never should try, no matter how desperately you need a selling-success."
(Review taken from Aftonbladet. Originally written is swedish by Annika Sundbaum-Melin.)
(Roadrunner, 1995)
7.04/10?
Producers: C Goldy & M Bradley
"This is a peculiar one. A two-man project in disguise of a solo effort? The record gives us four instrumental trax written, produced and performed by CRAIG GOLDY. One is written, produced and - with the exception of guitar solo, intro and outro - performed by MATT BRADLEY. Another four are written and produced by GOLDY/BRADLEY, but mainly performed by GOLDY. The word "performed" include guitar, bass, keyboards (plenty of nice fills, actually) and drum programming. Apart from the instrumental pieces there's "someone" singing. It wasn't until I got a press release saying that GOLDY works with the singer BRADLEY that I understood who sings, as the part of the album cover that I got give me no information at all about who's singing.
This is the third solo album by GOLDY, but as I haven't heard the previous two, I've got nothing to compare this one with. Before going solo, he's played with DIO for example. Musically then? Well, once again I've been given an album with the "Not Easy Listening" mark glued to the cover. And it would be very odd to put it in the "guitar hero" genre. The music is mostly very complex with changes and bridges leading to completely different and often unexpected parts. A few trax reminds me a bit of JOHN JAMES SYKES' BLUE MURDER, especially the masterpiece 'Desperate Plea'. MATT BRADLEY sings quite all right, actually his voice reminds me a bit of the in my opinion often underrated (as a singer) SYKES.
What more? Hmmm, without the "time" and "track no" functions on my CD-player, I would have had difficulties telling when one song ended and another one started. Most of 'em ends abruptly enough, but many have rather long intros (or outros). These are often very interesting and perhaps futuristic, giving me a feeling of pure science fiction that satisfies an old roll-players' heart!
The production is good, almost too clear, or sharp. It didn't seem so during the first couple of listenings, but when I became more familiar with the record and sorted things out, it's appeared as very clear to me. Almost unbearable, as there seems to be happening things in the background that you just can't really hear. You know it's there but you can't put your finger on it. Kinda weird and frustrating!
This has already become quite a long review and I'm facing the risk of repeating myself, but: Hey wimps! Except no "fluff-fluff" on this record, except for the beautiful instrumental piece called 'Just being me'. But if you care to experiment a bit musically, give CRAIG GOLDY a chance. He deserves it!"
(Review taken from Frontline number 19, April 1996. Originally written by Hårdråx-Larry.)