Dio was an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 and led by vocalist

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and ...

. Dio left

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...

with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath drummer

Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice. Career Appic ...

. The name Dio was chosen because it made sense from a commercial standpoint, as the name was already well known at that time. The band released 10 studio albums and had numerous lineup changes over the years, with Dio himself being the only constant member. Guitarists included Vivian Campbell,

Craig Goldy Thomas "Craig" Goldy (born November 6, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio and Giuffria. Early musical life Goldy was born in San Diego, California. Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, Ro ...

, Doug Aldrich, Warren DeMartini, Tracy G, Jake E. Lee and Rowan Robertson. The band dissolved in 2010 when

died of stomach cancer at the age of 67. Dio has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.

Biography

Origins and ''Holy Diver'' (1982–1983)

In 1982, disagreements originating over the mixing of Black Sabbath's '' Live Evil'' album resulted in the departure of

and

from the band. Wanting to continue together as a band, the two formed Dio in October 1982 in the United States with guitarist Jake E. Lee and bassist Jimmy Bain. About a month after the band’s formation, Lee was replaced by Vivian Campbell. The following May, the band released their debut album, '' Holy Diver'', which featured two hit singles – "

Rainbow in the Dark "Rainbow in the Dark" is a song by heavy metal band Dio. Released from the band's double platinum-selling 1983 debut album, ''Holy Diver''. Assisted by a popular MTV music video, it reached #12 on US ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks in early Octo ...

" and " Holy Diver" – that gained popularity from MTV. Dio and Jimmy Bain played keyboards in the studio, but recruited keyboardist

Claude Schnell Claude Schnell (born May 17, 1955) is an American keyboardist who has been a member of the bands Magic, Rough Cutt, Dio, and Last in Line. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in France, when he was six years old his family mo ...

for live shows in 1983 prior to the Holy Diver tour. Schnell played to the side of the stage on the first two tours before coming out front in 1985. Dio had this to say of the band's origins:

''The Last in Line'' to ''Dream Evil'' (1984–1989)

Now a quintet with Schnell on keyboards, the band released their second studio album, '' The Last in Line'', on July 2, 1984. It was followed by their third album, ''

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This de ...

'', which was released on August 13, 1985. In 1985, Dio, Campbell and Bain also wrote the song "Stars" for the Hear 'n Aid project, with many other heavy metal luminaries of the time contributing. Campbell became unhappy working with Dio, and the rift between them culminated in Campbell being fired from Dio's band. Campbell was subsequently invited to join

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

in 1987. Several songs were recorded live during the ''Sacred Heart'' tour for the 1986 '' Intermission'' EP with Campbell still on guitar, however the EP also contained the studio track "Time To Burn", which served to introduce fans to

as the new guitarist. On July 21, 1987, their fourth album ''

Dream Evil Dream Evil is a Swedish heavy metal band, assembled by producer Fredrik Nordström in 1999. History Producer Fredrik Nordström had the ambition of creating a power metal band of his own for a long time, but had difficulty finding anyone w ...

'' was released. After ''Dream Evil'', Goldy, wanting to pursue solo projects, left the band. In June 1989, 18-year-old Rowan Robertson was announced as Goldy's successor but further changes were to follow, with Schnell, Bain and Appice leaving the band.

Changes (1990–1999)

Schnell, Bain, and Appice were replaced, respectively, with Jens Johansson, Teddy Cook, and former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright. The new band released the album '' Lock Up the Wolves'' in the spring of 1990. During the tour, Dio had a chance meeting with former

bandmate

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

which led to that band's short-lived reunion, producing one album, ''

Dehumanizer ''Dehumanizer'' is the sixteenth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on June 22, 1992. It was Sabbath's first studio album in over a decade to feature vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice, and their first ...

''. After this, Dio reassembled Dio once again, retaining only Appice on the drums. By early 1993, guitarist Tracy G, keyboardist Scott Warren of Warrant and bassist Jeff Pilson of Dokken had all joined. During this era, the band abandoned fantasy themed songs and focused on modern issues. As a result, some fans regard the albums made during this period—1993's '' Strange Highways'', 1996's '' Angry Machines'' and the live album '' Inferno: Last in Live''—as the worst in Dio's catalogue, while others view them positively as a step away from the outdated sound of the 1980s. With disappointing record sales for ''Angry Machines'', management wanted the band to go back to their earlier style prompting the departure of Tracy G to be replaced by the returning Craig Goldy. In addition, Appice left Dio once again.

Comeback (2000–2004)

280px, Dio performing in Paris, 2002 Craig Goldy's return facilitated the release of Dio's eighth studio album in 2000, '' Magica'', which was regarded by many as the band's "comeback album" and reached No. 13 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' independent charts. It featured not only the return of Goldy but also of Simon Wright and Jimmy Bain, although on the European leg of the tour Chuck Garric played bass. Scott Warren remained in the band and performed live, although Dio and Bain handled all of the keyboard and synth on ''Magica''. A concept album, '' Magica'' featured a return to the band's older, more successful sound, while increased use of keyboards gave it a more modern feel. During the following tour, however, tensions rose between Goldy on the one hand and Bain and Dio on the other, as Goldy was dealing with family obligations. Goldy left the band in January 2002 and was replaced with Doug Aldrich, who Bain had met while recording a tribute album for

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...

. Because of his late arrival, Aldrich did not contribute much to Dio's ninth work, ''

Killing the Dragon ''Killing the Dragon'' is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released May 21, 2002 through Spitfire Records and was produced by frontman Ronnie James Dio. The album was reissued in 2007 in a two-CD package with '' ...

'', which was written primarily by Dio and Bain. ''Killing The Dragon'' was released in 2002 through Spitfire Records and was well received in the metal community, making the Billboard top 200. Aldrich would stay in the band until April of the following year, when he, like Campbell before him, joined

, prompting Goldy's return. Soon afterward, Bain left the band.

''Master of the Moon'' and Split (2004–2010)

Dio released their tenth studio album, '' Master of the Moon'' on August 30, 2004 in Europe through SPV Records and on September 7, 2004 in the United States through

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

. The album features multi-instrumentalist Jeff Pilson (formerly of Dokken) on bass duties; however, because of prior obligations with Foreigner, he was only available for the recording sessions, and so was replaced by Rudy Sarzo (formerly of

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, Quiet Riot,

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles " (Don't Fear) The Reaper", " Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The ba ...

among others) on the tour. 2005 saw the release of the Dio live album '' Evil or Divine – Live in New York City'', which featured the same show that was released on DVD in 2003. Dio toured

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

, Japan,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

in 2005. Their autumn tour was titled "An Evening With Dio" and featured a regular set, and then a second set of the band playing ''Holy Diver'' in its entirety. A DVD of the tour was filmed in London. The audio of this performance, a double CD named ''

Holy Diver – Live ''Holy Diver – Live'' is a live album by American heavy metal band Dio, recorded on tour in 2005. On disc 1, the band performs '' Holy Diver'' in its entirety, while disc 2 contains live versions of other songs from Dio's back catalog. It ...

'' was released in April 2006. In 2007, it was announced that

would reunite with Dio and go under the name Heaven & Hell. The band released '' The Devil You Know'' in 2009. Dio's involvement with Heaven & Hell delayed the recording of what was to be the follow-up to ''Master of the Moon'', ''Magica II''. The three-year hiatus was briefly interrupted for a 10 concert European mini-tour in May/June 2008, and was scheduled to be interrupted again in November/December 2009 with 22 concerts starting in the UK and ending in Germany. Doug Aldrich was to have filled in for Craig Goldy on guitar on these dates, who had other obligations. Dio intended to release a new single, entitled "Electra", to coincide with the tour. This would have been their first studio material in 5 years. The band also intended to record an album or two in 2010. On November 18, 2009, the European tour was cancelled due to Dio's hospitalization. He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, and was undergoing treatment. His manager and wife Wendy Dio thanked well-wishers and said "After he kills this dragon, Ronnie will be back on stage, where he belongs, doing what he loves best, performing for his fans." On February 19, 2010, it was announced on Dio's official website that he would release a box set, entitled the ''Tournado Box Set'', for limited purchase. The set includes the ''Killing the Dragon'' CD, ''Evil or Divine'' DVD ( PAL format only), DVD bonus material, interviews, photo gallery, never-before-seen behind the scenes footage, promo video for the ''Killing the Dragon'' track "Push", exclusive Dio cards, and the bonus CD single " Electra" (which is the last song the band recorded), from the unfinished albums ''Magica II & Magica III''.

Death of Ronnie James Dio

Dio died on May 16, 2010, of stomach cancer at the

Texas Medical Center The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, United States, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrat ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, Texas, at the age of 67. On November 9, 2010, a posthumous live album was released. Titled '' Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987'', it features Dio's 1983 and 1987 appearances at the

Monsters of Rock Monsters of Rock was an annual hard rock and heavy metal music festival held in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland ...

festival and showcases several songs from the Dio era of both

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows ...

and

, in addition to songs from Dio's own catalogue. When being interviewed Classic Rock Magazine from the UK, Dio guitarist Craig Goldy stated "We were working on tracks for a new Dio album just before Ronnie died in May. And we did almost finish one song. Wendy io, Ronnie's widow/managerhas been talking about reissuing IO's'Magica' album (originally released in 2000) with bonus tracks, including this one." Goldy goes on to say of the lyrics, that they were written by Dio when he was fighting cancer, and are "very emotional" and "hard to listen to without a lump at the back of your throat". On March 18, it was announced that the surviving members of the final line-up of Dio would embark on a project with former

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

front man Tim "Ripper" Owens under the moniker DIO Disciples. The project has been touring extensively since 2011. In May 2012, former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell, despite his long established feud with Dio, announced his intent to reunite the original Dio band for a potential series of shows. This would include himself, drummer Vinny Appice, bassist Jimmy Bain, and keyboardist Claude Schnell. This announced line-up would feature former

Lynch Mob Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

vocalist and

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead gui ...

touring member Andrew Freeman stepping in for Dio. and would perform under the name Last in Line.

Murray

Murray is the demonic-looking

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fic ...

of Dio who appears on several of Dio's

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

s, including '' Holy Diver'', '' The Last in Line'' and ''

'', as well as on some of their singles and compilation albums. He was also featured in the sets for live shows.

''The Last in Line''

Murray is also featured on Dio's second studio album, '' The Last in Line''. On this cover, resurrected souls emerge from their graves on Judgment Day to find a gigantic Murray staring at them from the far horizon.

''Dream Evil''

Murray is not featured on Dio's third studio album, ''

'', but is, for the last time in his original form, featured on the cover of ''

''. He is shown in the window of a bedroom with a child sleeping in a bed, while being haunted by several different spooky creatures. Murray's story is printed in the ''Dream Evil Tour'' book. The cover art of ''

'' is a reference to one of the tracks on the album, "Faces in the Window" (the entire album's concept is fears and

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs an ...

s about the

night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As view ...

and

darkness Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low ...

Merchandise

The official Dio webstore had created and sold a

baseball cap A baseball cap is a type of soft cap, hat with a rounded crown and a stiff bill projecting in front. The front of the hat typically displays a design or a logo (historically, usually only a sports team, namely a baseball team, or names of releva ...

featuring a red

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...

of Murray on the front of the hat, and the DIO logo, in the same red embroidering, on the back side.

Legacy

Comedy/rock duo

Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenac ...

released a song on their first album entitled "Dio", a song written as a tribute to Dio, which mocked him somewhat for being too old and saying that Tenacious D were going to take over his position as the masters of heavy metal. Before playing the song live,

Jack Black Thomas Jacob Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for his acting roles in the films '' High Fidelity'' (2000), '' Shallow Hal'' (2001), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' School of Rock'' (2003), ' ...

would typically speak about how Dio's tenure in

served as his inspiration to get into heavy metal. The duo appeared in the music video for his song, "Push". Dio also appeared in and sang on Tenacious D's comedy movie ''The Pick of Destiny''. The Dio patch on the denim jacket worn by Eddie Munson (played by Joe Quinn) in the latest season of the Netflix show Stranger Things is actually made using a t-shirt from Ronnie James Dio‘s personal estate. The show’s costume designer, Amy Parris in a Q&A posted on the Netflix website said, “He’s (Eddie Munson) a fan of wizard metal, he’s a fan of Dio. He’s a fan of Metallica. Actually, Dio was a popular band in the ’80s, and we reached out to the estate

f the late Ronnie James Dio to source a band shirt F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

His wife is in charge of his estate and offered to send us vintage T-shirts, which was such a dream.” The character

Dio Brando is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Japanese manga series ''JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. He is featured primarily as the main antagonist of the series' first part, '' Phantom Blood'' ...

from the manga series ''

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly ''seinen'' manga ...

'' is named after the band. This has two meanings, as both a reference to the band and to the Italian for "God," referencing the character's high self-esteem.

Band members

Final lineup *

– vocals, keyboards (1982–2010; his death) *

– guitar, keyboards (1986–1989, 1999–2001, 2004–2005, 2006–2010) * Rudy Sarzo – bass (2004–2010) * Simon Wright – drums, percussion (1989–1991, 1998–2010) * Scott Warren – keyboards (1993–2010)

Succeeding bands

Two groups of former members of Dio, DIO Disciples and Last in Line, have reunited independently to perform Dio songs.

Dio Disciples

Current members *

– guitar (2011–present) * Simon Wright – drums (2011–present) * Scott Warren – keyboards (2011–present) * Tim "Ripper" Owens – vocals (2011–2014, 2016–present) * Bjorn Englen – bass (2012–present) * Oni Logan – vocals (2012–present) * Mark Boals – vocals (2013–present) Former members * Rudy Sarzo – bass (2011) *

Toby Jepson Toby Jepson is a singer and songwriter, and is the lead vocalist and guitarist of British rock band Wayward Sons. He was formerly the lead vocalist and guitarist of Little Angels between 1984 and 1994. Between 2008 and 2015, he was the lead ...

– vocals (2011–2012) *

James LoMenzo James LoMenzo (born January 13, 1959) is an American heavy metal bass guitarist. He was a member of the band White Lion, performing with them from 1984 to 1991. He was later the bassist for Black Label Society, Slash's Snakepit, and Megadeth. ...

– bass (2011–2012) Touring members * Doro Pesch - vocals (2011) *

– drums (2013/2014) * Rowan Robertson – guitar (2013) *Gonzo Sandoval – drums (2014) *John Retta - vocals (2016)

Last in Line

Current members *

– drums (2012–present) * Vivian Campbell – guitar (2012–present) * Andrew Freeman – lead vocals (2012–present) *

Phil Soussan Philip Raphael “Phil” Soussan (born 23 June 1961, London, England) is a British bass guitarist, songwriter and producer who has gained notoriety as a member of a host of famed rock and roll bands, including some who have been fronted by suc ...

– bass guitar (2016–present) Former members * Jimmy Bain – bass guitar (2012–2016; his death) *

– keyboards (2012–2015) *

Erik Norlander Erik Norlander (born 6 February 1967) is an American musician known for his work in the progressive rock genre. From 2007 to 2014, he was the touring and recording keyboardist for Asia Featuring John Payne. He is also the managing director o ...

– keyboards (2016–2018)

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Holy Diver'' (1983) * '' The Last in Line'' (1984) * ''

'' (1985) * ''

'' (1987) * '' Lock Up the Wolves'' (1990) * '' Strange Highways'' (1993) * '' Angry Machines'' (1996) * '' Magica'' (2000) * ''

'' (2002) * '' Master of the Moon'' (2004) ;Live albums * '' Intermission'' (1986) * '' Inferno: Last in Live'' (1998) * '' Evil or Divine – Live in New York City'' (2003) * ''

'' (2006) * '' At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987'' (2010) * '' Finding The Sacred Heart: Live In Philly 1986'' (2013) * '' Live in London, Hammersmith Apollo 1993'' (2014)

Videography

* ''Live in Concert'' (VHS & Laserdisc, 1984) * ''

A Special from the Spectrum ''A Special from the Spectrum'' is the second video album by the American heavy metal band Dio, containing footage of a live concert performance recorded at The Spectrum arena in Philadelphia on 25 August 1984. Most of the performance has been ...

'' (VHS & Laserdisc, 1984) * ''

Sacred Heart "The Video" ''Sacred Heart "The Video"'' is the third video album by the American heavy metal band Dio, containing footage of a live concert performance recorded at The Spectrum arena in Philadelphia on June 17, 1986. The concert was filmed during the tou ...

'' (VHS, 1986 – DVD, 2004) * ''

Time Machine Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

'' (VHS, 1990) * '' Evil or Divine: Live in New York City'' (DVD, 2003) * ''

We Rock (DVD) ''We Rock'' is a compilation video album by the American heavy metal band Dio. It collects the out-of-print videos ''Live in Concert'' (1984) and ''A Special from the Spectrum'' (1984), which had been available on VHS and a Japanese issued Lase ...

'' (DVD, 2005) * '' Holy Diver: Live'' (DVD, 2006) * ''Finding the Sacred Heart: Live in Philly 1986'' (DVD & BD, 2013) * '' Live in London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993'' (DVD & BD, 2014)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dio 1982 establishments in New York (state) 2010 disestablishments in New York (state) Articles which contain graphical timelines Freak scene musicians Heavy metal musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1991 Musical groups reestablished in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical quintets Vertigo Records artists