Top 10: ’90s Dio Songs

Metal historians will wax poetic for days regarding Ronnie James Dio’s ’70s and ’80s output. Between Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own eponymous outfit, it’s hard to argue another figure in metal history had a more prolific output. But what about the ’90s? Most lament the decade as being the death knell for acts like Dio. While commercially speaking, there is truth to that, creatively speaking, this assessment couldn’t be more wrong. During the decade of Clinton and Cobain, Dio managed to release three killer studio albums AND sandwich in another stint with Sabbath (Spoiler alert: Things didn’t end well). Yes, you read that last sentence correctly: KILLER albums. Did I stutter? I’m tired of idly standing on the sidelines while you dorks belittle the likes of Strange Highways and Angry Machines, especially the latter. Compelled by the spirit of Ronnie James himself, here are our Top 10 ’90s Dio Songs.

10. “Blood from a Stone”

By 1993, Dio was pissed off and made no bones about it. Getting burnt by Tony Iommi once was bad enough. Twice? Unacceptable. Subsequently, our hero channeled all that inner hatred and rage into his heaviest album, Strange Highways. Armed with a new and improved lineup consisting of former WWIII guitarist Tracy G., Dokken (a band even more dysfunctional than Sabbath) bassist Jeff Pilson, and ol’ reliable drummer Vinny Appice, the now 51 year old singer delivered venomous vocals over songs that reflected the ever-changing climate. While Sabbath were regrouping with Tony Martin, their proposed reunion with Ozzy Osbourne having gone belly up, Dio dropped what may as well have been the unofficial follow up to Dehumanizer. “Blood from a Stone” is an excellent example of this vibe, lying somewhere between traditional doom, brooding groove, and anthemic hard rock. It’s heavy as hell, but with a massive singalong chorus holding it all together.

9. “Don’t Tell the Kids”

Dio was singing speed metal before speed metal was a proper subgenre (i.e. Rainbow’s “A Light in the Black”, “Kill the King”, etc.) Come the release of 1996’s Angry Machines, amidst a scene that had witnessed not just the rise and fall of speed metal, but the subgenre it spawned (thrash), uptempo headbangers were nothing new for Ronnie James. And yet he could still unleash such ragers with the same ferocity and intensity as he did 20 years earlier. Such is the case with “Don’t Tell the Kids”. On an album of largely doom-laden dirges, “Don’t Tell the Kids” serves as a fitting mosh break, complete with a thrashing chorus and arguably Vinny Appice’s most vigorous drum performance since Derringer’s “Beyond the Universe”.

8. “Lock Up the Wolves”

Let’s not kid ourselves: Lock Up the Wolves is an album that belongs to the ’90s by release date only. In terms of the musical style being pursued, Dio’s fifth effort is still very much in the vein of the four opuses that proceeded it. We’ve got ultra-melodic hymns, fantastical lyricism, guitar heroics, and of course, the belting vocal prowess of Dio himself. Now I’ve met many who consider this here title track to be, not only Dio’s finest song of the ’90s, but the finest of his career (my high school ex fell into this latter camp). While I wouldn’t go that far, it is an excellent, old school Dio epic that certainly earns its spot on this list, and might just be the doomiest song of Dio’s output up until that point.

7. Dio – “Born on the Sun”

For whatever reason or another, 1987’s Dream Evil has always held a special place in my heart. Matter of fact, it’s my second favorite Dio album behind The Last in Line. Perhaps a From My Collection on that cult classic awaits? Anyways, back to Lock Up the Wolves. Hard as it is for me to put my finger on it, there’s something about “Born on the Sun”, from its four on the floor beat and strange melodies, to its triumphant “Last in Line”-esque chorus and face-melting solo, that screams Dream Evil to me, as if this song had origins from those sessions. Admittedly, wunderkind newbie Rowan Robertson was an up and coming shredder, much like Craig Goldy before him, and Vivian Campbell before him, so perhaps he purposely played to accommodate the Dio template? No matter how you slice it, in the words of Dio himself, “Born on the Sun” is “Magic!”.

6. “Wild One”

In many ways, “Wild One” is your typical Dio album opener. It’s fast, energetic, and packs a hell of a punch, grabbing the listener by the throat and keeping ’em firmly in place until the final notes of Lock Up the Wolves fade into the void. Similar to “Born on the Sun”, it’s a tried and true formula, that even if cliche by this point, worked. Dare I say Robertson’s solo, or at least the front half of it, boasts a jazzy, Blackmore-esque flavor to it? Indeed, I do. Like “Stand Up and Shout” and “We Rock” before it, “Wild One” is a full throttle, H-bomb of a metallized rocker that’ll have headbangers’ neck muscles working overtime, even 35 years on.

5. “Strange Highways”

Isn’t it amazing how one musician can impact an entire band’s sound? Whereas Dio’s aforementioned guitarists were “solo guys”, Tracy G was a “riff guy” in the vein of Iommi, which is exactly what Dio needed to drive Strange Highways home. This isn’t to say Tracy G couldn’t solo. He certainly could, but his main specialty was riffs: Cruel, cold, colossal, unforgiving riffs, which make up the backbone of Strange Highways‘ title track. This lumbering doom metal epic is riddled with darkness and despair, suffocating the listener with the same bleakness and brutality of the burgeoning death/doom crop of the era, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise. The emotion of Dio’s vocals and intensity of the music couldn’t be faked.

4. “Hey Angel”

For as hooky and melodic as Dio’s oeuvre was, there’s very little that could be described as accessible, slick, or within the *shudders* AOR wheelhouse. Off the top of my head, I can think of “Caught in the Middle”, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Children”, “Time to Burn”, and this song right here, “Hey Angel”. When most of Dio’s peers attempted commercialized metal, it would sound faceless at best and forced at worst. Not Ronnie James and company! It’s no wonder “Hey Angel” was pushed as the primary single off Lock Up the Wolves. The subtle balance of hard-driving verses, Rainbow-esque keys, a harmonious chorus, and an air guitar-worthy solo courtesy of Robinson, helped make this one of Dio’s last gasps (if not final altogether) on FM rock radio.

3. “Hunter of the Heart”

For the better part of my life, I’ve been pedaled the narrative that Angry Machines is a flimsy bandwagon album, on which Dio tried his/their absolute darndest to keep up with the Panteras and Machine Heads of the day. Balderdash! Are there a bevy of pummeling knuckle-draggers on this one? Of course, but if you honestly believe Robb Flynn could ever concoct a riff or song as compelling as “Hunter of the Heart”, you need your ears checked. Similar to the groove-doom amalgamation I mentioned when discussing “Blood from a Stone”, “Hunter” too indulges in this formula, with perhaps a sharper emphasis on the groove side of the spectrum. And man, does Dio’s vocals suit this subgenre so damn well. I’m convinced he could’ve made nu metal palatable, but let’s be thankful that never happened!

2. “Pain”

“Give me a choice between pleasure and pain! I choooooosssseeee…PAAAIIIINNNN!!!” Look here, kiddos. I know you think you’re all tough with your Knocked Looses and Tortures and Sunamis and whatever the hell else the TikTok algorithm spit forth your way this week. What if I told you Dio sent the entire beatdown/slam/hardcore universe home on a stretcher before any of us were born? Don’t believe me? Well then, click on “Pain” and prepare for an aural pummeling of ungodly proportions. I’m the first to preach against karate in the pit, but heaven forbid a band ever attempted to cover this one live. I might have no choice but to go full blown dojo mode. The riffs on this one are the absolute embodiment of hatred in its most diluted form, only to be topped by…

1. “Jesus, Mary & the Holy Ghost”

With its uptempo beat and menacing lead riff, “Jesus, Mary & the Holy Ghost” starts out like your typical Dio album opener…for about 30 seconds. Then we get to the first verse: A blatant homage to King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” (admitted by Dio himself) on crack. Overflowing with religious imagery and riffage straight out of hell, “Jesus” picks up right where Sabbath’s Dehumanizer left off, blurring the line between heavy and doom metal effortlessly. Many of these passages bear a close resemblance to those Iommi wrote and recorded just a year earlier, yet without ever sounding like a blatant knockoff. If Tracy G was a student of Iommi University, he graduated with top honors, and it showed. And…hold up. Does this song seriously end with a slam? Yes, Virginia. Yes it does. Put all these elements together and you’ve got the greatest Dio song of the ’90s, “Jesus, Mary & the Holy Ghost”.