Metal Reviews

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A true classic. Dio (the man) is a living legend. I remember a live video of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water with the London Symphony Orchestra, featuring Dio as guest with Ian Gillan on vocals... man, that was shiver-inducing. What a voice these two have!

And what can be said... this is supposedly the man who instigated the horns up so...

93/100?

I'll give it a 60/100 and that's generous. Not a classic, not even a great album, just a regular, midly boring, Dio album.

I agree that it's not a classic, but IMO it's a great album from a great band. I've got the impression that you don't like Dio, and thats fine by me.. To each his own.

I actually know plenty of people who don't like Dio. That's all cool, though. Personally, I can't stand Motorhead, save maybe from Ace of Spades. That doesn't keep me from recognizing their legendary status, even if I don't like their music.

Still have to here this, but Holy Diver kicks fucking ass, if I remember, MR already gave it classic status right?

Yup... It's better than this..

Great review Thomas, this album is not as good as Holy Diver or Last In Line but still is a good heavy metal album, i think it was an improvement over sacred heart.

You cannot be more wrong.
I love Dio's debut and wish he made more like it. Last In Line wasn't bad but it was just a carbon-copy of Holy Diver... The rest of his solo discography goes from average to acceptable.
I loved him with Rainbow and a tad less with Black Sabbath. Also, I enjoyed Elf and even the Butterfly Ball album so, you see, I'm not a Dio fanatic but I do appreciate his work and especially his voice.

Fair enough, but:

gave me the impression that you weren't not much of a fan. I find this just as enjoyable as his earlier releases, and I know others do too. However, I'm familiar with this getting both good and average scores. It's good from me.

I agree it's better than Sacred Heart (which is a great album) but I also truly feel that "Dream Evil" is just as good as "Holy Diver" and "The Last In Line". In my opinion, Dio was still at the top of his game after this release. Somehow, I think it's a bit darker than the previous album, but also heavier. And it truly is a Heavy Metal classic.

I grew up listening to Holy Diver and when I got this album, Iwas disappointed. I just didn't enjoy it at all. Maybe I'll check it out again.

That's how I feel as well. It's not as good as the megaclassics "Holy Diver" and "Last In Line" but easily one of the best Dio albums since.

Outstanding album. I just recently heard the whole album through and it is real genius. I remember buying it back in 2005 the fist time I ever walked into Skinnies Records.

If you liked the first three classic albums, this is just as good as any of them. A lot of people want to dismiss Craig Goldy's contribution in favor of Vivian Campbell's earlier work, but that is a huge mistake here. In my opinion this is just as potent but provides an extra layer of Ritchie Blackmore worship to freshen up the sound and give it almost a retro feel with it's similarities to Rainbow and a particularly high energy Dio.

Love this album, although IMO it's not as good as Holy Diver and Last in Line.

It sucks that I had to here it again under such circumstances though.

More Thoughts:

No filler. The last In line and SH both had a couple of numbers that weren't exactly classics. decent songs, but not the stuff masterpieces are made of. Then again. The first 3 album had quite a few 10/10's and Dream Evil had none.

First Four Albums:

Holy Diver - 9.20
The Last In Line - 8.20
Sacred Heart - 8.33
Dream Evil - 8.40

(those are high scores by the way and will probably go up after I audit the albums again)