Band: Dio
Release: The Very Beast Of Dio Vol.2 (Album)
Release Date: Out Now
This posthumous collection of fist-clenching heavy metal tracks written and recorded by the great Ronnie James Dio was compiled by Niji Entertainment, run by the deceased rockers wife Wendy Dio and serves as a direct follow-up to the 2000 release ‘The Very Beast Of Dio‘.
With hard hitters including the chug-heavy ‘Killing The Dragon‘ and the riff-driven ‘Push‘, this collection has everything to make the dreams of metalheads come true. What we forget about metal from the era in which Dio ruled is the variation. Blues, rock, metal, glam and occasionally a hint of the classical ran riot, inspiration flying from all directions and being passed onto generations for years and years to come. Tracks like ‘Better In The Dark‘ and ‘Along Came A Spider‘ embody all things rock n’ roll whilst tracks such as the heavy as balls ‘Shivers‘ and ‘Lord Of The Last Day‘ raise the horns of heavy metal with riffs aplenty.
As with any old-school metal record, there is always a slight giggle raised by some sort of cheesy number and on this occasion it comes in the form of the bonus track ‘Metal Will Never Die‘. “I am metal, and I’ll never die” are words that are impossible not smile at.
With tracks splayed throughout in non-chronological order, we become even more aware of the showmanship and craftsmanship of Ronnie James Dio and with the beauty of tracks such as ‘This Is Your Life‘, we are reminded of the true talent of an artist taken before their deserved time, as so many have been and will be.
There is subtle yet not blatant energy throughout the collection, this keeps the listener expectant and interested. No two tracks sound anywhere near similar.
A must have for any heavy metal and rock n’ roll fan.
8/10
Reviewer: Luke Davis
