Tag Archives: simon wright

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

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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The “Ronnie James Dio” Hologram Tour Is Announced

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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The Dio Hologram Rocks 2017 Pollstar Awards

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

“Holy Diver Live” [Blu-ray] by Dio

Artist: Dio
Title:
“Holy Diver Live” (Blu-ray)
Label:
Eagle Vision
Release Date: 10/12/2010
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 4.25/5

What a year 2010 has been for the Metal Republic. From the beginning it was a tight one in terms of the ever fluctuating economy that seemed to strangle the very manner in which we do things but still the fans pressed on and supported the music that they loved so much. It was a year that first smacked us in the jaw when it took bassist Peter Steele from Type O Negative from us and then before we could catch our collective breath and move on, the cruel hand of fate would take Ronnie James Dio from this plane of existence and leave us all astonished, hurt and angry. The loss of such a powerful force for Metal’s good was bound to find the releases that celebrated better times being delivered to the fans and that is never a bad thing if it helps ease the pain of loss just a little bit. The first such issue that I found being released would be the Blu-ray edition of Dio’s “Holy Diver Live” DVD that originally hit the streets in 2006. Having reviewed that piece before I decided to re-present my words from that article and add a couple of other notes to make it a little more current. I’ll close out by citing any visible differences between that issue and the higher definition Blu-ray version. Read on.
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“We Wish You A Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year” (Deluxe Edition) by Various Artists

Artist: Various Artists
Title: “We Wish You A Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year” Deluxe Edition
Label: Armoury Records
Release Date: 9/14/2010
Genre: Holiday Metal
Rating: 4/5

A couple of years ago the folks over at Eagle Records gave the Metal fans a holiday album that was really something up their alley. Though not as much a story-telling enterprise as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra or as tongue in cheek a delivery as a Twisted Christmas, this really had some interesting and fun stuff to enjoy. Having reviewed the original CD and then its EP follow-up, I decided to combine and slightly rework those thoughts based on Eagle Records re-releasing these albums in time for the 2010 holiday season as one package.

“I’ve been a fan of the holiday juggernaut that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for several years now, but there was no way that my experience with that would have prepared me for how Twisted Sister would deliver their “Twisted Christmas” release. I bring them up as it originally hit me as one of the most absurd items in reviews to do pile but after several listens I found myself intrigued at just how well the conventional Metal vibe worked when crafted together with Holiday classics that they chose. It was an album that left you hungry for more and that made the arrival of the “We Wish You A Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year” release something I was eager to dig into. The players on this one are as vast as the Metal genre itself and as result finds legends like Alice Cooper and Ronnie James Dio performing along with the likes of diverse quality players like Steve Lukather and Ray Luzier and many, many more. The vibe of this release is rather heavy which was good and I admit it that it almost felt like a Motorhead track when Lemmy gave it a go at “Run Rudolph Run”. Shock master Alice Cooper and John 5 delivered the creepiest “Santa Claws Is Coming To Town” I’ve ever heard and believe me at the end of this one, the fact that he knows when you are sleeping and knows when you are awake will scare the Charles Dickens out of you. Winners come shining through during a few numbers like “Silver Bells” which has a powerful modern Metal drive to it and Geoff Tate singing and I felt the same way about the albums opening title track that gave us the magical voice of Jeff Scott Soto, a singer I have always been able to enjoy. Dio is at his ominous best with Mr. Iommi and company for “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and the best way to describe this one is as imagine the band Heaven And Hell doing the track. Weird huh, but it does work on some levels. I had to say that I was put off by the Death Metal growls of Chuck Billy and Thrash treatment given to “Silent Night”, as this is a track that I like to much to see given such a reworking. Of course there are some who might enjoy the chance to finally hit the circle pit to this one, so here you go folks. Former Judas Priest/Iced Earth front man extraordinaire Tim Owens hits it out of the park with “Santa Claus Is Back In Town” and he sounds like he is having a blast and the same can be said for King’s X vocalist Dug Pinnick during “Little Drummer Boy”. It wouldn’t be fair for me to ruin every single surprise on the album so I shall leave the remaining tracks to your own surprise as you unwrap this present with glee after you taking it from the spiked leather stockings that are hanging on your mantle. It does end with a rousing rendition of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and I love this tune and felt the guitarist/singer did a fantastic job of it. He is joined by Toto’s own Steve Lukather who can deliver the goods in any situation it seems.
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