Released by:Niji Ent
Released Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: Heavy Metal
Links: http://www.ronniejamesdio.com/
Line Up:
Ronnie James Dio – Vocals, Keyboards
Tracy G – Guitars
Craig Goldy – Guitars
Doug Aldrich – Guitars
Jeff Pilson – Bass
Larry Dennison – Bass
Jimmy Bain – Bass
Vinny Appice – Drums
Simon Wright – Drums
Scott Warren – Keyboards
Tracklist:
1. ‘Killing the Dragon’
2. ‘Push’
3. ‘The Eyes’
4. ‘Along Comes a Spider’
5. ‘Better in the Dark’
6. ‘Fever Dreams’
7. ‘Black’
8. ‘Feed My Head’
9. ‘Shivers’
10. ‘Hunter of the Heart (Live)’
11. ‘One More for the Road’
12. ‘Lord of the Last Day’
13. ‘Electra’ (Bonus Track)
14. ‘As Long As It’s Not About Love’
15. ‘This is Your Life’
16. ‘Metal Will Never Die’ (Bonus Track)
17. ‘Prisoner of Paradise’ (Bonus Track)
With the untimely death of Heavy Metal legend Ronnie James Dio the fans have welcomed a slew of Dio merchandise that has surfaced ever since. Now don’t get me wrong I don’t have a problem with official releases that have come out like the Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 which was a nice set piece with DIO top of his game in the height of his career and was released through Niji Ent which was founded by the late DIO and his wife Wendy as a label and worldwide distributor. My beef comes via the unofficial and unauthorized stuff that we know still comes out in order to capitalize on his legacy. That to me doesn’t do justice to the artist of such caliber as Ronnie James.
Thankfully all DIO fans should find a reason to rejoice as The Very Beat of Volume 2 is the follow up to The Very Beast of Dio the second greatest hits compilation by DIO released in 2000 and one that has to this day gone certifiably GOLD. That first volume carried a good bulk of the early DIO years as opposed to Volume 2 which focuses heavily on the albums “Magica”, “Killing the Dragon”, “Angry Machines” ,”Master of the Moon”, and a few treats in between.
Sadly Ronnie was apparently int he middle of working on the trilogy of “Magica” upon the time of his passing, unfortunately we won’t ever get to hear that so the added special tracks here bring an air of mystery and reminiscent when you hear the song “Electra” a tune that would of been featured on the new Magica follow up and stands as one of the final recordings Ronnie ever did.
I for one of course treasured the early Dio years as many fans, but the latter Dio material can often be overlooked and albums like “Magica” and it’s concept are dear to me, as well as “Killing the Dragon” which featured some classic Heavy Metal chops and is vastly underrated. Speaking of which that title for track for the latter opens up this Volume 2 majestic, followed by “Push” and “The Eyes” from the “Master of the Moon” album. A nice gem comes off the “Angry Machines” record with “Hunter of the Heart” a steep pile driver of a song, ohh yeah tasty.
The bonus tracks are great additions to this compilation and as mentioned earlier “Electra” is a hint into Dio’s mind and what would of been possibly in the future in terms of next releases, the other bonuses run with “Metal Will Never Die” which was featured in 2010 on David Rock Feinstein’s Bitten by the Beast, not sure if this is a re-recording of this song by DIO or not but just speculation on my part. The last bonus track appears courtesy of the Japanese Version of the Album “Master of the Moon” the song titled “The Prisoner of Paradise”.
For Dio fans alike I think is a good purchase simply the “Electra” tune alone is a nice addition for nostalgic sake, the overall compilation is solid if you may have missed some of the latter day Dio albums or may not have appreciated them as much in comparison to his early Classic material. The CD is produced by Dio long time producer Wyn Davis and the sound is is heavily calibrated and keen on details adding an extra crisp sound. The cover art is classic DIO and provided by artist Mark Sasso, who previous created the cover art for the ‘Killing the Dragon’ and ‘Master of the Moon’ releases. A nice package also with in inlet and booklet containing all the band line ups from 1996 and forward. For all DIO fans this is a package you should add to your ever growing collection of Ronnie’s Heavy Metal palladium The legend lives on!!!
DIO – “One More for the Road”
“There’s a cross that you can’t carry
Cause it’s heavier than hell
And if you should meet your maker
Just pray that he won’t yell
One more for the road
One more for the road
Play it again
One more for the road”
Written by Denys
Ratings Denys 8/10
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