Review by Vee de Barre
When Ronnie James Dio passed away in 2010, the world lost one of the greatest metal vocalists. The voice of Rainbow, Heaven and Hell, and Elf had been silenced. But never fear. It’s only a matter of time before the seemingly endless stream of Greatest Hits albums appear. You know exactly what will be on them – the popular stuff, the hits and the odd favourite thrown in for good measure. But The Very Beast of isn’t just a regular Greatest Hits album.
While the first Very Beast Of focused on the most popular years of Dio’s career, Vol 2 takes us through the murky depths of time known as ‘the late 90s’. Let’s be honest, that time wasn’t good for so many bands. Why would this be any different for Dio? How do I put this politely? Cos he’s Ronnie James fuckin Dio!
The Very Beast Of, Vol 2 opens with Killing the Dragon and it doesn’t let up until Prisoner of Paradise. Every track is huge. Listen to it on earphones and prepare to have your eardrums blown out – in the best possible way. Killing the Dragon is an absolute monster, and it makes the perfect opener. It’s a song that grabs you and demands that you start headbanging this instant.
And it doesn’t let up. Not for an instant. Everything is huge. Want a stand out track? Try ‘all of them’. Granted, Black stands out for the wrong reason. I’m going to use a dirty word now and say it sounds a bit ‘nu-metal’. It doesn’t quite fit. But that is a small criticism about an album that is filled with so many highlights.
Often, on Greatest Hits albums, the songs start to meld together after a while. Not so here. Every song showcases just how damn good Dio was. Better in the Dark is so catchy, you want to start singing along. As Long as it’s Not About Love is a rare ballad that displays just how powerful RDJ’s voice was. And yes, Electra is everything it should be for a song rarely heard. The penultimate track, Metal Will Never Die, is the perfect sum up of a career that created so many great songs. ‘I am metal,’ RDJ declares. Yes, sir. You are.
The Very Beast of, Vol 2 is an album that every metal fan should own. It’s a fitting tribute to the man, the songs and his legacy.
Rock in peace, Ronnie.
9 out of 10
Track listing:
- Killing the Dragon
- Push
- The Eyes
- Along Came a Spider
- Better in the Dark
- Fever Dreams
- Black
- Feed My Head
- Shivers
- Hunter of the Heart
- One More for the Road
- Lord of the Last Day
- Electra
- As Long as it’s Not About Love
- This Is Your Life
- Metal Will Never Die
- Prisoner of Paradise
