Ronnie James Dio 1942-2010

Have not done an entry in sometime but I figured that tonight was the perfect time to blow the dust off and do one on the life & career of Ronnie James Dio. As many know Ronnie died on May 16 after a near seven month fight with stomach cancer. I just like most was shocked when word first came out that he had passed on because he looked to be in great spirits at the Revolver Golden Gods award show which was taped at the end of April. So for his health to fall the quickly was a stunner to everyone.

For those that might not be metal fans or just getting into this type of music, one might ask what made Ronnie such an icon to metal fans around the world. The answer to that question is very simple,his voice and the way he carried himself with so much grace and gratitude until the very end. Ronnie had one of the best singing voices one will ever hear in metal, go listen to anything he did in Rainbow, Black Sabbath, or Dio on Youtube, and you will hear the type of talent that only came along once in a generation. Songs like Man on the Sliver Mountain, Stargazer, Heaven & Hell, Children of the Sea, Holy Diver, Rainbow In the Dark and the Last In Line don't come around every day. (As proof just look at artists like Britney Spears or Ke$ha)

His grace is the second thing that made him stand out. Ronnie was always thankful for millions of fans he picked up over the years the no matter what band he was in at that moment. He took time out to talk to them before and after shows with maturity & kindness. He also did his fair share of charity work which was best shown during the music project Hear-n-Aid which was heavy metal's response to Michael Jackson's We Are the World. Perhaps Dio finest moment came when he announced he had stomach cancer.

Ronnie felt in his heart that that he could beat this disease and would make a believer out of those who would call him thinking he could fight but not slay this dragon. Just watching him during the Golden Gods it did not surprise me that he handled this fight the way he carried himself throughout his career with pride and grace.

I will always remember Ronnie for being one of the few artists in heavy metal that was still able to perform at a high level into 60's. For proof all you have to do his listen to the record he put out last year in the Black Sabbath spin off band, Heaven & Hell, The Devil You Know. Songs like Bible Black, Fear, or Follow the Tears could easily be put up there as some of the best songs Dio has done.
I will close on this thought, while I never got the chance to meet or see Ronnie perform live as good of a singer, performer, writer, and producer as he was he was a much better person that we sadly no longer have. But if there was one person whose music would live on generation after generation it would be the music of Ronnie James Dio. Godspeed Ronnie.

Ozzy Osbourne - Legend, Overrated, or Sellout?

One of the more interesting debates to have about metal music is about where Ozzy Osbourne stands in its history. Should he be remembered as a legend, a overrated hack or a sellout? I think cases can be made for all three points that make honest scents. Ozzy was a member of one of the very first metal bands in Black Sabbath, and made some of the greatest metal albums of all time. He also was not the greatest singer in the world and it appeared at times that he was more famous of doing things such as biting the heads off of doves and bats. He also took part in a reality show that pealed away the image he had for so many years.

1. Legend
The easiest case to make is how Ozzy Osbourne is an innovator & legend. Black Sabbath knocked down walls that had only started to have cracks in them thanks to bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, & Cream.They influenced decades of bands from the music they made and image they carried. While Ozzy was not really a writer in Sabbath, his attitude as the singer and the way he carried himself on & offstage, helped turn Sabbath in to the band it is remembered as today. His first few solo records such as Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman or Bark at the Moon are classic metal albums remembered to this day.

Ozzy also helped keep Metal in the spotlight during the mid 1990's with the Ozzfest summer tour. Many bands that did not have a platform to perform their music on where given one with this tour. Before it went on a break two years ago, Ozzfest turned in to one of the biggest tours in the music industry to go out every summer.

2. Overrated
While everyone can explain how big of a legend Ozzy is, not many publicly talk about the other side of the coin. While Ozzy always gets the fame & attention when he puts out a record or performs the people writing the music get forgotten about. Ozzy did have some luck surrounding himself with great musicians like Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, Randy Rhodes, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wydle & Robert Trujillo. One can wonder if Ozzy would of been what he is today without all of those people. Also Ozzy image at times even came before the music, walk down the street & ask someone of they know Ozzy more for Crazy Tran or No More Tears, then biting a head of a bat & dove, or pissing on the Alamo in a dress.

3. Sellout

Some might think this point kind of goes with the second one but it really needs to stand alone. Ozzy had this successful image working for him from 1970-2001 but then The Osbourne reality show debuted on MTV in 2002. That show allowed fans to see Ozzy in a light that few had ever seen him in. It kind of took away from the mystique he had built over the years, and at times made him look like a fool. It also looks at times Ozzy's wife Sharon has more control over his career then he does which could be a reason why Ozzy did the TV show as well as ads for cell phones & World of Warcraft. It is very possible that Sharon not Ozzy was behind the lawsuit against Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi. Ozzy claims that the ownership of the name "Black Sabbath" should be split four ways but wants 50 % of it.

No matter what you think of Ozzy he did leave a mark in the history of heavy metal, and will never be forgotten which might be the most important thing he did overall.

Metallica - Ride The Lightning (1984)

1. Fight Fire With Fire
2. Ride The Lightning
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
4. Fade To Black
5. Trapped Under Ice
6. Escape
7. Creeping Death
8. Call Of Ktulu (Instrumental)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=56JB8K4J

Metallica - Kill Em All (1983)

1. Hit The Lights
2. The Four Horsemen
3. Motorbreath
4. Jump In The Fire
5. Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth)
6. Whiplash
7. Phantom Lord
8. No Remorse
9. Seek & Destroy
10. Metal Militia

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P1EDYERB

Big Four Shows

One of the things that anyone that reads this blog will find out quickly is that my favorite gene of metal is thrash. So it comes as no surprize that I am very pump for the "big four of Thrash" shows happening at the Sonisphere Festivals over the summer featuring Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, & Anthrax. While I am a little bummed that they are not going to play in the US, I have not let that get in the way from the history these shows will make.

Those four bands along with Exodus, Overkill, Testament and others in some ways helped save heavy metal during the 1980's. For those that don't remember that time, MTV and many big radio stations threw bands from the LA "glam" scene like Poison, Ratt, & Motley Crue in everyone's face and sold them as "metal". Why this was a problem was many of these bands did not really carry many of the traits that came from bands such as Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Judas Priest, or Iron Maiden. They took the look from bands like Kiss and Alice Cooper, and instead of building on it they added female characteristics to it. Many of these bands used the dream of getting laid by hundreds of women and groupies as one of the main reasons to be in a band. While that should be a dream for anybody in a band using it as one of the only reasons to start one is not right.

While all of that was going on you had a bunch of 20 year old kids listening to New Wave of British Heavy Metal records thinking about how to take that sound to the next level. These kids wanted to rule the world and started bands with that idea as the driving point. They used the love the media gave to the glam scene as a rallying cry to play faster, tighter,and heaver then anyone had before them. As the movement began to grow and the glam scene began to fade thanks to thrash, OD's on drugs, parodies, overexposer, the AIDS crisis, and the Seattle scene it became clear as to which bands where at the forefront of it.

Metallica was the first band to get noticed but soon after Megadeth, Anthrax, & Slayer followed. All four bands brought something different to the table. Metallica's songs where put together as anthems for the feelings about such things as drug abuse, nuclear warfare, or the crumbling Justice system. Megadeth was able to create a technical style of thrash that was about perfecting the songs and showing off their skills. Anthrax was able to bring in influences from hardcore, punk & the east cost to the thrash scene They also prove it was possible to have a singer in a thrash band that had chops and succeed. Slayer wanted to see just how fast a metal band could be and enjoyed when their image was able to get under people's skin and pissed them off .

While Megadeth, Slayer, & Anthrax did tour in 1991 on the "Clash of the Titans" tour with Alice in Chains, many people felt that an opportunity was missed on their side as while as Metallica's to include them on that tour as they decided to do that a tour with Faith No More & Guns N Roses in 1992. So it is very cool that this chance has come around in 2010 to see these four bands share the same stage even if they have all lost a step over the years. Who knows maybe the US & Canada will get their chance in 2011. All I do know is that four bands that made 20 of the greatest metal albums of all time will finally make the dreams of millions of heavy metal fans come true.

Introduction

Welcome to the Metal Central blog. I hope that over time this becomes the place to talk about and enjoy the ever interesting world of Heavy Metal music. From the classics like Black Sabbath & Metallica. To new bands like Gorjia and Mastodon. If it is Heavy Metal it is allowed. Hope all of you enjoy the blog as much as I will.