R.I.P. - RONNIE JAMES DIO

HOLY DIVER

REPOST:
We are reposting this article for overwhelming demand and constant updates. The music world is reeling from this unexpected news. You can feel the love for DIO pouring in from all over the world.

Omni is very, very sad to report that Super-Mega-Star and Heavy-Metal God Ronnie James Dio died today. He was 67. And a Legend. An Icon. A Rock God. With The Voice of a Velvet Dragon. And he was beyond super-gracious to his fans, of which we are one of a legion. We were lucky enough to thank him in person at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia and got a heartfelt hug in return. He is already missed.

His most well known song Rainbow in the Dark got a ton of radio play in the 80's and cemented him as a legend. Dio had already been the lead singer of Rainbow and Black Sabbath. His Heaven and Hell Sabbath album is widely regarded as the best heavy metal record of all time. Let's hear it for the Children of the Sea, a great tune.

His solo records are some of the most phenomenal metal ever and we consider him the Founding Father of his genre. The Last in Line is absolutely one our favorite songs of all time.

Heaven and Hell, The Mob Rules, Holy Diver, The Last in Line, Sacred Heart, Dream Evil, Lock up the Wolves, Strange Highways, Angry Machines, etc...The. Man. Rocked.

Stand Up and Shout and We Rock are ROCK ANTHEMS FOR ALL TIME.

He was the nicest guy ever. The world is a duller, less brilliant place without his unique, loving and awesome personality in it. Ronnie, you are now the first in line.

All-star statements are pouring in:

Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx, whose band toured with Dio, said he was shocked to learn of his death. "Ronnie was one of the kindest souls I have ever met and his talent was beyond inspirational to so many of us. I still have this image of him standing on stage in front of 100,000 belting out 'Man on the Silver Mountain' and remember the shivers it sent up my spine. He will be missed by all of us."

"He possessed one of the greatest voices in all of heavy metal and had a heart to match it," said Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French, whose band toured with Dio since 1983 and was to do so again this summer at European rock festivals. "He was the nicest, classiest person you would ever want to meet."

Lars Ulrich of Metallica issued an open letter on his website. Here is a small portion. "Ronnie, your voice impacted and empowered me, your music inspired and influenced me, and your kindness touched and moved me. Thank you. Much love."

Scott Ian of Anthrax said "Ronnie was the nicest man in metal. Every day on tour, he'd have a kind word, a smile and a clap on the back. I feel honored and privileged to even have shaken hands with Ronnie, let alone be able to say we were friends."

Slash saying "We lost Ronnie at 7:30 am but his music lives on for eternity."

Ozzy Osbourne in a statement: "I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Ronnie James Dio. Metal has truly lost one of its greatest voices. My heart goes out to his family and to his many fans. Love and respect."

"It's a shock to hear that Ronnie has gone," Queen guitarist Brian May wrote in a post on his website. "Even though we had all known he was battling with cancer for some time, he was such a wiry fighter, and of such an amazingly optimistic nature, I think I assumed he would go on forever. [He] was one of the creators of the genre of heavy metal. I don't know if he invented the devil-horn salute, but he was certainly the man who, more than ever, made it a universal symbol, a worldwide salute of metal. ... He was universally loved in the community of rock music and will be sorely missed."

The members of Iron Maiden called their longtime friend an "incredibly gifted singer" and "a wonderfully warm, intelligent and generous person" in a joint statement. "We played many shows together over the years, and we will all miss him greatly. ... The world has lost an irreplaceable talent and, first and foremost, one of the finest human beings you could ever wish to meet."

Judas Priest offered a message of sympathy for Dio's widow, Wendy: "We are filled with great sadness at the terrible news about our friend Ronnie James Dio. Our condolences and love go to Wendy and Ronnie's family. Ronnie was a wonderful man and will be sorely missed."

"It is a very sad day for the world of metal when an artist as unique and special as Ronnie James Dio leaves us," Rob Zombie said. "He will forever be imitated but he will never be duplicated."

Toni Iommi "Yesterday, 16th May, my dear, dear friend Ronnie James Dio passed away at 7.45 a.m. L.A. time. I've been in total shock; I just can't believe he's gone. Ronnie was one of the nicest people you could ever meet. We had some fantastic times together. Ronnie loved what he did, making music and performing onstage. He loved his fans so much. He was a kind man and would put himself out to help others. I can honestly say it's truly been an honor to play at his side for all these years. His music will live on forever."

Former Dio keyboardist Jens Johansson wrote "He was very intelligent. He was, without a question, NOT some sort of devil worshipper or Satanist. He grew up in a small town and was what I would call just a 'very decent person.' He had higher morals than most people I have met. He was really spiritual and thought about deep issues, a lot."

In addition to those who spoke with MTV News, several musicians took to their official websites, Twitter accounts and social-networking pages to express their grief and gratitude to Ronnie. Sebastian Bach, Kiss, Megadeth, Smashing Pumpkins, Queensryche, Dream Theater, Hatebreed, Machine Head and Exodus were just a few of the folks paying their respects online.


Man on the Silver Mountain w/ Vivian Cambell on guitar



We Love, LOVE, LOVE Jack Black for giving Dio this cameo
in Tenacious D's The Pick of Destiny

News Article
GREAT ARTICLE - DIO R.I.P.
ANOTHER GREAT ARTICLE - DIO R.I.P.

The Last In Line

We're a ship without a storm
the cold without the warm
light inside the darkness that it needs
We're a laugh without a tear
the hope without the fear
we are coming home
We're off to the witch
we may never never never come home
but the magic that we'll feel is worth a lifetime
We're all born upon the cross
the throw before the toss
you can release yourself but the only way is down
We don't come alone
we are fire we are stone
we're the hand that writes then quickly moves away
We'll know for the first time if we're evil or divine
we're the last in line yeah we're the last in line
Two eyes from the east it's the angel or the beast
and the answer lies between the good and bad
We search for the truth
we could die upon the truth
but the thrill of just the chase is worth the pain
We'll know for the first time if we're evil or divine
we're the last in line yeah we're the last in line oh oh oh
Yeah we're off to the witch
we may never never never come home
but the magic that we'll feel is worth a lifetime
We're all born upon the cross
you know we're the throw before the toss
You can release yourself but the only way you go is down
We'll know for the first time if we're evil or divine
we're the last in line oh oh we're the last in line
See all we shine
We're the ship without the storm
we're the cold inside the warm
We're the last without a tear
We're the hope without the fear
We're the last in line we're the last in line
We're the last in line see how we shine we're the last in line

UPDATE: Alice Cooper, Pearl Jam and Kiss have all played Dio songs at their concerts the last few days and last night Kiss lead the crowd in chanting "Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie, we love you. we miss you". Almost 50,000 people have left Facebook condolences on Dio's site. We're still crying.
Geezer Butler said that everyone visited Dio in the hospital that night, said their goodbyes and left him in the care of his wife and hospital staff. The atmosphere was "palpable."