Alternate meaning: Dio Cassius.

Dio is a hard rock band led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who formed it in October 1982 after leaving Black Sabbath. In addition to Ronnie, Vivian Campbell played guitar; Jimmy Bain, bass; and Vinny Appice, drums.

In May 1983 they released their debut album Holy Diver, on which Ronnie James Dio played keyboards. To avoid having the vocalist stuck behind a keyboard in concert, the band recruited keyboardist Claude Schnell.

Now a five member band, they released The Last in Line on July 2, 1984, followed by Sacred Heart on August 15, 1985. Several songs were recorded during the tour for that album; they were to be released along with the studio-recorded "Time To Burn" on the "Intermission" EP.

In 1986 Vivian Campbell left the band to join Def Leppard and was replaced by Craig Goldy. On July 21, 1987 their fourth album Dream Evil was released.

In 2004 Dio released their tenth studio album, Master of the Moon on September 7, 2004 in America through Sanctuary Records, and on August 30, 2004 in Europe through SPV Records . The album features multi-instrumentalist Jeff Pilson (ex-Dokken) on bass duties. Pilson had earlier played with Dio in the 90s. The album also features the return of Craig Goldy on guitar, who previously left the band after the Dream Evil tour. Goldy returned in 2000 for Dio's eighth studio album, Magica, but subsequently left before completion of Dio's ninth effort, Killing the Dragon, which was released in 2002 through Spitfire Records . Goldy returned to Dio in the summer of 2003, to join Dio on a tour with Motörhead and Iron Maiden.

In 2004, Dio toured Europe from July to August, and South America in August. The U.S. tour ran from September to October. The bands Fireball Ministry and Anthrax opened for Dio on this tour. Dio's line-up consisted of Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Craig Goldy on guitar, Rudy Sarzo on bass, Simon Wright on drums, and Scott Warren on keyboards.

See also

• Elf
• Rainbow
• Black Sabbath

Discography

• Holy Diver (1983)
• The Last in Line (1984)
• Sacred Heart (1985)
• Intermission (1986)
• Dream Evil (1987)
• Lock up the Wolves (1990)
• Strange Highways (1994)
• Diamonds: The Best of Dio (1995)
• Angry Machines (1996)
• (1998)
• Magica (2000)
• Killing The Dragon (2002)
• Master of the Moon (2004)
• Evil or Divine (2005)

Current Line-Up

• Ronnie James Dio - Vocals
• Craig Goldy - Guitars
• Rudy Sarzo - Bass
• Simon Wright - Drums
• Scott Warren - Keyboards

External links

Dio's Official Website