Throw up dem horns in mourning, for on this day in 2010 we lost the great Ronnie James Dio at the age of 67.
Ronnie James Dio, in case you weren't already aware, is highly regarded as one of the biggest names in the world of heavy metal, adored the world over by metalheads for his kind nature, iconic voice, killer tracks, and his invention of metal horns.
It seems strange to imagine a metal scene without metal horns, but that just goes to prove the impact Dio truly had on the scene, a scene which he not only personally shaped, but that also had him in an incredible 50-year spanning career.
Dio's first big musical stint was with his band Elf, who would often be found opening for Deep Purple. Because of this relationship, when Ritchie Blackmore left Purple, he enlisted Dio and other members of Elf for his new band, Rainbow, and after the release of their album, Blackmore fired everyone from the band except Dio.
From Rainbow, Dio was then recruited to take the place of Ozzy in Black Sabbath, an incredibly daunting task given the legacy Dio would have to fill. But fill it he did, spawning some of the band's best selling albums, fan favourite tracks, and around this time, throwing up the metal horns for the first time.
Following from Sabbath, Dio then created what would be his crowning jewel, the band of his own name, Dio. If there were one single thing to praise this most excellent band for, it would certainly be the conception of Holy Diver, which is quite possibly THE raddest song ever to play for mortal ears, housed in an album of the same name with some exquisitely sweet album artwork, which we have discussed in the past. (*cough* https://tinyurl.com/y39ffgk3 *cough*)
Outside of album writing and band conceiving, Dio also handled Hear 'n Aid, the metal scene's answer to Band Aid, which raised $1 million back in 1985.
Tragically, Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2009, and despite undergoing treatment, Ronnie James Dio ceased to walk amongst the living on May 16th, 2010. Since death, Dio has still managed the occasional live performance, albeit in hologram form, though frankly nothing could or will ever replace the true stage presence of Dio, nor the contribution he made to the scene he loved so much.
Final closing fact for y'all - the metal horns were a trick he learnt from his grandma. It was a practice of warding off evil, not a sign of devil worship, as many God fearin' folk would have you believe. Additionally, Gene Simmons attempting to trademark metal horns in 2017, because Gene Simmons is a raging piece of shit.
But not you Dio, you're fuckin' great. Rock on, brah.
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