Dio

Killing the Dragon is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio. It was released May 21, 2002 through Spitfire Records and was produced by frontman Ronnie James Dio. Somewhere in Ronnie James Dio's attic is a portrait of a decrepit rock star growing old in his place. There's no other explanation; Killing the Dragon proves that the vocalist's career is boundless, as he keeps putting out excellent albums. Unlike his previous release (the excellent concept album Magica), Dio goes for a more straightforward metal approach here. New guitarist Doug Aldrich captures the classic Dio sound on the fast-paced "Better in the Dark" and the title track, with its memorable riffs and blistering solos. "Throw Away Children," which deals with the death of a runaway girl, is as passionate musically as it is lyrically, while the dark anthem "Rock & Roll" is hypnotic and Sabbath-like as it builds at a slow and heavy-handed pace. In all, it's a solid collection of traditional metal rockers, all of which are wonderfully recognizable as Dio standards. Only death and taxes are more reliable than he is.

Three years after the VSOP label issued their first Dio collection, Anthology, a follow-up was issued, the appropriately titled Anthology, Vol. 2. While the first set featured all the expected Dio favorites ("Holy Diver," "Rainbow in the Dark," "Last in Line," etc.), the second edition fills in the remaining blanks…

Dio's contributions to heavy metal are profound and indisputable. He participated in no fewer than six of the most critically important hard rock and heavy metal albums of all time, including Rising, Long Live Rock 'n' Roll, Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, Holy Diver, and The Last in Line. Ronnie James Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer on May 16th 2010. It is one of the greatest losses ever suffered by the heavy metal community.

Although relatively strong sales at the time of its release would appear to refute this claim, Dio's third album in three years, 1985's Sacred Heart, was a terribly divisive affair, and is largely viewed as a disappointment in retrospect. This is because, although many brand-new yet fickle-minded fans were attracted by the album's noticeably more commercial hard rock songwriting, almost as many of Dio's most loyal, long-serving supporters were turned off by this new direction – as well as the already stagnant clichés being recycled from prior triumphs…