Favorite Dio (band) album

First a small little rant:

Holy Diver, Last in Line etc. are NOT solo albums!! Dio was a band named after Ronnie James Dio! Same situation as Santana, Dokken, Van Halen, Bon Jovi etc. All four members of the band wrote the songs, not just Ronnie Dio.

Now that that's out of the way, what is your favorite Dio band album? Since Ronnie James Dio has a vast discography going back to Elf we'll just leave it to the band, Dio.

For me, right now, it is Sacred Heart, the third and last with the original lineup. The title track is probably my favorite Dio track, and it's just a killer album IMO. The first four Dio albums are all really good. Shame that their Live recording Intermission was only an EP.

 

Sacred Heart is awful... lots of fillers. The best album..... Last in Line.

 

I love Lock Up The Wolves. There are a lot of great, bluesy and heavy riffs on that album. The Last In Line is probably my least favorite; half of that album feels like filler to me.

 

Holy Diver is my choice. But on the subject of Sacred Heart, I used to consider it a weaker copy if the first two albums. But I gave it a listen this year, and I think it's a good record now.

 

That's really not the way it was seen at the time. Dio was very much considered Ronnie James Dio and a backing band.

 

First two and a half, I'd say.

 

Above all (even Holy Diver*), I dig the doomy, bluesy sounds on Lock Up the Wolves. Some might see it as something of a Sabbath ripoff, but I think that Rowan Robertson definitely had a thing of his own going there.

It's probably also Dio's best sounding album, too. Indeed, I've used the CD to demo equipment.


My least favorite? Probably Master of the Moon. I just can't get into it (too much compression & too few riffs, IMHO).



(*Which is my second favorite.)

 

IMO
1) Holy Diver
2) The Last In Line
3) Strange Highways
4) Dream Evil
5) Killing The Dragon
6) Sacred Heart
7) Angry Machines
8) Lock Up The Wolves
9) Master Of The Moon
10) Magica

It's been a LONG time since I have listened to the 90's and 00's output. Perhaps time for a reassessment. I know I loved Strange Highways from the first listen and most people didn't and I know a guy who thinks Magica is the greatest and I could never get into that one. Guess I know what I'll be listening to this week. All that said as much I really enjoyed Dio.....I prefer his three albums with Rainbow and his three with Sabbath......four if you count 'The Devil You Know.'

 

Dio albums with filler on them? I have all of them, save for Master of the Moon , and I don't hear this filler y'all are talking about!

 

I certainly do!

 

Of the later albums, I definitely like Killing the Dragon.

 

Yes, Lock up the Wolves is a great sounding recording. One of the best Metal recordings.

 

Stand up and Shout is arguably one of the greatest metal album openers ever. Up there with Battery, Angel of Death, Painkiller, Caught Somehere in time etc. However I can't think of a better debut album opener.

 

Holy Diver is my favorite for the music. I like the production on The Last in Line better, though.

 

My personal preference

1. Lock Up The Wolves
2. Strange Highways
3. Holy Diver
4. Master Of The Moon
5. Magica
6. Sacred Heart
7. Dream Evil
8. Killing The Dragon
9. Angry Machines
10. The Last In Line

What is everyone's favorite / least favorite live Dio album or video? I like Inferno: Last In Live, Holy Diver Live, and Finding The Sacred Heart: Live In Philly 1986 a lot and Live In London 1993 is pretty interesting to watch. My least favorite is Evil Or Divine: Live In New York. The video effects completely ruin that DVD.

 

To me, the first two Dio albums are like Ozzy - Blizzard and Diary. Take your pick.

 

totally agree. four absolute classics that don't need to be distinguished by scores or ratings.

 

The Last in Line.

 

Holy Diver.

 

Heaven and Hell

 

That would be my favorite album that RJD performed on as well. But I think the OP is asking for folks to name their favorite album by the band called "Dio", not Black Sabbath etc.

 

Eh, figured it deserved some credit. Saw them on the Heaven and Hell tour with MegaDeath a few years before he passed...RIP

 

and then a spark...inside the dark The answer came to call.......

 

Even though it really actually wasn't. Of course Ronnie Dio was the star, but it's still not a solo act.