The sad state of Dio

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

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.

 

[Cold Gin]

Saw him at BYH 05, I thought it was great !

 

[Assault_Attack]

The word is Dio was sick & as they say the "The Show must go on" The money was spent, The video & audio crews were there, it was all systems go.

I guess the best way to find out the true condition of his voice would be to find a good boot from his current tour.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

The word is Dio was sick & as they say the "The Show must go on" The money was spent, The video & audio crews were there, it was all systems go.

I guess the best way to find out the true condition of his voice would be to find a good boot from his current tour.

I wasn't aware of that tidbit. If so, I'll certainly give him a mulligan for the performance and my suddenly tilted world will level back out.

I better check out Evil or Divine DVD, that's from 2003, so fairly recent.

 

[poundingmetal74]

Dude, I know how you feel. I went through the same thing hearing Geoff Tate on "Live Evolution" - while it's a damn fine concert, it shows he wasn't what he used to be.

That was until seeing MCI + II live - Tate completely took us by storm, singing like the old times and hitting the high notes that made him famous.

In Dio's case, I'd tend to believe "he had a cold" story - nothing can fuck up your voice worse than that. From sources who've seen him in the past few years, say he's still singing as good as ever.

I find it hard to believe they wouldn't have him recut a lot of the vocals in studio.

 

[Platinum Maze]

The word is Dio was sick & as they say the "The Show must go on" The money was spent, The video & audio crews were there, it was all systems go.

I guess the best way to find out the true condition of his voice would be to find a good boot from his current tour.

Yeah, I didn't know that either. His voice didn't impress me on the cd. I haven't seen the dvd yet. He'll sound good on this tour.

Then again, even if he's in a wheelchair, I'm going to that show.

 

[Assault_Attack]

Then again, even if he's in a wheelchair, I'm going to that show.

You got that right!

 

[Jean-Pierre]

He sounded perfectly fine when I saw him in 2004.

 

[Scorn the Dethroned]

Dio is going to tour the Heaven and Hell release after its released in 2007, which will be good to see, not that they would come here or anything...

 

[Death Animal]

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.

That was just one consert. When I saw Dio few years ago he was in great shape. Almoust best consert i ever seen.
I believe he still can rocks teh socks out.

 

[Scorn the Dethroned]

Dio is going to tour the Heaven and Hell release after its released in 2007, which will be good to see, not that they would come here or anything...

 

[Narcosynthesys68]

The word is Dio was sick & as they say the "The Show must go on" The money was spent, The video & audio crews were there, it was all systems go.

That must have been it. I saw him a few years back... on the tour that the Evil or Divine DVD was done and he was basically spot on with everything. Yes they were down tuned 1/2 step or whatever but to me, it wasn't all that noticable when I was watching it... and believe me, that is one of my biggest peeves! Doug Aldritch was playing for him and that guy was on fucking fire!

I can't wait to see the Heaven and Hell thing... Probably won't be anywhere near me but I would hope that they put something on DVD!

 

[Wyvern]

Yo TSO forget about that video I saw it oo and it sucks! A month afterward I saw it we have Dio live here and as you remember my review it kick-ass all the way, and if it's true his vocals are not like in Rainboy days (30 years are not a laughing matter) he still mesmeize the audience and deliver the goods for sure.

Rest assure the tour will be as magical as can be, since I can attest that 'Children Of The Sea' and 'Heaven And Hell' are sung in top form.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Rest assure the tour will be as magical as can be, since I can attest that 'Children Of The Sea' and 'Heaven And Hell' are sung in top form.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Wyv! And him reproducing the classics like Children of the Sea is exactly where my concern lies. I appreciate your viewpoint since you actually saw the DVD and watched him live around the same time. That means you should know.

 

[ElectricWiz]

Nah, he's lost a step for sure. He sounds fine, but simply does not have the range he once did. He can sing, but not like before. I saw him live too, and in that setting he was good, but it's so loud at most metal shows that you can't reeeeeeally tell, not altogether. You just get a hint of what's going on. I haven't heard the Holy Diver live thing, but I'd wager it's right in line with the way he usually sounds these days. Gone are the the times of his stellar performances. It's for this that I actually have mixed feelings about Heaven and Hell. All these reunion's, with a few exceptions, are always heavily dependant on the singer's chops. Ian Gillan, Ozzy, Dio, Halford....they all sound okay, but none approach their former glory. Just a fact of life.....Not that I won't go to this show.....believe me, I'm up for it. But anybody who is hoping to say they saw the true incarnation of Sabbath from that period is gonna need a time machine.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

But anybody who is hoping to say they saw the true incarnation of Sabbath from that period is gonna need a time machine.

That's what I need, a time machine!

 

[sixxswine]

I have the double CD set and I too heard that RJD was ill at the recording and went ahead with the show... A Trooper. While I doubt that he's like he was in his prime, I will grant him the benifit of the doubt at this time...

 

[valerus]

Dude, I know how you feel. I went through the same thing hearing Geoff Tate on "Live Evolution" - while it's a damn fine concert, it shows he wasn't what he used to be.

That was until seeing MCI + II live - Tate completely took us by storm, singing like the old times and hitting the high notes that made him famous.

In Dio's case, I'd tend to believe "he had a cold" story - nothing can fuck up your voice worse than that. From sources who've seen him in the past few years, say he's still singing as good as ever.

I find it hard to believe they wouldn't have him recut a lot of the vocals in studio.

That sounds about right to me.

 

[No-Mercy]

I wasn't aware of that tidbit. If so, I'll certainly give him a mulligan for the performance and my suddenly tilted world will level back out.

I better check out Evil or Divine DVD, that's from 2003, so fairly recent.

i have that dvd. IT FUCKIN RULES! no dissapointment there.

 

[Fangface]

Even Doug Aldrich admitted recently that Dio wasn't in good shape when they recorded that show.

But don't worry, when he's ok Ronnie still makes the magic work on stage
Difficult notes are not that important to me anyway. Dio's singing, while technically impressive 30 or even 20 years ago, has always been more about emotion than flashy skills. And the emotion is still there, alive and well.