Artist: Dio
Label: Spitfire
Release Date: 3/21/00
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Title: Magica Artist: Dio Label: Spitfire Release Date: 3/21/00 |
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Abyss's Review:
After I finally complained to the powers that be that I've had to review way too much power metal recently, I was notified at the March Metal Meltdown that my next assignment would be the new Dio record……whoop'dee doo. The mighty (balding) Dio returns with a classic metal concept album complete with a twenty-minute story at the end. Now to be completely honest, I've always been a little prejudiced when it comes to Dio. I never really got over the Ozzy/Dio controversy because, well, I never really tried to. It is primarily for this reason that I never got into Ronnie's older material, but I never really thought it was all that amazing either. I did understand why others liked it, however, because it did contain a lot of songs that were easy to listen to and Mr. Dio, I admit, does have a better voice than the Ozzman.
"The highlight is actually the 20-minute story that Dio tells at the very end, I guess so no one misses the "concept". Hey I got a concept for you, quality songwriting….try it. " So this brings me to his newest release, Magica. A concept album as fruity as the name implies. Upon repeated listens of this record, I still have yet to find a track that I halfway enjoy. I found a little interest in the intro to "As Long as it's Not About Love", but as the song unfolded, this interest quickly faded (can you say Meatloaf?). This is a concept album, however, which basically means that since all of the songs incorporate a "story," fans consider it ambitious and forget the fact that the songs are bland. Apparently a whole bunch of weak songs tied together can make a strong album, I guess that's why everyone liked the new Dream Theater as well. The songs on this album, as pointed out by the accompanying bio, try to re-capture the early eighties metal in which Dio had his greatest success. I guess there's nothing wrong with that, but I sure wish he had added a little more to make the stuff sound fresher. Many of the songs are slow paced, centered on a single cornerstone riff, and unfortunately, have very little in the way of hook. In my opinion, it's just plain boring to listen to.
The highlight is actually the 20-minute story that Dio tells at the very end, I guess so no one misses the "concept". Hey I got a concept for you, quality songwriting….try it.
"In my opinion, it's just plain boring to listen to." As one would expect, the album is produced beautifully and Mr. Dio's voice is still quite strong, even though it is belting out cliched lyrics most of the time. They tell of a grandiose story that I won't ruin for you (Hell if I have to sit through 20 minutes of Grandpa Dio's storytime so do you!) that is incorporated into predictable rhyme schemes and what comes across as dated music. I'm sure the Dio faithful will consider this a masterpiece, but let's face it, most metal fans are far too forgiving of their favorite bands (Case in point: Metallica and Megadeth still have fans.). Oh well, I guess love is blind.
Death's Review:
It seems like a marriage made in heaven (or hell -- after all, this is metal) (or the Other Side -- after all, this is Magica.) Ronnie James Dio, he of The Last in Line and Holy Diver, of The Mob Rules, Heaven & Hell, and Long Live Rock & Roll, has finally done a concept record. But this isn't the usual concept record material; you know, songs full of introspection, symbolism, social criticism and personal discovery. No this is full-on sci-fi/fantasy material. Exactly the sort of stuff you'd expect of Mr. Dio's first concept record. Not necessarily knights and dragons, but surely epic battles between good and evil. On Magica, all hell literally breaks loose.
"Musically, things can be best described as heavy, dark, well-executed, yet relatively straightforward classic metal." Looking at this as a straight Dio album is easy enough to do. In fact, even when you're listening to the lyrics (why, portions of "Turn to Stone" are currently inspiring me to think about the power of the written word right now!), its hard to think of this radically differently than you would any other Dio record. All the necessary elements are present, and there seems to be no real musical concession to the concept, save for the introductory and intermittent robotic voice talking about absorbing the individual and deleting people and such.
Musically, things can be best described as heavy, dark, well-executed, yet relatively straightforward classic metal. The best song, "Eriel" (OK, "Otherworld" has its moments as well), is really quite sick. It takes elements of Savatage and Heaven & Hell style Sabbath and combines them into a pretty killer 00's metal song. Dio's voice rules here. In fact, unlike the oft-compared Ozzy, Dio doesn't seem to be losing his vocal chops, at least not on record (check out "As Long As its Not About Love").
"Challis (Marry the Devil's Daughter)" has some cool Holy Diver/Last in Line era catchiness. Other times, the songwriting is somewhat cliched, I suppose ("Fever Dreams" kind of reminds me of "Sunset Superman," at least the guitar sound at the beginning does). But so what. This is metal. Ronnie James Dio metal. We all need to make the devil sign and pump our fist in the air to stuff like this ("Lord of the Last Day" doesn't fully satisfy this need until after you've heard the reprise, and then you won't be able to stop from doing it whenever you hear it). Dio kicks ass, and Magica is a record that even a vocalist as accomplished as he should be proud of.
"We all need to make the devil sign and pump our fist in the air to stuff like this." Things are topped off by a twenty-minute track that plays like story hour with uncle Dio, complete with mysterious light guitar strumming at times for dramatic effect. Dio's narration here is very cool, and listening to it is the only way I can imagine (although note that no lyric sheet is included with the promotional cardboard sleeve) getting everything out of the story. This thing would make a great animated movie.
Will the black metal freaks or baggy-pants sets embrace RJD in 2000? No, probably not. This definitely is metal from a bygone era. I don't give a fuck. Thanks to Dio, it's metal for the right now era too, 'cause its playing in my CD player and I know that it hasn't even been commercially released yet. So it can't be the music of yesterday, now can it? In the most literal sense, it's music of tomorrow. Perhaps at least the power metallers will appreciate the Blind Guardian meets Trans Siberian Orchestra intro to "Losing My Insanity" (the breakdown high pitched part sounds like the intro to "Invisible"!).
"Magica is a seriously brilliant work from a legend of our genre and our scene." In the end, if you ever liked Dio, you owe it to him to buy this album. Not necessarily as the proverbial golden watch, think of it as more of a lifetime achievement award for someone who is still producing great metallic art. But don't just do it for Ronnie. Do it for metal. Do it for yourself. 'Cause Magica is a seriously brilliant work from a legend of our genre and our scene.
Hel's Review:
Dio 2000. The sound is classic Dio, but at the same time is right in line with any current progressive metal act. And Magica is a concept album to boot. It’s obvious from the moment you press play. If it’s not, I must ask you, what does Ronnie James have to do? Come over to your house and smack you over the head with it, literally?
Mr. Dio has made the ultimate paint-by-numbers concept album. Between the information in the booklet and the narrative that comprises the final track, you’ve got to be simple not to get at least an idea of the basic plot line. This is the exact antithesis of Nevermore’s Dreaming Neon Black. There are a few things to be said for this. There is certainly no endless argument with a stubborn friend that won’t accept the reality of the story when, for example, you have finally listened to Dream Theater’s Metropolis 2 enough to figure it out for certain. Additionally, the lyrics themselves are not as narrative as Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime and therefore do not paint a vivid picture for you like the aforementioned album does. In the case of Magica, once you have familiarized yourself with the story, you know what the album is about, but it would be basically impossible to do it the other was around. The backstory Dio has created for us is something straight out of Science Fiction (with more than a little Fantasy tossed in) and is so elaborate (complete with a wide opening for follow-up), it could be novelized.
"Mr. Dio has made the ultimate paint-by-numbers concept album." The music is gorgeous. Much of it is recognizably Dio, but many elements you might generally equate with some of the bands mentioned above are also incorporated. Vocals that remind me strongly of hymns from a Catholic Mass, melodic/ambient keyboards, and a passage that is reminiscent of an Irish folk song complete with woodwind. However, you must never doubt that this is metal - the Dio way.
The reprises at the end of the record are powerful and highlight the musical aspect of Dio’s storytelling ability. The spoken narrative that I have been continually mentioning is a wonderful thing. It’s like Ronnie is reading me a bedtime story. He has a wonderful voice for narration and, with the subtle melody beneath, the story almost comes alive.
Unfortunately, the story itself is where I find a flaw. The giant pitfall of having such a specific story laid out is that it leaves it more vulnerable to criticism. Let me explain. I’m a stickler for consistency and there is a part of the narrative that doesn’t jive. Now, it may be explained in the book, I’m working from a demo so I’m lacking that, likewise there is no story information available on either the official or the label site at the time that I am writing this, therefore, there may be additional information that I'm lacking. So, if you are reading this before the album comes out and do NOT want to be tipped off to the actual contents of the story, I strongly suggest you stop reading when I write ‘now’ in capital letters and then skip to where you see ‘start’ in capital letters. Stop reading NOW. Ok, everyone else, pretend that didn’t happen. My understanding is that when the souls of the good are transported to Otherworld their bodies become stone. So how is it that the Good side have bodies in the Otherworld? It specifically mentions things like being strapped to a cross-like structure in the assimilation room, which certainly indicates a physical body. And, under my original understanding, when the restoration occurs, the Good side’s souls revert to their bodies which, I’m assuming, frees them from stone. So if the dead are still stone, what are they burning on the funeral pyres?
"Unfortunately, the story itself is where I find a flaw." Additionally, there is a very tenuous connection between the introductory premise of aliens discovering the world and its history and anything else on the record, with the possible exception of the mechanical voice, which I’m assuming is related to the modern day aliens uncovering the artifact. The rest of the album is dedicated to the ancient lore of Magica. So, in my opinion, either there should be a stronger link between them or the legend should stand on its own. Since when did sci-fi/fantasy need such a set up anyway?
All right, pretend this isn’t happening again, I have to let the spoiler avoiders read more. Start reading again now. START Back on topic. I’m hoping clarification will come once the album is officially released, if it’s not already explained in the booklet. But what I really find most interesting about this is, even with the level of detail attended to in trying to make the story as clear as possible, there still is ambiguity. And that’s what I meant earlier by stating it leaves itself vulnerable to criticism. These are relatively minor issues, and are fodder for additional conversation more than any sort of condemnation, but these kind of issues bug me, that’s why I notice them.
"The bottom line here is, if you love both Dio and concept albums, buy this the first chance you get." However, I think it is pretty obvious that the concept aspect of the album appeals to me. I think it enhances the album and brings it to a level that makes it much more enjoyable than the standard new Dio album would have been. Once I absorbed the story, I could listen to them and actually see what Ronnie James was thinking about when he was singing these songs in the studio. Pretty cool.
The bottom line here is, if you love both Dio and concept albums, buy this the first chance you get. If you just can’t stand one of the two, it’s still worth a few listens because you may find pleasure in the one you do enjoy. If you don’t like either, well, I can’t help you. You’re part of the Evil side, and I must steer clear else you try to assimilate me!
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