 
Ronnie James Dio passed away from stomach cancer
back in May 2010 when news of this broke the metal
world was in mourning as they had lost one of
the most loved front men ever, over the years
Dio fronted many different projects from Ronnie
James Dio And The Prophets, Elf, Rainbow, Black
Sabbath, Heaven And Hell and also his own solo
work so over the 53 years that Ronnie James Dio
was rocking out in the music industry he has put
out a serious amount of material.
Back in 2000 Dio released ‘The Very Beast
Of Dio’, the compilation featured 16 tracks
ranging from 1983 – 2004 and featured some
of Dio’s most popular songs such as ‘Holy
Diver’, ‘Rainbow In The Dark, ‘Straight
Through The Heart’, ‘Hungry For Heaven’,
‘ I Could Have Been A Dreamer’ and
11 others, now 12 years on ‘The Very Beast
Of Vol 2’ has just been released.
‘The Very Beast Of Vol 2’ features
Dio material from 1996 right up until 2010 with
tracks being picked from Dio’s last 4 studio
albums, it may not feature the most successful
and well known Dio tracks as Vol 1 covered most
of the best Dio tracks but it still does feature
17 classic Dio tracks that are well worth a listen
and a instant pick up for anyone who is new to
the music of Dio.
The compilation features 4 tracks from ‘Killing
The Dragon’, 3 tracks from ‘Master
Of The Moon’, 3 tracks from ‘Angry
Machines’, 4 tracks from ‘Magica’
and a few bonus tracks which fans may or may not
already own.
Songs like ‘Killing The Dragon’ and
‘Along Came A Spider’ show off the
theatrical classic rock sound of Dio so well,
whilst moments like ‘Push’, ‘Better
In The Dark’ and ‘Fever Dreams’
show off the more catchy side of Dio whilst ‘As
Long As It’s Not About Love’ and ‘This
Is Your Life’ show off the more mature yet
mellow side of Dio.
With all compilation albums you always have that
thought of how the record company have bundled
together a set of songs that you already own just
to cash in but I feel with ‘The Very Beast
Of Vol 2’ the release is more about completing
a half finished best of collection which is already
out there and also keeping the name and legacy
of Ronnie James Dio alive, there are some really
solid sounding songs on offer and is a must have
for the hardcore Dio fans who have been collecting
his material over the years, it also provides
a perfect starting point for people who want to
get into Dio’s back catalogue but don’t
know where to start with the 100’s of songs
he has released over the years.
4/5
Review by Trigger
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