DIO Vinyl & CDs

Review: While it's been 13 years since the tragic passing of one of the greatest rock and metal vocalists of our time, the legacy left behind by Ronnie James Dio serves as unwavering testament to the man's aura, character and prowess, even up to his final recordings which make up this collector's box set. Featuring the final four albums recorded under his own name, all housed in a sideloading box with newly created art on five 180g coloured LPs (1996's Angry Machines on Halloween orange with black marble, 2000's Magica on transparent blood red and black smoke, 2002's Killing The Dragon on transparent yellow with black marble and 2004's Master Of The Moon on electric blue with milky clear marble, plus the rare Electra single on a cobalt blue 7", the epic collection coincides with the upcoming release of Dio: Dreamers Never Die; the first authorised career-spanning documentary centred around the iconic frontman.

Review: The ninth full-length from Dio still feels like a recent contribution to the former Black Sabbath frontman's expansive canon, even though we find ourselves celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The first project to feature Whitesnake alumni Doug Aldrich on lead guitar, who would subsequently return for 2004's, 'Master Of The Moon'; Ronnie James Dio would handle production duties himself, while penning a surrealist fantasy vision-quest analysing our increasing reliance on technology through metaphorical encounters with dragons. The project is also notable for its lead single, 'Push', which featured self-professed Dio worshippers, Tenacious D, in the hit music video.