Review: "Ronnie James Dio: This is Your Life"

Any tribute to Ronnie James Dio begins with a conundrum for the artists involved. It’s Ronnie James Dio, one of the greatest singers to ever grace rock music, an iconic voice that can’t be duplicated. So the vocalists here have a tough job right out of the gate. But it’s all for a good cause, as proceeds from Ronnie James Dio: This Is Your Life will benefit the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.

Anthrax kicks off the album on a high note with a faithful rendition of the Black Sabbath classic “Neon Knights.” I often give Joey Belladonna a lot of grief when I write about Anthrax, but I also believe in giving credit where it’s due, and he holds his own. That’s no small feat, considering he’s being compared to Dio.

Saturday Shuffle: Fifth on the Floor, Savatage, Danzig, Adrenaline Mob, Jon Oliva's Pain

Start off with some country, mix in a couple of Savatage-related tracks, something from Danzig, and could this be the only time Duran Duran will ever appear on this blog?

Fifth on the Floor, “The Fall.” From the album Dark and Bloody Ground (2010). Ooh, this is an easy one. It’s probably my favorite tune from Fifth on the Floor. It’s just so damned soulful and moving. It’s a tight competition between “The Fall” and “Distant Memory Lane,” but I think this one wins.

Review: Adrenaline Mob, "Coverta"

I kind of chuckled when I saw that Adrenaline Mob had chosen three Ronnie James Dio-related songs for its eight-song covers EP, but now I get it.

As a fan of Symphony X, I knew that Russell Allen was a hell of a singer. In fact, I thought he was sorely underutilized on much of Adrenaline Mob’s debut album Omerta. When I played the version of “Stand Up and Shout” on Coverta, I had to do a double-take and make sure that I had not accidentally clicked on the Dio version.

Allen pretty much channels the legend on the track, and follows suit on the cover of Rainbow’s “Kill the King” and Black Sabbath’s “The Mob Rules,” though those don’t hit as close as “Stand Up and Shout.”