Tag Archives: rainbow

“Monsters Of Rock Live At Donnington 1980” by Rainbow

Artist: Rainbow
Title: “Monsters Of Rock Live At Donnington 1980”
Label: Eagle Vision
Release Date: 4/22/2016
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 4/5

Fans of Rainbow and even the legendary Deep Purple should be giving continual thanks to the folks over at Eagle Rock Entertainment because their offerings have allowed them to build up a seriously stocked audio and video library for these bands. This latest release brings us back to the year 1980 where Rainbow was playing the Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donnington. This was a headlining set for the group and it was the first ever Monsters Of Rock event so historically speaking it’s a big deal for sure. Dio had moved on and now in his place was singer Graham Bonnet and based on the timing of the recording would still be showcasing material from “Down To Earth” and the forthcoming “Difficult To Cure”. Rainbow was a band that had quite a few members over the years and for this particular offering we have Don Airey (keyboards), Roger Glover (bass) and Cozy Powell (drums) in addition to Blackmore and Bonnet. I’ll be speaking about the DVD/CD version of this particular release so let’s discuss the DVD part first.
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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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“The Very Best of Rainbow” by Rainbow

Artist: Rainbow
Title: “The Very Best of Rainbow”
Label: Polydor Records
Release Date: 7/15/1997
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 4.5/5

After moving on from Deep Purple, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore would form the band Rainbow and really deliver some amazing music to all of the fans that might have wondered just how good his new enterprise would be. It’s been said that the bands name was derived from the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Hollywood and that makes sense since the joint is known for being host to many a Rock star. The sound of Rainbow was epic at times and commercially successful at others and during the band’s existence would feature a number of different musicians and no less than four lead vocalists. This compilation gives you a great sample of some of the bands glory but in some sense this leaves you with only a healthy taste that will find you hungry for more. With three unique vocalists being presented on the collection (Dio, Bonnet and Turner), I decided to break up my thoughts on each of their contributions to the band.
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Revisiting “Metal Edge” Magazine: The DVD Reviews – Part 4

These video overviews were originally written for Metal Edge Magazine when I was a contributor to their DVD reviews section back in 2006. With the magazine wrapping up publication a few months ago, I decided to add them to the context of our PiercingMetal presentation. I felt that by doing this I would not only be raising the horns in remembrance of the magazine but to also showcase just how different writing for a major publication was when it all came down to it. These posts will feature several reviews each until we run out of them. The freelance writing tenure at Metal Edge Magazine was discussed on THIS LINK so please check that out when done. Here we go with another group of DVD Reviews.

Rainbow: ”Live In Munich 1977” (Eagle Vision/Eagle Rock Entertainment)

Ritchie Blackmore formed Rainbow after becoming unhappy as a member of Deep Purple. The band had a number of lineup changes but gave us some amazing Hard Rock and showcased the talents of Ronnie James Dio and Cozy Powell. The DVD features the only known footage of this roster in 1977 as ilm finds the band supporting their new release “Long Live Rock And Roll” and the albums preceding it. Running a only eight songs there are excellent jams and guitar displays by Blackmore. The audio and visual quality holds up great for its 29 year age and should appeal to all ranges of fans. The DVD comes with bonus footage and includes a miniature tourbook from their European visit.

Sentenced: “Buried Alive” (Century Media Records)

My dear friends we are gathered here on this sad day October 1, 2005 to pay well-deserved tribute to the band Sentenced who tragically and not too quietly ended their life in the same manner that they lived it – on the concert stage among their most ardent and supportive fans. Yes, the DVD release that bears the same name as the CD concert gives the viewers the final live performance ever of the band Sentenced; a band who decided to call it a career with their release Funeral Album, a powerful Gothic Metal CD issued in early 2005. This “suicide” came after sixteen years as a group and essentially at the mass decision that all they could do in this band having been done. It was filmed in their native Finland, at the club Teatria and with over two hours of concert material and also a heaping amount of bonus features. You get an excellent concert and one that features a strong selection from the band’s final album and their singer Ville Laihiala (who has since gone on to focus his efforts with Poisonblack). The years with Ville as front man found the band more Gothic Metal than their original sound of Melodic Death Metal when they were fronted by Taneli Jarva. It was this Gothic Metal sound that ended up inspiring the likes of HIM and The Rasmus. Their fans from the beginning will enjoy the fact that Jarva returns to the stage with the band during this show and performs five numbers from the time that he was a member of the group. His was a darker, rougher voice and more along the lines of the growlers of today’s Black Metal scene. The bonus inclusions give all of the bands videos on the second DVD along with interviews that while in Finnish, do come with sub-titles for the rest of us to enjoy. There is a cryptic segment which finds the band walking through the town with a casket as they take their funeral procession. It leads into a behind the scenes look at the video for “Ever Frost”. With all this material to enjoy it is hard to find yourself not coming to some sense of sadness as a band chooses to close the book on their existence in such a dramatic fashion. Their impact was definitely felt in this aspect of the Metal genre – May they rest in peace.
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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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