Dio--Master Of The Moon
Sanctuary 2004
From his days with Rainbow, up to his stint with Black Sabbath, on through the years spent leading his own band, the name Ronnie James Dio in the world of hard rock and heavy metal has always meant unsurpassed quality and excellence. One of the top three vocalists these genres have ever known, any new recording with him at the mic is all but guaranteed to be golden. Even with this fact in mind, nothing will prepare listeners for the spine-tingling masterwork that is Master Of The Moon. This record is arguably Dio's finest hour--that goes for both the band and the man.
As usual with the Dio camp, there has been a turnover in the ranks since the last album. Gone are axeman Doug Aldrich and classic lineup bassit Jimmy Bain, back in is off again/on again guitarist Craig Goldy, along with former Dokken dude Jeff Pilson on low end. The result is that you don't get the intricate riffing found on the band's last album Killing The Dragon. Instead, Dio is sounding much more stripped down and vintage in form on Master Of The Moon. This actually proves beneficial because it opens things up more for Ronnie to work his patented vocal magic.
While Master Of The Moon does boast a handful of rockers such as "One More For The Road," "Living The Lie," and the AC/DC inflected "The End Of The World," this platter is comprised mostly of epic, midtempo doomers. Imagine a melding of the best parts from both Dio's Lock Up The Wolves album and the Black Sabbath classic Heaven And Hell for the best mental picture of what's going on here. The riffs throughout this album are immaculate, with the sinister one-note palm muted verse of "The Eyes" and the quick hit verse meets enormous chorus of the title track amongst this field of standouts. "The Man Who Would Be King" starts with a beautiful piano/vox intro and is capped with a devasating low-to-high note blow from Ronnie. This said, the two biggest highlights come in the form of "Shivers" and "In Dreams." "Shivers" is simply one of the greatest chugging doom metal songs ever dropped, accentuated by swirling organ work. "In Dreams" is ultimtely the most grand of the bunch, with chest-thumping doom chunk on the verses, a vast feeling bridge overflowing with emotion, and incredible weeping passion in the guitar solo.
These are the things that perhaps make Master Of The Moon Dio's most important work. Never before has he been part of a project with such consistency of song. There isn't a single second of this album that's anything less than magnificent. More than just one of 2004's best metal offerings, this is the crown jewel of an already legendary career. It's enough to make any Dio diehard cry. Bravo.
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