The problem of being responsible for a number of bona fide classics is that everything that comes subsequently is, rightly or wrongly, held up against them and judged. Dio, whose superlative voice adorned three unassailable classics (Rainbow’s Rising, Sabbath’s Heaven & Hell and his own Holy Diver) was an entertainer in the classic mould, working hard in the studio to eventually release ten studio albums under his name alone, four of which make up this reissue package from BMG / Niji Entertainment. Each of the four albums (1996’s Angry Machines, 2000’s Magica, 2002’s Killing The Dragon and 2004’s Master Of The Moon) has been remastered for both vinyl and deluxe, double CD editions, including rare bonus tracks and live cuts. Produced in conjunction with Wendy Dio, who has been active in maintaining her late husband’s memory, these reissues offer the perfect chance to explore an area of Dio’s back catalogue that has often been unfairly overlooked. This review looks at the first pair of albums from the set, 1996’s slightly patchy Angry Machines and 2000’s excellent Magica.
Angry Machines (1996)
Dio The Studio Album Collection: 1996 – 2004 kicks off with Angry Machines. Recorded in 1996, the album now comes with a twelve-track live CD recorded on the 1997 tour that followed the album’s release. Not brilliantly well-received at point of release, Angry Machines is a strange entry in the Dio canon, with the band seemingly unsure of how to proceed against the commercial onslaught of grunge. Although the album boasts a number of cracking tracks, it remains a divisive and somewhat scattershot record.
Angry Machines starts very well indeed. Kicking off with the pummelling Institutional Man, a crushingly heavy slab of doom-laden metal, Dio typically gives it his all as his band lay down a series of punishing riffs behind him. Slower, darker, heavier and with a superlative performance from Vinnie Appice just as he was out the door, Institutional Man is a bruising start to an album that doesn’t quite manage to maintain its levels of intensity throughout. On the plus side, you have the rolling drum thunder of the sinister Don’t Tell The Kids, and the slow-paced Hunter Of The Heart, both tracks that suggest Angry Machines has a great deal to offer. In contrast, missteps like the elastic groove of Black (recalling Primus, of all things) upset the overall flow and, if the epic-length Stay Out Of Mind initially recalls early Soundgarden with its minor key guitar work, the horror-infused keyboard passage that haunts the middle of the song remains one of the album’s more questionable decisions. Of course, Dio is one of the few singers out there who could comfortably stand shoulder to shoulder with the late, great Chris Cornell and the first four minutes of Stay Out Of Mind is classic Dio, with riffs in abundance, but is in dire need of some self-editing.
Thus, it goes with the album. For every Double Monday (short, sharp and heavy) there’s a Big Sister (Dio does Helmet) waiting in the wings, which makes for an uneven listen. The eerie lullaby of Golden Rules may give way to nervy, Soundgarden riffing but the lengthy outro is a step too far; and, although the slow-paced, descending bass of Dying In America gets things back on track, Dio chose to round the album off with the piano-led This Is Your Life, an anachronistic song that sounds remarkably out of place amidst all the down-tuned riffing.
If Angry Machines is not Dio’s finest hour, the bonus disc will, nevertheless, have collectors salivating. A twelve-track live disc captured on the ensuing 1997 tour, it finds Dio in full flight and it’s notable that only Hunter Of The Heart from the parent album makes it onto the set list (a shame about Institutional Man), a fair sign that Dio himself was less than satisfied with the record. Incredibly powerful, the live disc is, frankly, worth the price of admission alone and provides a pointed reminder that Dio remained a potent live force throughout his career.
Parent album: 6.5
Bonus Disc: 9
Magica (2000)
With a completely new line-up in tow (including guitarist Craig Goldy, returning from Dream Evil) and licking his wounds in the wake of Angry machines, Dio unleashed Magica, a bold concept record that returned to the more mythical trappings of Dio’s early career. Written from the villain’s perspective (thanks to Dio’s love of playing the anti-hero), Magica was originally planned to be the first part of an epic trilogy (tragically cut short by Dio’s death in 2010), and it seems that the conceptual framework reinvigorated Dio, who delivers a performance of confidence and power.
Setting the scene, the short, spoken-word Discovery and the orchestral bombast of Magica theme pave the way for the mid-tempo metal of Lord Of The Last Day, which gets the album proper underway. A decent, doom-laden start, it nevertheless pales in comparison to Fever Dreams, a cracking heavy metal number in the vein of Holy Diver, it sees the band find their footing and start to march forward in lockstep for the rest of the record. No less impressive is Turn To Stone, which sees Craig exploring a bluesier side to his guitar playing, reminiscent of David Gilmour’s grandstanding on Momentary Lapse Of Reason, before leading the band into the chugging main body of the song. It’s the sort of song that Dio could produce in his sleep, but it’s elevated by the voice of the man himself, whose vocals simply stun. A short, spoken-word intro leads into the dark, dirty Feed My Head, an album highlight that still leaves the listener unprepared for the symphonic majesty of Eriel, which features some glorious guitar work, cinematic strings and a structure reminiscent of Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime album.
Kicking off the second half of the album, Simon Wright’s gargantuan drums announce the slab of road rock that is Challis, and if obligatory ballad As Long As it’s Not About Love ultimately feels overegged, it still offers a wonderful opportunity to hear that voice set against a stripped-down arrangement. Despite a ridiculous, renaissance intro, Losing My insanity proves to be classic Dio, as does the prowling Otherworld, one last dose of classic metal before Magica and Lord Of The Last Day are treated to short reprises, rounding out the album (the Magica Story having been moved to the second disc).
Impressively avoiding any sort of duplication, the ten-track bonus disc offers 2 studio tracks (Electra and Magica Story) as well as an eight-song live set which captures Dio on tour in 2001. It may not have the pristine sound of the live disc offered on Angry Machines, but it does feature material that is exclusively from the Magica album (eschewing only Turn To Stone, Feed My Head and As Long As It’s Not About Love). As such, although it has a bootleg quality to it, it’s a decent record of Dio and his band and offers a compelling counterpoint to the album. As for the studio tracks, the poignant Electra was the last song to be recorded by Dio’s band before his death and, although it’s a belting track, it’s also a painful reminder of what was lost on May 16th, 2010. Nevertheless, this well-stocked offering is mana for Dio fans.
Parent Album: 8
Bonus Disc: 8
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