For those that didn't know, Ronnie James Rio passed away today after a bout of cancer. What can I say about this man that hundreds already have? Not much. In fact, if you go to Blabbermouth.net right now, the first page is covered with other musicians mourning the loss of one of the most influential musicians/vocalists ever.
I would be lying if I said Dio was still a big part of my musical tastes, but I can't ignore that he did shape them. My brother had Dio's first solo album, Holy Diver, and it was a classic. It wasn't power metal, just metal. I was impressed and it really opened the doors to my musical tastes. Years later, when I saw that Dio had a greatest hits album, I had to pick it up. Solid metal.
His affect on the metal community? Well, he had to follow Ozzy in Black Sabbath, which he did a fine job of. And to top it off, Dio is considered to be the inventor of the metal horns. Imagine metal today without the horns.
He came back to Black Sabbath, but instead of calling it Black Sabbath again they went with Heaven & Hell (after one of his Black Sabbath's albums). He became this ambassador of heavy metal in his later years, making appearances in movies and tv. A new generation got a taste of Holy Diver, when Killswitch Engage covered the song and even did a video similar to the original.
I could go on for awhile talking about him, but I will let his music and colleagues do the talking from now on.
He will be missed.
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