Dio - albums


Dio - concerts


Strange Highways

He's kinda old, but he can still sing! This sounds somewhat like a powerful sequel to Dehumanizer (Black Sabbath's last album with Dio) and this is obvious because Vinny Appice is also the drummer. Dio's voice is more controlled in this one---am not sure if this good or bad (I'll know after a few listens). The guitarist doesn't match up to Iommi's calibre, but he's still good. Worth getting---one of the better Dio albums.


Angry Machines

This album is reminiscent of Dio-era Black Sabbath, and even though Tracy G's guitar playing is not as doomy as Tony Iommi's work, I think the songs on this album are the best mix of Dehumanizer and Mob Rules. Dio's vocals, as always, are powerful and moving. Vinny Appice's drumming seems to have definitely matured, and Jeff Pilson's bass provides a solid background to the songs. The lyrics are some of the best I've seen by Dio, and tracks like Institutional Man, Big Sister (Scott Warren's keyboards are a nice touch), and Golden Rules are as good as any of the Dio classics with Rainbow or Black Sabbath. In some ways, this is better than Strange Highways, Dio's last release, which means that this album is going to get a lot of rotations in my CD player.


Music ramblings || Ram Samudrala || me@ram.org