Dio is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1982 by Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Black Sabbath.  The band is not meant to be a solo effort on the part of Ronnie James Dio; they had used his last name for commercial reasons.  He and Vinny Appice started the band upon leaving Black Sabbath over artistic differences.

Dio

Lyrically I like to use themes that make the listener use his or her imagination, and to give a little of the lessons I've learned in my own life.

The Early Years

Dio is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1982 by Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Black Sabbath.  The band is not meant to be a solo effort on the part of Ronnie James Dio; they had used his last name for commercial reasons.  He and Vinny Appice started the band upon leaving Black Sabbath over artistic differences.

They released Holy Diver later in 1982; the album certified platinum in the US and silver in the UK.  The singles released from the album were Holy Diver and Rainbow in the Dark, which peaked at #40 and #14 respectively.  Heavy radio play and MTV's regular airplay of the video for the latter hit served to solidify the fans' love of the album.  

Building on a Strong Foundation

The Last in Line, another platinum US album, was released in 1984.  It peaked at #24 on the US Billboard Top 200 and at #4 on the UK charts.  The only single released was Mystery.  Sacred Heart, their third album, was released in 1985, offering only the title track as a release.  In 1987, guitarist Vivian Campbell, not satisfied with the direction of Dio, accepted an offer from Whitesnake, and left.  Later that year, their new guitarist, Craig Goldy, debuted with the band on their fourth album, Dream Evil.

The next few years brought more changes in the band's roster; even Dio left the band temporarily to record an album with Black Sabbath.  In 1990, the new band recorded Lock Up the Wolves, followed by five more albums through 2004.  They were never able to duplicate the commercial success of their initial efforts.  In 2005, they embarked on a world tour, entitled An Evening with Dio.  They recorded a show in England, and released the recording on DVD in 2006, and a double CD of the event, entitled Holy Diver – Live.  

Here and Now

Dio has been on a hiatus due to Ronnie James Dio's involvement with his band, Heaven and Hell.  They interrupted the hiatus in 2008 for a 10-concert European mini-tour in 2008, and should have been again in 2009 for another tour.  However, the second tour was canceled due to the hospitalization of Ronnie James Dio for treatment of stomach cancer.  

A box set entitled The Tournado Box Set is set to be released later in 2010.  Included in the set will be the Killing the Dragon cd, the Evil or Divine DVD, bonus material, interviews, photo gallery, a promo video for the Push video, and exclusive Dio playing cards.

Did you know . . .

1. In 1985, Dio wrote the song, Stars, for Hear 'n Aid, a charity effort to raise money for famine-stricken South Africa.

2. The cover of Holy Diver caused some controversy, apparently depicting a demon killing a Catholic priest; Dio suggested that it not be judged so quickly, and that the priest could be killing the demon.

3. The demon depicted on the Holy Diver album appears a several covers after, and his name is Murray.

• Unlimited Music Access
• Music File Sharing
• Country Based Radio Channels
• Easy, Fast and Safe!
• 100% Free!