Sixth consecutive year that we are graced with an amazing institution that combines charity, a tribute to the great Dio, with the introduction of new talent of the Greek scene. Last Saturday’s show had a lot of names to add to the long list of the Rock In Dio events and a marathon of 37 songs from the singer’s amazing career.

{tcg_youtube|view=WGw9Ge81vD4}

The first pleasant surprise that came right from the start was that Rock’n’Roll Children played “Rainbow Rising” in its entirety from start to finish without guests. That way they set the bar up high providing an ideal warm up to the capacity crowd that sold out Kyttaro one more time.

IMG 4791

The material that was covered included as always Rainbow, Sabbath, Dio with Elf’s “Nevermore” and Dio’s “Lock Up The Wolves” being played for the first time live at a Rock In Dio concert. Those that definitely stood out were… Aerosmith’s “Dream On”, that was once covered from Ronnie with Malmsteen on guitar, with Maria Morris delivering an awesome performance bringing shivers and Goosebumps, “Falling Off The Edge Of The World” with Michalis Stavrakakis (Doomocracy) being simply amazing accompanied by Thanasis Chatziagapis (Sorrowful Winds) on guitar and Stavros Aivaliotis (Battleroar) on bass, “Stars” with the triple threat from Papanikolaou-Alexandros Papandreou (Desert Near The End)-Tasos Lazaris (Fortress Under Siege, Remaiden) on vocals as well as guitar God “Metalizer”, Nikos Protonotarios (MidWinterFlame) who played like a demon. George Manthos (Bandemonic) was also great on “Last In Line”, as well as Nondas Emmanouil (Rusty Bones) on “One Night In The City”. An important guest spot was George Kollias’ from Nile, the biggest name on the list, on “Straight Through The Heart”.

{tcg_youtube|view=ef0NviGCnTM}

IMG 4757

In general, as it’s always the case on Rock In Dio shows, but even more this year, the level was high with no exemptions from any participant, while the younger guys who played gave a very positive message for the future of Greek rock and metal. The audience was very energetic throughout the entire’s show duration despite the fact that was a bit more than 4 hours and towards the end there were even mosh pit circles formed on “Die Young”, “Kill The King”, “Heaven And Hell” that closed the night with everybody on stage as it usually happens every year.

IMG 5787

Some guys had to travel to come and play for this breath-taking night. They all gave their best and that was evident both on and off stage. They touched us, they thrilled us, they made us sing, shout, bang, remember the great Dio, admire new talents and “usual suspects”. Can’t wait for next year on May 13th!

Yiannis Dolas

{gallery}RockInDio6{/gallery}