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Evil or Divine

Dio - Evil or Divine Audio CD

A fair review of the Dio "Evil or Divine" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Dio reviews here, or go back to the Dio tabs.

Band: Dio
Title: Evil or Divine
Rating:

Release Date: 2005-02-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Killing The Dragon 2: Egypt/Children Of The Sea 3: Push 4: Stand Up And Shout 5: Rock And Roll 6: Don't Talk To Strangers 7: Man On The Silver Mountain 8: Guitar Solo 9: Long Live Rock And Roll 10: Fever Dreams 11: Holy Diver 12: Heaven And Hell 13: The Last In Line 14: Rainbow In The Dark 15: We Rock

Divine

Very long guitar solo is a nice inclusion near the middle, and of course a bunch of classics like mentioned in "Rainbow In The Dark", "Holy Diver" (great version of that one here also), and probably my all time fav Dio song "The Last In Line" which is my fav version of this one also, perhaps you will never, never, never-never, never-never, never-never want to hear the studio version again. A nice setlist here of modern Dio, a bunch of classics featured here, plus a couple of my recent favs in "Push", and "Fever Dreams". . just kidding, but I love that part of the song.

Great CD of Live Dio still going strong, still sounds like he's got the same fire he had years ago as he belts out song after song and puts as much effort into the new ones as he does the classics. This is a hard rock/metal arena rock of old. . . sizzling guitars, solo's extended and featured throughout, and anthems pummeling you one after another. Dio will never be outdated, these songs are timeless classics in the hard rock/metal genre that probably wouldn't go over today with the music buying public for the most part feeling they are too smart to absord such simple pleasures and primal feeling of gasp. . . "joy" to rock. We listen to this to celebrate life, and if we are down . . . it makes us feel better, no matter how silly you all think it is, we rock!.

Another Solid Live Dio Album
Personally, I preferred "Holy Diver Live", but "Evil Or Divine" stands on its own as a worthy document of Dio live on the "Killing The Dragon" tour. "Evil Or Divine" is one of several live Dio albums to be released in the last decade or so. The performances are good by all concerned, with Doug Aldrich providing energetic guitar playing and the rhythm section of bassist Jimmy Bain and drummer Simon Wright holding down the bottom. The songs are solid, representing a cross-section of Ronnie James Dio's career. Highlights include "Fever Dreams" and Egypt/Children Of The Sea". Worth getting, even for those who own other Dio live albums. .

All Hail Dio, King Of Metal
His rich history across the genre began with his band Elf, then on to Rainbow, Black Sabbath where he replaced Ozzy and finally his influence as a solo performer. Dio is one of the true survivors in the world of Heavy Metal music. For those who have ever seen Ronnie James Dio perform in concert, they can attest for certain that he commands the Stage and truly gives the audience their money's worth when they come to rock with him. This CD was recorded during his "Killing The Dragon" tour. His lineup was Jimmy Bain (bass), Simon Wright (drums), Scott Warren (keyboards) and Doug Aldrich (guitars).

The song selection for this recording was a good one, as Dio has decided to include much more of his Rainbow material and his Sabbath stuff than in recent years. Given these tunes legendary status at this point in time, it was a smart move in my opinion. Highlights to me were definitely "Man On The Silver Mountain" as well as "Long Live Rock And Roll". Killer numbers from his Rainbow years without any doubt. It also includes the staple tracks from "Holy Diver"; a CD which I am hoping comes to a remastered state very soon. The production was well-done and all instruments are clear and nothing overpowers the other. The guitar solo by Doug Aldrich is killer; he is someone who can stand along the other great axe men in his genre. Dio himself stands out as you might expect and there is very little difference in his voice from the studio recordings to the live shows even after many years.

There is a companion DVD to this CD release and the only difference in the two besides one being audio and the other video would be the exclusion of the Simon Wright drum solo and the song "Lord Of The Last Day". I am mostly a fan of drum solos but they really have to be spectacular in order for me to focus on them on a CD than in a live setting. Not much of a difference in the end, so you as a fan can choose to pick up either piece. Check out one of them, especially if you are an old-school classic sound fan.
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Push, this one!
He is one of my favorite vocalist and he has proved that once again. Dio is the master of metal. Songs like Killing the Dragon, Push, Stand Up And Shout and We Rock are even better then the studio version. Dio seems to be the only singer that still sings strong while he's 60. I don't know any metal vocalist who sings so good at such an age. He sounds like he's an energic and young artist of 30 or something. Well, he is very energic on this album. I like this live album even more then Inferno: Last In Live. Great album, you must own it if you are a Dio fan.

Great songs, great vocals, great CD all around!
Recorded on the "Killing the Dragon" tour, guitarist Doug Aldrich adds some serious fire and intensity to these already classic songs. This is a very solid live album with truly great performances from RJD and the band. Ronnie's voice is in fine form. He hits all the high notes, and adds some great improvised runs as always. They've added a great ending to the song "Killing the Dragon": the way Ronnie sings ". . . the dragon again. . . " at the very end really brings the song to a higher level for me, and makes this disc a must-own. I also prefer the live version of "Rock and Roll" on this disc to the studio version, as Ronnie adds some really nice little improvised runs here and there. Jimmy Bain and Simon Wright are locked in so tight that they really add to the heaviness of the songs. The only disappointing part of this disc is a lackluster performance of "Fever Dreams", which is one of my favorite Dio songs of all time. I was really looking forward to hearing a live version of this song, but they play it too fast, and Doug's solo just seems like a cheap immitation of Craig Goldie's superbly crafted solo on the original studio version. They also play "Man on the Silver Mountain" too fast, but Dio's been playing it too fast for 20 years so I'm over it. (Check out "Holy Diver Live" for a great version of "MotSM" played at the original speed!) This isn't a perfect live album, but it's definitely better than "Inferno" and "Intermission", and covers all the classics better than "Holy Diver Live", so "Evil or Divine" will probably go down as the quintessential Dio live album. .

You can see a complete list of all Dio discography, or go back to the Dio tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.