Out Now: A Decade of Dio: 1983-1993

If absence makes the heart grow fonder, then the hearts of Ronnie James Dio’s fans have surely been beating our of their chests since 2010, when the man who once fronted Elf, Rainbow, and Black Sabbath came to the end of a valiant battle and succumbed to stomach cancer. Beyond the aforementioned bands, of course, your man Ronnie also made a fair amount of music with his own band, the appropriately-named Dio, and in celebration of their decade-long reign within the Warner Brothers family as heavy metal heroes, we’ve put together a box set which includes newly remastered version of the six albums Dio released during the course of those 10 years.

A DECADE OF DIO: 1983-1993 features the following albums:

HOLY DIVER (1983) – including the title track and “Rainbow in the Dark”
THE LAST IN LINE (1984) – including the title track, “We Rock,” and “Mystery”
SACRED HEART (1985) – including “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children” and “Hungry for Heaven”
DREAM EVIL (1987) – including “I Could Have Been A Dreamer” and “All the Fools Sailed Away”
LOCK UP THE WOLVES (1990) – including “Hey Angel”
STRANGE HIGHWAYS (1993) – including “Hollywood Black” and “Jesus, Mary and the Holy Ghost”

You’re probably wondering at this point about what formats we’ll be releasing this set on, and that’s a fair question, so here’s the answer: as of today, we’ve released the CD version, and on October 4 we’ll be released the vinyl version. Why wait? Well, if you’re a diehard Dio fan, then we’ve got a very question answer to that question, too: the vinyl set includes a bonus 7” with the 1983 version of “Evil Eyes” on the A-side and “Time to Burn,” the lone studio track on Dio’s 1986 live album, INTERMISSION.

We know that it’s not like anyone’s forgotten Dio since his death, but if you’re looking for a good way to remember him (or if you feel your collection is woefully short on songs about wildebeests and angels), you could certainly do a lot worse than picking up a copy of A DECADE OF DIO.