Ronnie James Dio, the guy who replaced Ozzy Osbourne as frontman for Black Sabbath, has succumbed to stomach cancer at the age of 67. A veteran of Elf, Rainbow, Heaven & Hell and his own eponymous band, Dio was one of the gods of metal and his presence will be deeply missed. And if truth be told, many of us who are fans of Ozzy-era Sabbath fans may have respected Dio, but his lyrical floridness and borderline-pathological flashing of "the horns" (see above) amused the shit out of us. At times coming off like Frodo Baggins' acid-casualty cousin, Dio was a solid entertainer, and if anyone had a hope in Hell of stepping in to fill Ozzy's shoes, he was probably the most logical choice for the job, so rest well, Ronnie.And in closing, here are the complete lyrics to M.O.D.'s "Ballad of Dio" (1987), all eleven seconds of it:
In the dark of the day
Or the black of the sun
He's coming for you
Look out!
Ah Sir Bunche, the Heavy Metal world truly lost a member of its Royal Family with the passing of Ronnie James Dio. Yesterday was a bleak day in the eyes of many fans of the genre because his accomplishments and contributions to the format were so many and so impacting. He painted very interesting pictures with his songs and seemed to be one of the most genuine human beings that we had on our side. I compiled some memorial thoughts of my own on PiercingMetal.com, and added a number of photos that I took as well. It can be found by clicking my name. Rest in Peace RJD....Ride the tiger forevermore.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time mourning that which I saw at “The Oyster Festival”.
ReplyDeleteI STILL remember seeing Dio at Monsters of Rock, Donington waaaay back in 1983 and still rate Heaven and Hell as one of my favourite Black Sabbath albums. Yeah, he could be a bit cliché, but he had a great set of lungs and wrote some pretty good tunes.
ReplyDeleteMore Metal than the average grandpa... and possessed (so to speak) of an endearing sense of humor as well. He'll be missed.
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