Tag Archives: bjorn englen

Features, Tours and Festivals

Eyellusion Presents the “DIO RETURNS” U.S. Tour 2019

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dio logo, ronnie james dio logo

It seems like forever ago that I first discussed the Dio Hologram Tour with THIS POST from 2017 but now it appears that the moment is night and its time to enjoy this technological wonder when it hits the concert stages of the United States. Take a look at the full press release, poster and dates down below.

tour posters, dio hologram tour posters, ronnie james dio, dio

The Press Release:
The most buzzed-about tour in the heavy metal world – the DIO RETURNS Tour featuring the Ronnie James Dio hologram – is finally coming to the United States this spring and summer! The DIO RETURNS U.S. Tour will feature a line-up of DIO bandmembers of 17 years performing aside the stunning Ronnie James Dio hologram.

The official band line-up will feature Craig Goldy on guitar, Simon Wright on drums, Scott Warren on keyboards, and newer DIO family member Bjorn Englen on bass. The show will also feature renowned metal vocalists Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens (Judas Priest/Yngwie Malmsteen) and Oni Logan (Lynch Mob).
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Features, Tours and Festivals

The “Ronnie James Dio” Hologram Tour Is Announced

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Hey there readers, so do you remember a post that we ran last year at around this time? It was from the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany and what was an added attraction for the fans over there was the presentation of the Ronnie James Dio hologram. It performed songs with the guys in Dio Disciples and if you missed that post or the clip itself just click HERE to be more up to speed. Fast forward to where we are now, and the company that created this fantastical spectacle have just announced the first dates on a world tour that will feature this hologram. Read on to the press release down below.

The Press Release:
Live music’s premier hologram production company Eyellusion today revealed initial dates for “Dio Returns: The World Tour”, featuring a hologram of Ronnie James Dio reunited with the late rock star’s former bandmates from the DIO band. The tour will make more than eighty stops around the globe, kicking off in Helsinki, Finland on November 30. It marks the first tour of its kind, breaking new ground just as Dio did throughout an accomplished career as a lead singer and songwriter in defining bands such as RAINBOW, BLACK SABBATH and DIO.

The “Dio Returns” tour will also make stops throughout Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, United Kingdom, Venezuela and other countries, with dates to be announced. The tour is expected to come to the United States in spring 2018 and play festivals globally during the summer.

The Ronnie James Dio hologram will perform for the majority of the show, treating fans to an alternating set list that will feature songs such as “Holy Diver”, “Rainbow In The Dark”, “We Rock”, “King Of Rock And Roll”, BLACK SABBATH’s “Neon Knights” and “Heaven And Hell” and RAINBOW’s “Man On The Silver Mountain” and more.
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Features, PiercingMetal Says

The Dio Hologram Rocks 2017 Pollstar Awards

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In case you haven’t heard this yet, according to what I’ve read online, the “Dio Hologram” opened up this years Pollstar Awards with a rousing performance of “We Rock” from the late great singers debut album “Holy Diver”. The Hologram was joined by former players from the band he had when the sonic register was housed in a more corporeal form. Check out the clip below.

The musicians in the Dio Disciples that you see in the clip are guitarist Craig Goldy, drummer Simon Wright, bassist Bjorn Englen and keyboardist Scott Warren. They sound great and sync up perfectly with the late RJD. The Dio Hologram appeared at last years Wacken Open Air Festival (which was actually its debut) and this is something that will be going on tour and delivering a full concert for the fans of his music. The hologram will of course be joined by the compliment of players you see in the above clip and very likely some special guests along the way. This was a creation of the talented folks at Eyellusion.

PiercingMetal Thoughts: Alright so don’t get me wrong about this, but I think this is a pretty weird thing to take on a full scale tour. I don’t mind the assorted Dio players doing his music in the scene today but doing so while a hologram is projected onto the stage just doesn’t feel right to me. Perhaps as a special inclusion to something like that Wacken Festival or another big Metal gathering or awards program but not like this. I’d need to see more to properly decide and feel that now that this is being done can a “Dimebag” Darrell or Lemmy hologram be far behind and being planned for tours with other musicians. Am I wrong here my readers or is this indeed a strange proposition for a tour? Let me know what you think in the comments below because I would love to hear what you think about it. I should close with how I miss Dio’s presence in Metal very much but his sounds are never far from us in the traditional way that he wanted us to enjoy them.

Official Website: http://www.ronniejamesdio.com

Music, Reviews

“Mask” (Single) by Edge Of Paradise

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Artist: Edge Of Paradise
Title: “Mask” (Single)
Label: Shredrock Records
Release Date: 9/15/2011
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 4/5

I was listening to the Heavy Metal Mayhem Radio Show recently and caught an interview with the lead singer Margarita Monet of this brand-new band to my Metal ears known as Edge Of Paradise. The name rings a mental bell but at this time I cannot determine why this is the case. The young singer sounded super positive and while the host of the show played a song called “Falling Down” I could only locate the single which is the same name as the debut album “Mask”. Here are some thoughts on the tune and the band.
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Events, Reviews

Yngwie Malmsteen @ Blender Theater at Gramercy (10/26/2008)

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Guitar virtuoso Yngwie J. Malmseen was back in New York City to deliver his smoldering new album with singer Tim “Ripper” Owens as a part of his bands lineup.  The show was held at The Blender Theater and we were on point to bring the scoop to your attention in words and images.  Scroll past the logo below to see our item.

Logo - Yngwie Malmsteen

Artist: Yngwie Malmsteen
Venue: Blender Theater (New York, NY)
Opener: ANJ
Date: 10/26/2008
Label: Rising Force Records

It’s been almost three years since The Big Apple has been able to enjoy a live performance from guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen, and since that last time a number of dramatic changes have taken place in the musician’s career. The first change would come with the closure of record label Spitfire Records which was for a number of years the easiest place for stateside fans to be able to obtain his last batch of recordings. The second biggest change would come when the guitarist chose to replace long time singer Doogie White with the one and only Tim “Ripper” Owens and begin working on a new smoldering release that would be entitled “The Perpetual Flame”. “The Perpetual Flame” would be a special release for other reasons outside of it continuing to remind the music fans about just why we love Yngwie’s playing so much and even about the fact about Ripper being a part of it. You see, this would be the first CD to be released on the musicians own label imprint called “Rising Force Records”. It was a bold move but we can learn more about that at a later date, for now let’s just go over how amazing tonight’s show was in the event that you somehow missed out on it. If you went, let it serve as a reminder.
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