Ronnie James Dio’s sinister howl and wicked songcraft bewitched hard rock fans in the seventies and eighties during his memorable stints with ELF, RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH. In 1983, the singer formed his own band, launching a successful solo career that led to ten studio albums and sales of more than ten million records around the world.
Rhino follows DIO through the band’s early years with “A Decade Of Dio: 1983-1993”, a new boxed set that brings together the group’s first six studio albums, each one featuring newly remastered sound. It includes: “Holy Diver” (1983), “The Last In Line” (1984), “Sacred Heart” (1985), “Dream Evil” (1987), “Lock Up The Wolves” (1990) and “Strange Highways” (1993).
Rhino will release two versions of “A Decade Of Dio: 1983-1993”, first on CD and then on vinyl. Both versions come housed in boxes featuring new artwork by Marc Sasso, who was responsible for many of the band’s iconic covers. The CD set will debut on July 22 for a list price of $34.98.
The vinyl incarnation of the set will be available on October 4 for $99.98, and comes with a bonus seven-inch single. On the first side is the 1983 version of “Evil Eyes”, which was originally released as the b-side on the “Holy Diver” single. In addition, this version is different from the one featured on the 1984 album “The Last In Line”. The flip side features “Time To Burn”, which was the only studio track featured on the otherwise live release “Intermission” (1986)
