A quick one today to recap some news that hit yesterday about a massive new box set chronicling the earliest part of Ritche Blackmore’s career in Rainbow. A set called Temple Of The King will release on March 6, 2026 and features an insane NINE cd’s of music.
Now -this set is not a deluxe album collection, something even some casual collectors might jump all over. This is the first of several sets intended to cover Blackmore’s career, which I’ll presume will cover all of Rainbow’s long run and possibly also his other projects. Though do note that this format likely won’t extend to Deep Purple, which Blackmore would not have sole control of.
What we get across these nine discs are the first two Rainbow albums – Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and Rising. The remaining discs are loaded with live shows and the final disc offers up a series of rough mix and alternate rarities.
Given that the crux of the content is live stuff, I decided to go ahead and pre-order this monstrosity. I do have these first two albums hanging out in my cd collection but I saw this and said “what the hell, why not.” I haven’t often been one for the deluxe box set covering just an album or so kind of thing, but this one seemed fine at nine discs for a $100 price point. Add in the fact that this set covers the years 1975 and ’76, which means Ronnie James Dio would feature as the singer on all of the content and I was sold.
The layman might view the tracklists with skepticism, as the live concerts only feature three or four songs per CD. Rest assured that when Blackmore and Rainbow played live in the ’70’s, Blackmore showed up to play his damn guitar. Many songs from the live shows of this era run over ten minutes. And while I don’t know the exact run times of the offerings here, there were some jams that went on for over twenty minutes back in the early Rainbow days. While each disc might only feature roughly thirty minutes or so of music, the sets might have been too long to fit on one CD, with a generally given run time of 80 minutes. Or maybe they could have each fit on a single CD and this presentation is a bit excessive. I don’t know, I guess I’ll find out in March.
Time will speak to the exact worthiness of this set, but overall I think it’s in good shape with two albums, three live shows and a rarities disc. It also clearly opens the door to future installments that would run past Dio’s time in Rainbow and cover the more commercial rock era that featured Graham Bonnet and later Joe Lynn Turner. And the list of other players who were in and out of Rainbow over the years could honestly fill a book. We’ll see how the overseers of this material, assuming Blackmore is among them, choose to present future offerings. But we are off to a running start with two mega classic albums, the immortal tones of Ronnie James Dio, and enough Ritchie Blackmore guitar to fill a planet with soundwaves.
This week I’m heading into 2009 and having a look at the album that would sadly be Ronnie James Dio’s final living testament.
Heaven & Hell – The Devil You Know
Released April 27, 2009 via Rhino Records
The story of how Dio-led Black Sabbath got together one last time is pretty straighforward. In 2007 a greatest hits compilation of the Dio-Sabbath albums was released. Tony Iommi did not have a wealth of usable material from these albums in the vault, so he convened with the other members to record a few new songs for the comp.
This led to touring and rather quickly morphed into recording a new studio album. The only roadblock present was one sprung by her grace Sharon Osbourne – this band could not use the name Black Sabbath, as Camp Osbourne had secured full control of Sabbath’s rights from Iommi several years prior. This led Sharon to release a flimsy PR statement declaring that there was “only one Black Sabbath,” even though anyone with even a passing knowledge of heavy metal is familiar with the several Ozzy-less versions of the band. At any rate, Iommi, Dio, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice chose to rechristen themselves Heaven & Hell in order to tour and record. It was Black Sabbath in all but name, and many record stores even filed the release under Black Sabbath on the shelf.
The album features 10 songs with a 54:01 runtime. There were some digital editions with bonus tracks, these were live cuts and I don’t know of any studio material that was left on the cutting room floor.
Atom And Evil
The opener keeps a slow pace in fitting with the doom aspect of Sabbath’s music. Dio gets to shine on the verses while Iommi opens up the riffing in the chorus and solo break. While not outright headbanging, it’s honestly a great listening experience with the more droning tempo.
And the theme here is very deep, interwoven and well done. Atom And Evil is clearly a play on the Adam and Eve story and the song explores the concept of someone finding forbidden knowledge, just as in the creation story. In this case the knowledge is that of nuclear weapons.
And also of note – this isn’t the first time someone used this song title to express the same sentiments. In 1947, the gospel act Golden Gate Quartet released a single with the same title and theme. Rather different songs, but same idea. Grade: A+
Fear
This one gets going with a fair bit of power and has one hell of a doom riff running through it. The song is simply about being afraid of the dark. This one is actually more about the reality of nyctophobia, which is a feature of prehistoric times when light sources at night were quite scarce and a fear of the dark was perfectly rational. It has lingered with humans ever since and now we have this great song about it. Grade: A
Bible Black
Up next was the advance single from the album. This one builds from a softer intro into a full-on vintage Iommi pounder of a riff. The song is about a guy who becomes possessed by a book of dark knowledge. It’s easy to see why they picked this as the single – this song is full and rich and hits all the right notes. Grade: A+
Double The Pain
This one comes out at a more uptempo, rocking pace. The premise here is of someone who isn’t happy unless they’re miserable, so “double the pain” and make them euphoric. Interesting concept, but honestly I can’t help but feel like I’m listening to a heavy metal commercial jingle for Doublemint gum (that stuff still around?). A good song but maybe just a bit off. Grade: B-
Rock And Roll Angel
This one moves in a straight line with a simple yet effective Iommi riff. This was first called Rock and Roll Jesus, but then Kid Rock released something with that name so this one got changed up. It’s a nice song that’s far from the standout of the album but it’s not bad by any stretch. Grade: B-
The Turn Of The Screw
A song with a fairly upbeat rhythm to it, even Iommi’s riffs have a bit of lift to them on here. A bit juxtaposed with the subject matter as this is about using people up and discarding them. Another song that doesn’t leap out of the speaker but still offers up something worth listening to. Grade: B
Eating The Cannibals
An outright speed song here, this one picks up the tempo and bashes out from start to end. There are even a few melodic rock runs from Iommi over the top of this one, not something you hear from him every day. The theme here is one of violence and also a sort of twist on the “eat the rich” concept. I don’t know that it entirely comes off but the song works just the same. Grade: B+
Follow The Tears
Another more standard Dio doom offering with a few keyboards up front to help differentiate things a bit. It’s a dark tale of how human generosity can be self-serving and ultimately a trap. Another song that’s fine but doesn’t quite go over the hump. Grade: C+
Neverwhere
One more fast and fairly upbeat and tempo track as we wind to album’s end. It’s one of Dio’s fantasy tales though this one is really dark, about someone giving in to the temptation of witchcraft and the like. Pretty good stuff here. Grade: B
Breaking Into Heaven
The final song is a more plodding doom track with the vintage Iommi guitar work. This one’s about the rebel angels who left Heaven with Satan, now they are plotting to return to Heaven and they aren’t going to ask politely to get back in. Not a bad way to close out the album and the Dio era of Black Sabbath. Grade: B+
The Devil You Know was hotly anticipated and would see a rush of success upon release. It charted all over the world, though in fairness many of the chart positions were modest. In the US it did very well, landing at number 8. This would match Master Of Reality for best US chart position of any Black Sabbath album, though a few years down the line the original version of the band would land the number 1 spot with the band’s final album 13.
While the stage was set for Heaven & Hell to take off and run, this chapter would sadly close after less than 50 shows. Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died in May of 2010. For a group who had formed and split up twice over infighting but had come together older and wiser for this last run, it was a tragic way for everything to have to end. The end of Heaven & Hell left Tony and Geezer available to work with Ozzy as Black Sabbath one final time, a run that concluded in 2017.
Today’s album does have a mixed reception. Some people ate up anything that Dio Sabbath released, I am generally among that number. Others didn’t find much worthwhile in the album, longing more for the prior classic albums of the group.
For me this is a solid effort. It has a few standout cuts that show up at the beginning of the record, then the remainder offers up secondary tracks that are still quality and a bit above the “filler” line. It’s a good listening experience front to back, nothing on here sticks out as not fitting.
Album Grade: B+
This last chapter of work between Dio and Iommi blessed us with another round of their somewhat unique blend of doom and high fantasy metal. It is a Black Sabbath album in all but name, a policy enacted by her benevolent grace Sharon Osbourne. But there is no quashing the legacy that “Dio Sabbath” were able to forge, and The Devil You Know serves as a fitting conclusion to that legacy. It’s also the final testament of bona fide heavy metal god Ronnie James Dio.
The celebration of 1984 continues. Today it’s the album that helped cement a bona fide god of heavy metal.
Dio – The Last In Line
Released July 2, 1984 via Warner Bros. Records
Ronnie James Dio went for broke, and went broke, to launch what wound up being his solo venture the year prior. Holy Diver was a critical success and after touring behind it, the band were quickly back in the studio to do a follow-up. The band had a great deal of cohesion and momentum behind them and were able to pull of a quick turnaround for the next year.
Dio, ever present on vocals, was rejoined by the same line-up from the album prior – Vivian Campbell on guitar, Jimmy Bain on bass and Vinny Appice on drums. In addition, Claude Schnell had been brought in on the prior tour for keyboards and was now a full-fledged band member for this album. The record was produced by Ronnie James, just as the first effort had been.
The cover again features the band’s mascot, a devil-like figure named Murray. This time Murray presides over a group of people who are brought back from the dead. Thought maybe not a striking as the Holy Diver cover, this one is still a fine piece of heavy metal art and let the album buyer know they were in for a headbanging good time.
I’ll cover the original album today, which comprises 9 songs at 41:07 in runtime. There are reissues with a wealth of bonus tracks of this album that are certainly worth investigating.
We Rock
The opener gets things going in the most straightforward manner possible – it’s a fast, hard riff brought with lyrics that are literally about going to a Dio concert. It makes a great album opener, though Dio did often use it to close concerts. It can’t get a whole lot better than this to kick off the record. Grade: A+
The Last In Line
The title track is next and it handles a quiet build until exploding into the rest of the song. This one tackles a “final quest” of people who are gripping with the ultimate battle of good versus evil. It could be a sword and sorcery adventure or it could apply to real life, it is a universal thing. And Vivian Campbell gets all day to play a wicked solo. This song is a triumph of the Dio machine and stands head and shoulders above other recorded material. Grade: S
Breathless
This one keeps a nice hard rock pace while exploring the fear of the night and “going for it” regardless of fear. A nice song by any measure though Campbell’s solo does run away as the highlight here. Grade: A-
I Speed At Night
Up next is a total burner of a song. Easy premise – guy likes driving fast at night. Everyone sang like driving like a psychopath in 1984 and everyone does it 40 years later. Anyway, fantastic song that picks up the pace and again, Vivian Campbell goes ham on the solo. Grade: A+
One Night In The City
A great riff opens this tale of two young people who appear to have run off from their typecast lives for the adventure and uncertainty found in the city at night. While the story is a bit mysterious, it is another epic telling of light and dark and two people up against it, as Dio became famous for. Grade: A
Evil Eyes
This track was originally issued as the B-side to the single Holy Diver a year prior, it was then re-recorded for this album session. It’s another high-flying adventure of two people, this time the narrator is the one with “evil eyes,” the deeper meaning of that isn’t revealed. But the adventure soars just fine in this song, it is in and out while making its point in nice fashion. Grade: A
Mystery
While the song’s theme is how things are often mysterious with no ready answers, there is no mystery to the song itself – it’s a bright offering that doesn’t lament the mystery, but rather embraces it. That was the way of Ronnie, ever the dreamer. Grade: A-
Eat Your Heart Out
A nice rocker that looks over someone leaving his woman for being bad. Bad isn’t elaborated on, but this guy is very happy to be free of his prison. This is the least heralded song on the album but that doesn’t damage its own score at all – 99% of albums would be thrilled to have this as its “weakest” track. Grade: B+
Egypt (The Chains Are On)
The closing track heads back to the infamous Bible story of the Hebrews being enslaved in Egypt. Not the only time in 1984 we’d get a song about that, go figure. Dio wasn’t only speaking about the events as told – he was also using the chains as a symbol for the types of chains that entrap people in modern society.
The song builds in epic fashion, telling the story in a way that would likely bear influence on epic and power metal to come, as well as foreshadowing the latter part of Dio’s career. A magnificent way to wrap up the album. Grade: A+
The Last In Line continued the momentum Dio established a year before and built upon it. The album charted at 23 in the US, 4 in the UK and brought 3 other European Top 10 positions. It was also Dio’s first US platinum, hitting the mark a few years before Holy Diver garnered its first plat. It was also certified silver in the UK.
It’s kind of a perpetual argument whether this or Holy Diver is the better album. Both are fantastic and have their moments. I honestly won’t go out on that limb today as it is a very, very close race for me between the two. I will say that it’s very, very easy to grade this one, it’s pretty well written across the song grades.
Grade: A+
This album is a remarkable piece of heavy metal history. It would help push trends in heavy metal that would carry on through the ’80’s and beyond, and it would solidify Dio’s presence as an immortal figure of the metal scene. While the band would not maintain its form for too long after this, there is no doubt the music of these early Dio albums was spectacular and timeless.
For an explanation of my grading scale, head here.
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This long-desired documentary on the life and career of Ronnie James Dio finally saw the light in 2022. It had a limited theatrical run and then was on a streaming service I’m not sure of for awhile. That should tip you off that I hadn’t seen it yet. I think a month or so ago the doc was made available to buy in physical form or digitally. I bought it and finally sat to watch.
This film was fully authorized and assisted by the estate of Dio, helmed by his widow Wendy Dio. She was an executive producer of the film and also clearly had a lot to contribute about Ronnie in the film. Aside from Wendy, Dio biographer and renowned journalist Mick Wall was also a primary contributor to the project. And also involved was Dave “Rock” Feinstein, a former bandmate of Dio’s as well as his cousin.
The cast of people who lined up to film something for this doc is pretty staggering. I won’t bother with a complete list, but even summarizing it takes a moment. Rob Halford, Eddie Trunk, Lita Ford, Jack Black, Don Dokken and Sebastian Bach were all on hand. Every member of Black Sabbath that Dio worked with was on film as well, even Bill Ward who was only around for the first bit of Dio’s involvement. And the remaining list of contributor is honestly just too vast to get into here. There is also plenty of archival footage used to fill things out, and of course Dio’s own parts were necessarily culled from old interviews.
This goes through Dio’s early life and then into his music career. It spends a bit of time going over his early groups Ronnie and the Red Caps and Ronnie Dio and the Prophets. (note to record collectors – if you ever see those out while record hunting, GRAB THEM. They are scarce and expensive if people actually know who is involved.) These early old-style rock groups would transition to The Electric Elves and then Elf, all before Dio was tagged by Ritchie Blackmore as the first singer of Rainbow.
All this leads to the career path most people are familiar with – Rainbow, then Black Sabbath, then Dio. All this is discussed in detail by the principals involved, with some emphasis placed on just how huge of a gamble Dio was taking on going out solo and also with huge live production costs. They cover the highs of early Dio and then the crash of traditional metal in the 1990’s, all of it is covered pretty well.
I won’t go too hard on details in the film, but a few things are worth mentioning. One is the famous “devil horns” story. Dio is credited as the initial user of the famous metal hand gesture, with the story that he got it from his grandmother. Geezer Butler does have a very different take on the origins of the hand gesture and Dio’s use of it, that can be found with a quick search. Other noted rock musicians also have their own claims to the “devil horns” but I ain’t got time for that, Gene.
The other issue that gets brought up a lot is the stint that guitarist Vivian Campbell served in Dio’s band at the beginning. Campbell is on the first three solo albums but then left in less than cordial circumstances, and both he and Dio sniped at each other in the press until Dio’s death. Campbell was not brought in for the film itself, fairly understandable as relations between he and Wendy remain icy. But he is discussed as a key figure in Dio’s early work and also he is given a brief moment to say his own peace about his departure via an archived interview. I thought that was a pretty nice touch from the film makers to do that, at least his side is stated in some fashion. This wouldn’t happen in a lot of other musicians’ documentaries.
Overall I was very impressed with the film. It was a big league production, this was not skimped on at all. It was shot well, put together in a coherent fashion, and told the story of Dio in a fantastic way. All of the guests offer worthy contributions and everything is put together well. It flows great and uses every bit of its two hour runtime in great fashion.
The film also gets to the core of Dio’s motivations and background. It’s stated in the title, Dreamers Never Die. He was a man who offered a means of escape and dreams away from the trials of the world. It is central to what made heavy metal so popular in the first place – this was for the outcast and marginalized people, those who didn’t fit in with the popular culture or narrative. I was certainly one of those who came to metal for that reason. This was a nice narrative that tied everything together.
I’d fully recommend this film to anyone interested in music at all, whether or not you’re that familiar with Dio’s work. The film doesn’t fully explain things in reference fashion, but it also doesn’t require any degree of inside knowledge. It was wonderfully put together and is a fitting tribute to one of heavy metal’s enduring icons.
The Crooked Wanderer 