Dio Albums Ranked
Dio was an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Dio left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member Vinny Appice, the band’s drummer. The name Dio was chosen because it made sense from a commercial standpoint, as the name was already well known at that time. The band released ten studio albums and had numerous line-up changes over the years with Dio himself being the only constant member. Guitarists included Vivian Campbell, Craig Goldy, Doug Aldrich, Warren DeMartini, Tracy G, Jake E. Lee, and Rowan Robertson. The band dissolved in 2010 when Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer at the age of 67. Dio has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide. Here are all of Dio’s albums ranked.
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10.Angry Machines (1996)
“It’s heavy, in the same vein as Strange Highways (same band) but a little different. If you’re expecting the “DIO sound” you may be taken off guard by this cd & its predecessor. I can tell you that it grows on ya with multiple listening s & there’s enough there to make you want to play it multiple times. I wonder how many of the negative reviews of this cd were made after one listening or less. Fact is, in the mid-90s most of the metal artists from the 70s & 80s were changing their sound because they had to, at least according to the record companies anyway. I for one don’t mind hearing something different from my favorite bands. With that in mind I think you’ll enjoy this cd.”
9. Master of the Moon (2004)
“I still feel like Dio had one more great solo album in him. Master of the Moon is good, there are a couple songs on there that is classic Dio through and through, was it amazing no and that is the unfortunate thing. But the guy was planning on doing Magica 2 and 3 which in my view undoubtedly would have been masterpieces. Magica is the greatest of his last 4 albums because Dio was the perfect person to write an album like that. But it wasnt meant to be and he would get back with the other guys in Sabbath and do Heaven & Hell instead. Pick this up for classic Dio, and remember the man for the amazing metal star he was.”
8. Magica (2000)
“Though the story line is very Dio, and could be worked out very interestingly, this is again quite a mediocre album of Dio. The strong tracks are at the end of the album, like “Challis”, the beautiful ballad “As long as it´s not about love” and the medieval influenced “Losing my insanity”. The rest of the album consists of mid-tempo or slower tracks, which seem to drag on from time to time.”
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7. Killing the Dragon (2002)
“This album rocks, especially Killing the Dragon, Scream, Rock and Roll, and Throw Away Children. Wow! Many Dio fans seem to be stuck in a time warp and think every album has to be compared to Holy Diver and The Last in Line and that nothing quite matches up to those two. Yeah, those are great albums, but this one is the equal of those two as are many of his other ones despite differing styles and sounds (Lock Up the Wolves, Strange Highways, Angry Machines, Killing the Dragon)…Just like every artist, Dio has had some clunkers (Sacred Heart, imo), but on the whole, he rocks.”
6.Lock Up the Wolves (1990)
“This is an excellent album from start to finish. How do all of these great Dio albums get overlooked? I just recently found Dio again after being a fan in the early 80’s and have no idea how I completely overlooked great albums like Lock Up the Wolves for so many years. This is classic heavy metal at it’s best. I for some reason had Dio pegged as overdoing the keyboards (probably due to Sacred Heart) but don’t hear any of that here, or on almost any of his albums. This is hard driving rock from a hard driving rocker, and I am just happy that I finally got back on the Dio bandwagon and can now catch back up on some great music that I missed over the last 25 years.”
5. Strange Highways (1993)
“This album completely caught me by surprise. I bought it because I wanted to fill out my Dio collection and I was also curious to hear how he’d sound coming out of Black Sabbath’s Dehumanizer. This is his return to his solo project and MAN did he bring it this time!!!! Simply put, this album is Heavy, it’s catchy and a really solid listen. Every song has a hook. All of the ballads are Power Ballads and kick your ass by the end. It may not have been the most popular album at the time (1993), but in hind-sight, it is Veeeery worthy of being in your Collection. So if you’re a curious collector like me, Do It!! You won’t be disappointed.”
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4.Sacred Heart (1985)
“I am a big fan of Ronnie James Dio. From his time in Elf all the way through his most recent work, his voice is still the most powerful in metal. He makes every song sound heavy, but also understands melody. After two great releases with Holy Diver and The Last in Line. Ronnie came out with this one and it is a let down. There are really no songs that stand out to me and while Dio still sings with a passion, this one sounds uninspired as a whole. Decent release, but I would start with something else.”
3. Dream Evil (1987)
“Dio’s fourth album Dream Evil is the last studio album to feature Claude Schnell and the first to feature gutiarist Craig Goldy (previously of Rough Cutt, but not at the same time as Claude.) Craig ably and deftly handles guitar duties and although his style is slightly different to previous guitarist Vivian Campbell, fits into the overall Dio sound perfectly. I will admit that there are one or two songs that seem a tad weak or generic when listening to the album from beginning to end, but which are fine in isolation. Still, the album contains tracks like ‘Sunset Superman,’ ‘Dream Evil,’ and ‘All The Fools Sailed Away,’ that no right minded Dio fan could ignore, some of the best material the band put out and essential for any best of compilation.”
2. The Last in Line (1984)
“Great metal album from Ronnie James Dio. Product arrived undamaged but dirty. After a good cleaning it sounded good. Production was never that great on this album but to my ears it sounds better than the CD version especially when played loud. The packaging is budget conscience but the blue color of the vinyl is awesome. I’m glad I picked this one up before they all got gone.”
1. Holy Diver (1983)
“Every decade they say that its the last generation for metal. It never is, it never will be. As I write this review, I’m listening to the intro of Holy Diver. It still gets me like it did the first time I ever heard it. Holy Diver, is one of the best metal albums to ever be created. I’m going to review each and every song, in-depth. But let me start by saying that this is one of the greatest albums, cover to cover, to ever be released and is slightly underrated. R.I.P Ronnie James Dio.”
