METAL EDGE MAGAZINE
October 2002
DIO: RETURNING TO THE LINE...AT LAST
By Roger Lotring
From his earlier work with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow, to
the hauntingly dark appeal of Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio has always
been one of the more enduringly popular vocalist of the hard rock realm.
But it is the music of the namesake band Dio that has been canonized as
being among the best that the genre has to offer. Characterized by a
decidedly classic European style of fiery, compositional guitar and a
soaring range of powerful vocals, Dio -the band- breathes life into
imaginative tales of musical fantasy, threaded together by methodical
themes of confident self-reliance.
Original guitarist Vivian Campbell left the group during the mid -
1980s following the Sacred Heart album, with Craig Goldy stepping
forward for the Dream Evil release. But Goldy's subsequent departure
semed to kindle the turbulence of years of personnel changes, defined by
a series of albums that became increasingly reticent of the traditional
Dio sound. "It's something that I needed to do," admits the vocalist of
a return to the essence of Dio, as defined by milestones such as The
Last In Line and Holy Diver. First insinuated by the conceptual alure of
Magica, new release Killing The Dragon reveals a band committed to
executing what it does best~~That being an admittedly more traditional
Dio album.
An extremely likeable gentleman who articulates intelligence with an
easy charm, Ronnie James Dio radiates confidence with a sureness that
is sometimes forthright, but always honest. He joined Metal Edge to
discuss key points of the ninth Dio studio album, while enthusing over
newly recruited guitarist Doug Aldrich. Ultimately, what becomes readily
apparent is an inherent appreciation for the fans, "I'll sign their
autograghs and talk to them, because it's so important to me," he says
with remarkable humility for one so gifted with talent.
"I think they see me as someone who cares, someone who loves the music
he's making."
Metal Edge:
When Magica was only about to be released, even then you
already knew that this record would be a more traditional Dio album.
Ronnie James Dio:
Yes, that's right. I planned it all this way.
Metal Edge:
It's intersting that you had the foresight that everything should
happen this way.
Ronnie James Dio:
Well, I think when you make mistakes, you're either smart enough
to build on them, or stupid enough to not build on them. I just realized
that it was a real confusing time for people before Magica. Dio didn't
seem to be Dio anymore, and that bothered me. The lucky thing at that
point was that Craig Goldy came back with us. There was another person
who has been part of Dio before--and, of course, [bassist] Jimmy [Bain]
was there as well-- so we had a lot of people playing what Dio was
really all about. That helped make the path a bit easier. But I did know
that we needed to get back to what people had remembered about us. What
we wanted to do was fill that void with Magica, and then, with this
album, make it just driven by the songs. And then, do Magica Parts II
and III after this album, because it is a trilogy.
Metal Edge:
How did you just word it? Dio wasn't sounding like Dio? Do you
think that was necessary, to experiment and try something different, in
order to come back to what the band is all about?
Ronnie James Dio:
I actually wanted to just really take on something bigger than
what we had been taking on before. I just felt that the products we had
before that, especially Angry Machines, were confusing-- Not only to
people, but confusing to me. It wasn't the kind of writing that made me
happy. We did it, and you must have the necessity of doing something
that irks you, I guess, before you have the opportunity to get back in
line. But because of those things, I really wanted to just ground myself
inside of being able to sing a lot more, and sing some melodic things
and let them go the way I felt that they needed to go, as opposed to the
people I was writing with before Magica. I wrote Magica with myself in
mind, my own sanity in mind. But what I nedded was the reason to do it,
a concept to do it with. If there had not been a story, then I would have
felt myself floundering around for no reason.
Metal Edge:
When you look back at albums like Heaven And Hell, The Last In
Line, and, of course, Holy Diver, each is considered a heavy metal
benchmark. Killing The Dragon certainly bears its share of similarity,
but do you think the term "heavy metal" ultimately becomes restrictive,
than if it were just called rock 'n' roll?
Ronnie James Dio:
People can call you what they want to call you. We were a heavy
metal band when heavy metal bands were what we were. The connotation has
taken on a different meaning now because of the things the are done--Not
the guitar solos that you used to hear, not the same kind of vocals that
you used to hear. That used to be heavy metal. Now heavy metal has
become something else. If you look at Killing The Dragon, you probably
wouldn't call it a heavy metal album. It would be a hard rock album. But
at the end of the day, what the hell does it matter?
Metal Edge:
The "dragon" can be used to metaphorically describe any number of
things. So, considering Killing The Dragon as an entirety, what personal
or societal things do you hope to lyrically sly with this album?
Ronnie James Dio:
I think there's only one that really is pointed to, via the title
track. Of course, the title track was not meant to be a synopis of this
album in any way, shape of form. It's just a song. But the dragon, as
you correctly infer, is a metaphor for the amount of injustices that
people will tolerate, until they rise up and destroy what has been
giving them the problem. The first verse aplies to a dragon in real
terms, which doesn't apply to today. The second is a medieval lord of a
manor who treats his people very badly, and becomes this dragon that
needs to be slayed. The third verse is the only one that really relates
to what we can talk about today, and that is the electronic revolution.
Mainly, I'm pointing to what we see every day, and that's the small god
with the electrical heart--Our PC, laptop, whatever it may be. A lot of
science fiction writers that I've read, the stories crop up that these
things could so lessen our humility. Perhaps the electronic
revolution--the computer, for example-- may end up being the controller,
as oppossed to the controlled.
Metal Edge:
Maybe what should be garnered from that particular song is
awareness.
Ronnie James Dio:
It's certainly not a warning or an anti-movement against what's
happening. Not at all. I take great pleasure in using digital means to
record, to do demos. to do all sorts of stuff, as we all do. What a
wonderful tool. It's not a red flag going up, it was just a continuation
of the idea of the song. I needed to take it into the present, so what
was I going to use? I didn't want to speak as a revolutionary and talk
about government. That's not my place to do, and I wouldn't do it
anyway. As I was looking at the computer, I thought it just made sense
to me.
Metal Edge:
Another song that really stands out is "Rock And Roll," which, of
course, addresses the absurdity of political corectness, within the
context of September 11th. That song really hits home on a lot of
levels.
Ronnie James Dio:
I started writing Killing The Dragon in August. And, of course,
August turned into September, and September turned into September 11th.
I'm from the New York area, and this was so surreal to me. It looked
like a bad Godzilla movie when I saw it happening on television. I
couldn't connect with it, and I think everybody felt that way, unless
you were there around Ground Zero. I called a friend of mine who's a
disc jockey in New York, a guy named Eddie Trunk, to tell everybody,
"Don't worry, we're behind you, and we're there to help." He told me
they had censored some Dio songs, some Sabbath songs I had done with
them, and some songs when Ozzy was in the band, because they thougt they
were politically incorrect at the time. At that point, I went, "You must
be kidding me." I knew there were going to be young men and women who
were going to go someplace and put their lives in peril. Before they put
them on a boat or plane and sent them over there, I wonder if they said,
"Okay, good luck to everyone, go out there and defend the country. Oh,
by the way...[clearing throat} Sorry, you can't listen to this, and you
can't listen to that." I think the middle eight [of the song] says it
all: Send your heroes off to war, but whisper in their ear/Never cross
the song police, 'cause they can tell you what you're going to hear. I
mean, it just pissed me off to such a degree, because you can't do that
to rock 'n' roll. Rock 'n' roll is special, and so precious to everyone.
It reminds them of good memories of everything wonderful.
Metal Edge:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't "Throw Away Children" initially
intended to be the centerpiece of another Stars project?
Ronnie James Dio:
Yes, absolutely right. It was, in fact, a song written especially
for that purpose. It was presented to the people at Children Of The
Night, to all the powers that be there. They felt that it was too
depressing. I understand what they're talking about. There are two ways
to approach a project, and that is to make them so remorseful that they
do something about [the situation]. Or, there's the other approach, the
positive approach: We'll overcome, let's beat this down! That's the
approach they really preferred, and I understand that.
Metal Edge:
Because of the turn of events, is there stil a plan to someday do
another Stars type project?
Ronnie James Dio:
Oh, absolutely! We're going to write a positive song that they'll
lke, and it will suit what has to be done. We'll write the parts for all
the singers, all the guitar players. It's only on hold because of time.
Metal Edge:
We've already mentioned Craig Goldy during this conversation, and I
think some longtime fans may be somewhat disappointed to learn that he
isn't with the band anymore.
Ronnie James Dio:
That very well could be. As much as they might have liked Craig,
believe me, I heard a lot of people along the line, too, who didn't like
what Craig did, who felt that he wasn't true to Vivian's solos. Fans who
mean critiques in a positive way have always been right. I don't make my
decisions based upon what they say, but I do listen, and they help me
make my decisions.
Metal Edge:
What is it about his particular style of playing that makes Doug
Aldrich so right fo Dio?
Ronnie James Dio:
Well, the first thing is he knew what we were supposed to be. We
must remember that Vivian Campbell was one of the people that Doug liked
an awful lot. And who wouldn't? I mean, Viv's technique was amazing. He
was so fresh, and so aggressive, that's what made Viv so special. Doug's
technique is very akin to Viv's at times, so right away it cements you
inside of this Dio things that sounds like Dio. Listening to Doug play,
you will hear the other side of him as well, that goes beyond what I
think Viv did. Plus, just a wonderful guy, great person to know. This,
to me, is once again the beginning of something so wonderful.
Metal Edge:
The paradox is that earlier in the conversation, you said there was
a point when the Dio albums weren't sounding like Dio. If I'm not
mistaken, didn't you actually want Doug--who knows what Dio is supposed
to be--to join the band before that?
Ronnie James Dio:
Yes, in 1989, as a matter of fact. And that was the first time
that Craig left. It seems that ever time Craig goes, we have this
opportunity for Doug. He was in a band called Lion, and that band was
starting to do some things. He had been in the band for awhile, and he
really believed in them, and he really liked the guys in the band. We
did play with Doug, and he did seem open to it at the time, to maybe
playing with us. But he called me the next day and said, "Look, I can't
do it. I would just feel this horrible guilt if I did that." So, Doug
went his way, and we've gone through all these years. Suddenly, when we
needed a guitar player, he just fit the bill with us so wonderfully. He's
just the best combination of all the players I've played with, Ritchie
[Blackmore], Tony [Iommi] and Viv. He's just the best combination
of all of them, and he can do more than them.
Metal Edge:
Whereas the last album was supported by a tour with Yngwie
Malmsteen and Doro Pesch, this year you're touring with Deep Purple and
the Scorpoins. What do you think makes Dio so adaptable to the context
of many different styles and sounds of other bands?
Ronnie James Dio:
Well, we have that classic nature about us, for a start. I think
being adaptable is one of the things as well. Our thing is just that we
are what we are, that's why we're adaptable. And what makes us adaptable
is that we're just damn good at what we do. There are not let-downs in
this band. No one wants to be looked upon as being the weak link. So, if
we were playing with Motorhead, for example, we'd probably do a lot
harder and faster stuff. But with Purple and Scorpions, we can scale it
down a little bit, to do what is going to be applicable. But it doesn't
mean we won't do the things that are important to us. I'll always be part
of what Sabbath was with Heaven And Hell, and I'll always want to do
that song. I think it's an important one, and you'll never hear it again
unless I do it.
Metal Edge:
For someone like yourself who is often considered icinic with
regard to hard rock, what do you think most people might be surprised to
learn about Ronnie James Dio?
Ronnie James Dio:
Wee, I don't really know. That's a really difficult question for
me to answer, because I think so much of it is in the mind of the
perceiver. I don't know if you're talking about people who believe what
they hear about my time in Black Sabbath, or look at some of the faces
that they see of me in photos--Most of 'em are not smiling or with angel
wings. But I think that's the perception that those particular people
need. They need to see me as this dark figure. But probably the thing
that most people would think strange about me would be that I just
consider myself a regular person. Then again, now we have Ozzy
Osbourne's show, which puts us all into a different perspective. So, who
knows? I've always preferred to leave it at the mystique point. I think
people should have their perceptions of you, as many as they possibly
can.
Metal Edge:
So, I suppose it would be a safe assumption that there will not be
a show called The Dios.
[Laughing]
Ronnie James Dio:
I think, Roger, that you will see a program, without a doubt,
called The Lotrings before you will see one called The Dios! I'm often
very blessed to have celebrity, and that's really wonderful. But once
that happens to you, you try so hard to protect your privacy. So, it's
not something that I can really relate to. But Ozzy, he's a different
person. He's a special person in the world who has no inhibitions, who
doesn't see anything wrong with this happening. The sad part to me is it
just seems to take any kind of legendary status that Ozzy may have had,
and just kind of flushed it down the toilet by exposing the poor man to
people feeling perhaps more sorry for him, than happy for his success.
Metal Edge:
It's interesting that a lot of people want to perceive
entertainment as being mythological, or mysterious, as you said.
Ronnie James Dio:
I think they probably would want a Tommy Lee existence, more than
anything else. That is kind of the ultimate debauchery, so to speak--I
happen to like Tommy a lot, by the way--All those things are what they
expect from a rock star. They expect that. They expect Kid Rock to be
with... Who the hell's he with?
Britney Spears--Is it Britney Spears?
Metal Edge:
He's actually with Tommy's ex-wife...
[Laughing].
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