Artist: Dio
Label: Spitfire Records
Release Date: 5/21/02
Rating: 4 Skulls
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Title: Killing The Dragon Artist: Dio Label: Spitfire Records Release Date: 5/21/02
Rating: 4 Skulls |
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Reviewed by Dawnrazor (5/22/02):
And all is right in the Metal kingdom, Ronnie Dio is back singing about Dragons and Spiders and Rock & Roll children... Your first inclination as a listener, writer, cynical fan, is to scoff at a notion that RJD could rework the ol' magic and create something as timely and inspired as his Holy Diver or Last In Line classics, so you do in fact shrug off the early build ups. Still in the back of your mind you're thinking, "Well, why not?" He's the one who created them in the first place. Yet it's not as if the grand wizard fell off the face of the earth in the years that followed. Sacred Heart was a bomb, let's tell it like it is; Dream Evil was a nice return to form; Lock Up The Wolves was unbearably difficult at first but then it grows on you. The 1990's saw RJD in a darker mood returning to the Blues-heavy and somber tones of his Sabbath years with records like Strange Highways and Angry Machines, neither of which sought or succeeded in lighting any commercial fires. While Dio's previous Magica release was not an actual "comeback," it was a welcome return to the "other world" where Dio's mystical touch met with melody and thematic grandeur in what was a top-flighter that'll improve with age.Not to belabor the idea of "coming back," Dio's latest Killing The Dragon is a return to the earlier form, embracing the best of the first two or three records with the trademark Dio voice and return of the riff. As usual, Dio's lyrics are intimate and inspirational, the "voice" of Metal never of unsound mind or without right of statement, lays out tricky titles that on the broad front display a "Killing The Dragon" or "Along Comes A Spider" as fairytale/nightmare storybook fodder, yet their remains the underlying truth; though we'll indulge in a little of the expected mysteriousness now and again. Doug Aldrich is Dio's latest in a long line of fret burners and one which will make musicians and traditionalist followers alike raise their fist and rejoice. For the first time since 1990's Lock Up The Wolves which boasted a youthful-and now an aging- unknown named Rowan, the guitar playing is again a source of strength. "Scream" follows the "real" lives of back page celebrities in a thumping rhythmic display nearly rivaling Holy Diver itself; "Better In The Dark" is a rushed "Don't Tell The Kids" sound-alike, both great songs, here in the traditionally Dio raised eyebrow style; "Rock & Roll" is one of the two rebel anthems included here, and inspired as it is by the 9/11 incidents, is a bit flat; as well "Guilty," save for Aldrich's searing solo, is an unflattering filler track; the unsuspecting pick hit however goes to "Push," another Aldrich staple with his riffing run red for this powerfully built and catchy track. "Throw Away The Children" is the album epic, originally designed for the "Children Of The Night" charity, and here a somber, seriously intended musing similar to "All The Fools Sailed Away." Very few "throwaway" tracks make the new Dio record a keeper. We're looking at an impressive 70% potency rate with only about 30% wasted energy -" Cold Feet" is a plodding, unreliable closer - and earns high marks for returning now and again to his Rainbow/Sabbath-inspired roots. Backed by another solid lineup, a resurgent RJD continues to sail into the sunset slowly and on his own terms.
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