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MYSTERIOUS: Ronnie james dio - What They Never Told You

"He only became a heavy metal guy after he’d spent time touring with Deep Purple and started in Rainbow." What happened when Ronnie James Dio met Ritchie Blackmore

Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore recruited a largely unknown vocalist to sing on his new project. The rest, as they say, is history

Louder

"Music is a personal journey. Once you make it, it belongs to the world." Geoff Tate on the third instalment of what's now an Operation Mindcrime trilogy

Almost 40 years on, the singer of Queensrÿche’ssignature album releases his own third instalment

Metal Hammer

“I’d given up hope. Then Wendy Dio called me. She asked how I’d feel playing in front of 20,000 people”: Rowan Robertson was 17 years old when he joined Dio. He looks back on how he got the gig – and why it all came to an end after one album

The English guitarist recalls the advice Ronnie James Dio gave him, the demo tape that landed him the role, and why he never reunited with the iconic singer

Guitar World

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“I always felt like I was the weak link in the band. I felt that my guitar playing was was too raw and unpolished”: How guitar hero Vivian Campbell overcame self-doubt to create a heavy metal masterpiece with legendary singer Ronnie James Dio

His solo in Dio's most famous song was cut in one take

MusicRadar

"At the Troubadour club in LA, they made a grand entrance by rolling down the avenue in a tank." The wild story of Ann Boleyn and Hellion, the long-lost band loved by Ronnie James Dio

Hollywood in the early 1980s: Hellion were in the right place at the right time, but tragedy and bad luck got in the way

Metal Hammer

“I reckon Ritchie Blackmore might have thought we’d made a mistake having them open for Rainbow, as we just couldn’t match them”: When AC/DC blew Rainbow off stage

Warning: never, ever let AC/DC open for your band

Louder

"A 42-piece orchestra, mellotron, and a string thing all playing this half-Turkish scale." The story of Ritchie Blackmore's most epic Rainbow song

Inspired by a cello riff and launched by one of rock's great drum intros, Stargazer found Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio at their absolute peak

Louder

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“He only ever said one thing to me about sounding like anyone he’d played with before”: Rowan Robertson on the key piece of advice he received from Ronnie James Dio on how to faithfully play Tony Iommi’s riffs

Though Robertson was only 17 at the time he was hired for Ronnie James Dio's band, the legendary frontman had the utmost confidence in him

Guitar World

“He called and said, ‘I don’t like what’s going on with Ritchie Blackmore. I’m looking for an escape’”: That time Ronnie James Dio offered to front ’70s glam-rock outfit The Sweet

Internal disagreements led Dio to very different gig as he sought an escape from Blackmore’s Rainbow, while The Sweet were grappling with their frontman's drinking problems

Guitar World

"Noel Gallagher would be in the room across from me." From underground darlings to collabs with Mastodon and Gojira: Urne are the best-kept secret in British metal

After exploring the effects of dementia on 2023's A Feast On Sorrow, Urne decided to reconnect with metal's roots for their 2026 follow-up

Metal Hammer

“Absolutely essential listening for any would-be rock bass player”: How Rainbow bassist Craig Gruber galloped his way through a hard-rock classic alongside Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio

Having become disillusioned with Deep Purple’s growing love of funk, Ritchie Blackmore jumped ship in August 1975 – taking most of Purple’s opening act with him

Guitar World

“The people who I know who’ve been on this journey… we’d never go back”: Ex-Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bayley opens up about quitting alcohol

The vocalist, who was a member of The Beast from 1994 to 1999, has been sober since June 2019

Metal Hammer

"I jumped through a window and hit one. Someone started choking me; I was basically blue by the time I was rescued." Russian Nazis, emotional encounters with Dio and rumours about Tom Hanks: Shane Embury on almost 40 years of Napalm Death and beyond

Extreme metal legend Shane Embury shares some of the wildest stories from his life in Napalm Death and beyond

Metal Hammer

"I just feel so lucky to be considered in the same breath as some of the other artists on there." Former Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bayley shares his feelings on being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

Maiden's 90s vocalist admits it's a "real privilege" to be included with artists like Billy Idol, Joy Division and Oasis in this year's nomination

Metal Hammer

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Guitar World

Before he went solo, Ronnie James Dio had already worked with two guitarists etched onto heavy metal’s Mount Rushmore. But players can also learn plenty from the oft-overlooked shredders who anchored his solo band

From a 17-year-old prodigy to a future stadium-conquering guitar superstar, Ronnie James Dio had a dream team of six-string sidekicks over the course of his solo career – and their contributions to his catalog should be essential listening for any aspiring metal guitarist

MusicRadar

"We didn't sit there and go, 'Let's make an album that's going to last 45 years or become a cornerstone of some rock music.' We were just having a great time”: Vinny Appice remembers his time with Ronnie James Dio

Drummer played with him in Sabbath, Dio and Heaven And Hell

Guitar World

“The whole rig went completely silent – 10,000 people started booing me”: The 17-year-old guitar prodigy who flourished with Dio, but got off to a nightmare start

Rowan Robertson's fairy-tale ascension sent him from pubs to arenas virtually overnight. But he was a little over-confident for the first of those mega gigs…

Metal Hammer

"Parents come up to me and instead of going, ‘Oh you’re not a good role model because you talk about sex’, they say the opposite!" How Halestorm's breakthrough anthem smashed some silly taboos in rock 'n' roll

Believe it or not, a lot of modern mainstream rock had become a little prudish by around 2009. Halestorm helped change that

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Louder

"We wanted a song about castles and crossbows." The magical relationship between Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio celebrated on the monumental Rainbow - The Temple Of The King 1975-76

Nine CDs of Ritchie, Ronnie and Rainbow

Metal Hammer

"Really, the whole scene was very Spinal Tap. It was almost beyond parody": The true story of Hear 'n Aid, the heavy metal Band Aid

Eat your heart out, Bob Geldof – Hear ’n Aid saw the hard-rock community muscling in on the charity single bandwagon. Cue a heavyweight cast, guitar battles and big hair contests

Metal Hammer

"I was like, ‘Stop the show! I’ve been stabbed!’ Our bassist’s poor wife had to nurse this wound at the top of my bum.” As they prepare to split, this is the full, chaotic story of one of Britain's most influential metal bands

They've shook hands with Dio, hung out in a strip club with Lemmy and helped found Britain's stoner metal scene, but now Orange Goblin are taking their final bows

Metal Hammer

"It was weird just being in the same room as him": The story of the Ronnie James Dio classic assembled from other bands' spare parts

Rainbow In The Dark a highlight of Holy Diver, an album Ronnie James Dio said was “one of the proudest things I’ve ever done”

Metal Hammer

"He said, 'Black Sabbath... I don't know if I like their music.' I said, 'We have $800 in the bank, you love their music.'" Black Sabbath's former manager originally wanted Dio to write and record while Ozzy Osbourne toured with the band

Billy Corgan has hosted an epic, emotional interview with Wendy Dio - wife and manager of Ronnie James Dio

Metal Hammer

"It was something that hit you like a flash of light, so you write a song about it": The story of the magical Saxon classic inspired by heavy metal music, heavy metal fans and... Toto?

Saxon were cruising the New Wave of British Heavy Metal... and their signature tune celebrated it

Metal Hammer

"We’ve decided not to count drummers anymore, it got depressing when we got to two figures." An audience with Spinal Tap legend David St. Hubbins

Spinal Tap singer/guitarist David St. Hubbins on beefing with Metallica, hanging with Ronnie James Dio and why they could never be Slipknot

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