''Master of the Moon'' is the tenth and final studio album by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released on August 30, 2004 in Europe through SPV/Steamhammer and on September 7, 2004 in the US 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 ...

. It was produced by Ronnie James Dio.

Background

The album marks the return of guitarist Craig Goldy, who also performed on Dio's ''

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 ...

'' (1987) and '' Magica'' (2000). It also features Jeff Pilson on bass, Simon Wright on drums and Scott Warren on keyboards. One song, "Death by Love", was partly written by former ''Magica'' touring bassist

Chuck Garric Chuck Garric is an American rock bassist who has played with Turd, The Druts, L.A. Guns, Dio, and Eric Singer Project (ESP). The current bassist for Alice Cooper, Garric has played bass for Billy Bob Thornton, Ted Nugent, Don Felder Donal ...

. There are no writing credits provided in the album's liner notes. On the supporting tour for the album, Dio went on the road with

Fireball Ministry Fireball Ministry is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1999. Biography Formed in Cincinnati in the late 1990s by James A. Rota II and Emily Burton, Fireball Ministry moved to New York City before settling in ...

and Anthrax opening. As usual, he reached into his catalogue and played songs from various stages of his career, including

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 c ...

and

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

songs. Due to other commitments, Pilson was unable to tour the album and

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban American hard rock/ heavy metal bassist. He remains best known for his work with Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played ...

took over the bass guitar duties.

Reissue

In 2019, ''Master of the Moon'' was remastered and announced for reissue in 2020. The first disc is identical to the original North American release. The reissue includes a second disc containing four live tracks recorded during the ''Master of the Moon'' tour as well as "The Prisoner of Paradise" track originally included on the Japanese pressing of the album.

Track listing

The bonus track "The Prisoner of Paradise" is on the Japanese pressing of the album. The song would later be featured on the compilation '' The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2'' and included with the 2020 reissue of the album.

Personnel

;Dio * Ronnie James Dio – vocals * Craig Goldy – guitar, keyboards * Jeff Pilson – bass * Simon Wright – drums * Scott Warren – keyboards ;Production * Recorded at

Total Access Recording Total Access Recording is a recording studio located in Redondo Beach, California, owned and operated by founder Wyn Davis and Steve Ornest. Total Access opened for business in December 1980. The first clients of the studio were bands signed wi ...

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ''round'') is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Sa ...

* Produced by Ronnie James Dio * Engineered by Wyn Davis * Brian Daughterty, Michael McMullen – assistant engineers * Eddy Schreyer – mastering * Cover illustration by Marc Sasso

Charts

References

External links

''Master of the Moon'' song lyrics
{{Authority control 2004 albums Dio (band) albums Sanctuary Records albums SPV/Steamhammer albums Victor Entertainment albums