I must say my anticipation for Heaven and Hell and any high-quality performances by the old Sabbath line-up have been squashed. I recently rented the Dio - Holy Diver DVD from Netflix and it was a painful thing to watch. Well, actually watching it was fine, it was painful to hear.
Dio is a shadow of his former self on this one-year-past performance. Now I'm not dissing him, I know the man is in his mid-60s and he can't be expected to belt out tunes like he did 20 years ago. But this Holy Diver concert really shows how much he's lost in ability. At first I thought maybe it was just an off performance, but then I realized the band had down-tuned, dropped a key or octave, or whatever you call it, to match Dio's current lack of vocal ability. Gone completely are the high notes, and he doesn't even try. The whole show almost sounds like it is wading thru waist-deep water. And it wasn't the musicians at fault, it was Dio's vocals.
Although I expect they can doctor his voice for the two new studio songs to go with next year's Dio Years Sabbath package, any hope of him performing the classics in a live setting are gone with the passing years.
Sad really, to see such a metal icon keep going beyond his abilities. But I guess he still needs to earn a living, so I have some admiration for his fortitude and longevity. It's just painful to hear.
Dio is a shadow of his former self on this one-year-past performance. Now I'm not dissing him, I know the man is in his mid-60s and he can't be expected to belt out tunes like he did 20 years ago. But this Holy Diver concert really shows how much he's lost in ability. At first I thought maybe it was just an off performance, but then I realized the band had down-tuned, dropped a key or octave, or whatever you call it, to match Dio's current lack of vocal ability. Gone completely are the high notes, and he doesn't even try. The whole show almost sounds like it is wading thru waist-deep water. And it wasn't the musicians at fault, it was Dio's vocals.
Although I expect they can doctor his voice for the two new studio songs to go with next year's Dio Years Sabbath package, any hope of him performing the classics in a live setting are gone with the passing years.
Sad really, to see such a metal icon keep going beyond his abilities. But I guess he still needs to earn a living, so I have some admiration for his fortitude and longevity. It's just painful to hear.