By: William Clark
Ronnie James Dio is the only man who could ever sing about rainbows and make them sound evil. His passionately sinister sounding vocals made his every performance spectacular and unforgettable, whether it was in the studio or out onstage.His career spanned over five decades, in which he spent time at the helm of such bands as Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and Dio, while creating music that would prove to affect the way people listen and make music forever.
These are just a few of the qualities that shows how Ronnie’s deep music hold on the world is both enormous and everlasting.
His legacy is now honored once more with the new release, The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2, which showcases some of the finest tracks from Dio’s final four studio albums, as well as some fantastic bonus additions.
I can only imagine how difficult it was to pick and choose which songs to be featured for this release, considering the grand catalogue of fantastic unreleased material that Ronnie James Dio left us.
That being said, the entire album flows powerfully and beautifully from start to finish, and pressing the “skip” button doesn’t even cross your mind. The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2 diversely features everything from the vigorous sounding “Killing The Dragon”, to such dynamic power ballads as “As Long As It’s Not About Love”.
Diehard fans should also rejoice at the inclusion of such rarities as “Electra”, one of the tracks created for Dio’s planned follow-up to his 2000 concept album, Magica. “Electra” is a magnificent and undoubtedly Dio-sounding song, which boasts such mind bending lyrics as “Round and round, the square inside the circle” that his classic material is well known for.
As this disc comes towards an end, we reach “It’s Your Life”, a haunting piano ballad that is difficult to listen to without getting a lump in the back of your throat, especially following Dio’s passing.
But, any fan will be able to tell you how Ronnie James Dio’s vocal control has the power to bring such dynamic and intense emotion into his music, whether it’s a comforting rage or a deep depression.
This new release captures both of these of extreme emotions that drenched Dio’s later efforts and brings them together fabulously in one release. Overall, The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2 is a tremendous release that any hard rock and heavy metal headbanger should find incredibly worthwhile and enjoyable.
Format: Audio CD
Original Release Date: October 9, 2012
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Niji Entertainment
Tracks:
1) Killing The Dragon
2) Push
3) The Eyes
4) Along Comes A Spider
5) Better In The Dark
6) Fever Dreams
7) Black
8) Feed My Head
9) Shivers
10) Hunter Of The Heart (Live)
11) One More For The Road
12) Lord Of The Last Day
13) Electra (Bonus Track
14) As Long As It’s Not About Love
15) This Is Your Life
16) Metal Will Never Die (Bonus Track)
17) The Prisoner Of Paradise (Bonus Track)
