It is time the Ronnie James has come out with a DVD, perfect timing along with his anthology release that has been out for the past few months, coming off the heels of the Killing the Dragon tour. Recorded in New York last December, on Friday the 13th ironically, "Evil or Divine" documents the full blown energy of Dio, showing that his stamina as a performer has total command on the stage and over the audience.
As far as looking at this performance wise, the band is tight and heavy as usual, featuring Doug Aldich's guitar work, Scott Warren on keys, with former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright on drums and long time bassist Jimmy Bain filling out the rhythm section. All songs stand out, as he plays many new cuts from Killing the Dragon, like
"Rock and Roll," where he make a statement about how the song is a tribute to those who stood up against the censorship of certain songs that were cut out of radio after the September 11th attacks and to honor those who had their lives lost in the attack. But putting a perfect balance of old and new Dio classics we have essentials like
"The Last in Line," "Rainbow in the Dark," and
"Stand Up and Shout," not to mention Rainbow's
"Long Live Rock and Roll" and
"Man on the Silver Mountain" and lets not forget Sabbath's
"Heaven and Hell,". Like I have said many times before, those songs not only belong to Rainbow and Black Sabbath, they are Dio's as well, hell, he co-wrote them.
The crowd itself is enthusiastic, despite being soaked out in the rain, the sound quality is flawless, despite whatever mix you choose to listen to it in (the Dolby Digital is more Powerful). The camera work is also done well and in a perfect manner showing sots of members at the appropriate times.
The bonus features include a video for Push, which features American comedy/musical duo Tenacious D (actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass), an interview with Dio where he even explains his theology and beliefs, as well as behind the scenes footage and a photo gallery.
To me personally, this DVD is a souvenir of one of the best concerts that came to Nashville last year, but then again, nothing can really beat seeing him live in person, but this is as close as it gets.
Rating: 9/10Written by
Hashman Saturday, August 9, 2003
