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what are your thoughts on post-The Last In Line albums? That's when I
stopped listening to Dio back in the 80s. am I missing anything?
You surely miss something if you like the first 2 Dio albums. Sacred Heart (1985), even with his kinda powerless production, as well as Dream Evil (1987) are classic Dio stuff and are excellent IMO, maybe not as great as Holy Diver and The Last In Line, but excellent anyway. Lock Up The Wolves (1990) has also some excellent songs, but some more average stuff too. Strange Higways (1994) was a try to sound heavier and maybe more "modern" and was mostly a success IMO. Stay away from Angry Machines (1996), which is the lowest point of Dio's career. Magica (2000) was a return to the more classic Dio sound and is a great concept album for me, even though it could have used a couple more uptempo songs. Killing The Dragon (2002) is probably the album that sounds the most like the great 80s stuff and is also some really fine stuff. Check out also the Black Sabbath-Dehumanizer (1992) album, which has the same line-up as Mob Rules, and is very heavy and a killer album. Too bad it was just a one-shot deal...
I saw Dio 2 nights back-to-back headlining last summer and let me tell you that even though the guy will be 61 (!!!) this year, his voice is still really powerful and he delivers the goods. Dio is phenomenal IMO and all the band wa in top form.
It's a shame that his latest guitarist Doug Aldrich chose to stay in Whitesnake and leave the Dio band, but it looks like the new guy Warren DeMartini (ex-Ratt) will be a valuable replacement. I never was a Ratt fan, but I'm said the guy is great on guitar. We'll see this summer when the IRON MAIDEN / DIO / MOTORHEAD tour plays here (hopefully)...
Guillaume
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