For a brief spell during the mid-'80s, the
heavy metal quintet
Dio was one of the top U.S. concert attractions, boasting one of the most over-the-top stage acts of its time loaded with props and special effects (lasers, explosions, a giant dragon, etc.). The group's leader was singer
Ronnie James Dio, who had previously become acquainted with the metal masses as the frontman of Ritchie Blackmore's
Rainbow from 1975-1978 and
Black Sabbath from 1979-1982. Come the early '80s,
Ronnie James was ready to finally head out on his own, forming
Dio and recruiting a stellar backing band, consisting of a few former bandmembers, ex-
Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain and ex-
Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice (Carmine Appice's brother), in addition to ex-Sweet Savage guitar shredder Vivian Campbell.
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For a brief spell during the mid-'80s, the
heavy metal quintet
Dio was one of the top U.S. concert attractions, boasting one of the most over-the-top stage acts of its time loaded with props and special effects (lasers, explosions, a giant dragon, etc.). The group's leader was singer
Ronnie James Dio, who had previously become acquainted with the metal masses as the frontman of Ritchie Blackmore's
Rainbow from 1975-1978 and
Black Sabbath from 1979-1982. Come the early '80s,
Ronnie James was ready to finally head out on his own, forming
Dio and recruiting a stellar backing band, consisting of a few former bandmembers, ex-
Rainbow bassist Jimmy Bain and ex-
Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice (Carmine Appice's brother), in addition to ex-Sweet Savage guitar shredder Vivian Campbell.
Lyrically, the group would retain the same subject matter that
Ronnie James specialized in with his previous outfits (dungeons and dragons, swords and sorcery, damsels in distress, etc.), but musically,
Dio was more melodically based than
Rainbow or
Sabbath. The group scored a hit right off the bat with their 1983 debut release,
Holy Diver, which spawned such popular MTV videos as "Rainbow in the Dark," as well as its title track.
For their sophomore effort, 1984's
The Last in Line, the band expanded its lineup to include keyboardist Claude Schnell, as the album would become the biggest hit of
Dio's career (on the strength of another MTV-approved video, for the album's anthemic title track) and the group became an arena-headliner. Although
Dio's next release, 1985's
Sacred Heart, was commercially successful, Campbell had become disillusioned by the group's direction and split from the group a year later. Just prior to Campbell's exit, the entire
Dio band helped organize Hear N' Aid, an all-star assembly of
heavy metal artists that recorded a track called "Stars," which helped fight world hunger (a subsequent album was issued as well, collecting previously unreleased live tracks from a few of the day's top
hard rock acts). Former Giuffria guitarist Craig Goldy took Campbell's place, resulting in such releases as 1986's live EP Intermission and 1987's
Dream Evil, which retained the group's headbanging audience, but failed to expand upon it as its previous releases had.
By 1990's
Lock up the Wolves,
Ronnie James Dio was the only original member of
Dio left in attendance as the band's lineup continued to fluctuate throughout the '90s on such releases as 1994's
Strange Highways, 1996's Angry Machines, and 1998's Inferno: Last in Live (
Ronnie James took a brief break from
Dio in 1992 to rejoin
Black Sabbath for a lone release,
Dehumanizer). In 2000, a pair of
Dio releases emerged; first was
Dio's first new studio album in four years, the concept album
Magica (which saw past members Bain and Goldy return to the group), as well as a 16-track compilation titled
The Very Beast of Dio. His medieval-themed metal returned two years later, when the
Killing the Dragon album arrived in the spring of 2002. The album was a serious endevor, but
Dio also learned to make fun of his image after years of defending it, inviting comedy duo Tenacious D to star in the video for "Push" and even including the clip on the fall re-release of
Killing the Dragon. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
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