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During the 1980s, at the peak of Heavy Metal, the Ronnie James Dio band was at the forefront of the rock scene, along with legends like IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST, and AC/DC. These bands were so big at the time, that their multi-million dollar stageshows required a large fleet of 18-wheelers just to transport the props and sound equipment. The music of Ronnie James Dio’s band (simply called DIO) combined the musical roots of the ex-RAINBOW and ex-BLACK SABBATH vocalist and progressed his music in an all-new direction while the American and international rock scene ate it up. To the delight of music audiences everywhere, DIO the band featured several outstanding and creative musicians who helped bring Ronnie James Dio’s medieval imagery and demonic themes to life in musical form, resulting in such powerful albums as HOLY DIVER, THE LAST IN LINE, and SACRED HEART. As the decade drew to a close, and the rebellious appeal of Heavy Metal music lost its appeal to the mass audiences, bands like DIO, MAIDEN, and PRIEST were no longer able to draw audiences like they once did. To make matters worse, Ronnie James Dio’s creativity suffered (and mediocre musicianship from his revolving door bandmates) caused DIO to produce several lackluster albums, including DREAM EVIL, LOCK UP THE WOLVES, and STRANGE HIGHWAYS. The once mighty DIO was soon reduced to playing no-frills gigs in small venues.
However, the resurrection of heavy metal in the closing years of the 1990’s changed things with bands like HAMMERFALL, GAMMA RAY, and ICED EARTH breaking through the underground to take their place in the pantheon of Rock n Roll. Furthermore, metal veterans like MANOWAR, IRON MAIDEN, and JUDAS PRIEST returned with a vengeance and further solidified this movement. Taking advantage of this musical climate, Ronnie James Dio re-invented the band, and returned to his medieval ways with his best album in years, KILLING THE DRAGON. Those DIO fans who abandoned Ronnie James Dio years ago returned to the fold, prompting the diminutive musical genius to embark on a whirlwind world tour to support the album, thereby issuing a musical statement to fans and critics: I’M BACK!. Spitfire Records captured the glory of the rejuvenated King of Rock & Roll by capturing his performance at NYC’s Roseland Ballroom on Friday the 13th, of December 2002 for Ronnie James Dio’s first DVD release, EVIL OR DIVINE.
The DIO band circa 2002 consists of long-time bassist Jimmy Bain, ex-AC/DC drummer Simon Wright, guitar player Doug Aldrich, and Scott Warren on keyboards. This incarnation of DIO are all accomplished musicians who put quite a polish on the DIO tunes of old. Both the new songs and the catalog material are performed heavily and tightly, with the band getting into the music—physically spurring on and reacting to the worshipping audience. The show and performances are so on target that you forget the ages of Ronnie James Dio (who looks great!) and his bandmates. The feeling of watching EVIL OR DIVINE is like traveling back in time to those days where DIO was selling out Madison Square Garden. The music, the performances, the conviction—this DIO lineup certainly delivers the goods. The only thing that’s missing is the mega-buck stage show of old; only the Roseland Ballroom’s stage is too small for such antics. The band performs a ripping set, including not only DIO’s hits and fan favorites, but also the songs he composed with RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH: