Tag Archives: elf

Two Years Gone: Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010)

Time flies doesn’t it? Perhaps I said that last year when the first anniversary came to pass. I think that I might have and while I was initially on the fence about posting a two year reflection about the passing of Ronnie James Dio, when the day started out I decided that I should. Let’s face it. Ronnie James Dio became one of the most important figures in Heavy Metal music ever. Without question or controversy, he was the man, and one of the most visible champions of the genre that we have ever had in our corner. His death crushed many and he is missed every single day by his worldwide legions of fans. Since he passed away a whole lot of stuff has popped up in terms of releases or bands touring in his memory. We’ve found unreleased classic shows and limited edition vinyl releases along with special edition versions of some of his work with Rainbow, Elf and of course Dio. A Tribute To Dio band called “Dio Disciples” tours with Ripper Owens at the helm and now a new band that features members of Dio’s first solo touring band are working on unleashing their own thing and I am sure that we have not seen nothing yet.

ronnie james dio, dio, ronald padovana,

Since Ronnie’s death another interesting development was the proposed reunion of the original members of Black Sabbath but now that seems to be a questionable project since it no longer involves the founding Bill Ward. I know that Geezer and Tony didn’t want to continue on with Heaven And Hell without Ronnie at the helm, but I so wish they would have just opted to find someone who would do proper respect to the man and his memory and let these tunes be heard night after night in live concert instead of only being pulled out of the DVD cabinet every now and again. Still I am glad I own the catalog items that I have and I was so glad to have taken photos of him in concert a few times when the means allowed me to do so. Those are my memories. What are your own?

Clicking the photo above will take you to the original memorial blog posting that ran on PiercingMetal Musings the day that Ronnie passed away. I chose to present it to you in this manner as opposed to just making it a “sticky” on the top of the other posts. Please note that the comments have been closed on this particular posting but you can leave any thoughts you might have about Dio on the original memorial piece if you so desire. We welcome your own thoughts about his memory and his continuing influence upon the Heavy Metal scene. So many of us miss him still and wonder how the last two years in Metal might have been had he not been ill or at least been able to recover. Oh well. There is nothing we can do to change the outcome that we got, but let’s blast the Metal music a little bit louder today and never ever forget what Dio gave to us for so many decades of his life.

Note: Please know that the means to comment on this post have been turned off and we ask that any reflection thoughts or toasts about Ronnie James Dio that you wish to share be left on our first Memorial posting that can be found HERE. Thank you.

Ronnie James Dio; The Godfather Of Heavy Metal; Has Died (5/16/2010)

I can hardly believe the words myself, but yes, the news is indeed true and the Metal world has lost one of its most inspiring titans as Ronnie James Dio, The Godfather Of Heavy has died at age 67.  Back in November of 2009 it was reported that Ronnie had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and he quickly began to get treated for it and according to most reports was on the mend if not a little worse for wear from the treatments.  Sadly, the battle that this brave warrior king would fight would not be all that long and he would succumb to the illness and pass from this plane on Sunday morning 5/16/2010.

dio, ronnie james dio, ronnie james dio concert photos, ronald james padavona
Ronnie James Dio: NYC (8/25/2009)

The singer was nothing less than an icon and a man who lived, breathed and pretty much existed Heavy Metal music on a daily basis and while he was born Ronald James Padavona back in 1942, it was the name Dio that resonated like a thunderclap across the music geography of the world.

dio, ronnie james dio, ronnie james dio concert photos, ronald james padavona
RJD in NYC (8/25/2009)

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“Stand Up And Shout – The Anthology” by Dio

Artist: Dio
Title: “Stand Up And Shout – The Anthology”
Label: Rhino Entertainment
Release Date: 5/27/2003
Genre: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock
Rating: 5/5

If you call yourself a Heavy Metal fan and you don’t have a reasonably strong background on the career and accomplishments of singer Ronnie James Dio, then I feel your proclamation will be called into question. Historically, the lead singer began with Elf, his Honky Tonk Blues band and eventually joined forced with Ritchie Blackmore in Rainbow when the axe slinger had grown discontent about Deep Purple. Together they would break musical ground and after a couple of great recordings he would move on to replace Ozzy Osbourne in the legendary Black Sabbath. From Sabbath it seemed the tale was only beginning as he would begin a meteoric solo career that was nothing less than prolific when it came to song writing and impact on the Heavy Metal genre. This Anthology from Rhino Entertainment takes us on a trip through all of the facets of Ronnie’s career and comes off as one of the most expansive and detailed releases of its type based on the material it features. The album begins at the beginning with a few tracks from Elf and while this is not much in the way of Metal as opposed to Blues-influenced Honky-tonk Rock – I am pretty certain that many of Dio’s fans has never even heard this stuff before it was placed here. It’s decent stuff and while never my preference I enjoyed finding out just how versatile Dio actually was at such an early stage of his career. The inclusion of Elf makes this as much an education as it makes it an enjoyable music experience.
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