From here, the fork in the road appeared – to perhaps return to a sound of the era where he had the most success and see if that would suit his fan base, or continue down the road that music was heading and find an alternative or even industrial path to follow. He chose that latter, and “Angry Machines” was the result, an album that divided and in many cases put a sword through the fan base, an album whose sound was so divergent from what the man had produced over the previous 20 years that some people were unable to comprehend or engage in what it contained. It failed to reverse a trend for the band. In the excellent documentary “Dio: Dreamers Never Die”, it showed Dio the band at the depths of this decline, playing 200 seat clubs where in the past they had sold out arenas, while the industrial and nu-metal bands had their period of dominance in record sales and concert ticket sales.
This time, there was no fork in the road, it was a crossroads that Dio arrived at. Despite some in the media having praised Dio for stretching their boundaries and going outside of the box they had created with their music from the glorious 1980’s heavy metal scene, and despite the hard work put in by the current lineup on those two albums from the 1990’s, something had to change if the ship was going to be righted. The management had been pushing for a return, at least in some way, to the music that had made the band who they were. At some point in time, clearer heads prevailed. Following on from the tour to promote “Angry Machines”, which had produced the live album “Inferno: Last in Live”, the entire band was moved on. Tracey G, the guitarist and co-writer of those two albums, seemed to bear the brunt of what had occurred which even today seems unfair given the knowledge that Ronnie is always the ringmaster when it comes to writing the songs for his albums. He was replaced by the return of Craig Goldy who had left the band after the “Dream Evil” album and tour. Jeff Pilson who had been on bass moved on to his next project and was also replaced by a familiar face in Jimmy Bain whose last appearance had also been the “Dream Evil” album, while Vinny Appice, who had been replaced by Simon Wright on the “Lock Up the Wolves” album but had returned following rejoining Ronnie for the Black Sabbath “Dehumanizer” album, also was once again replaced, this time once again by Simon Wright. The first step to reverting the band’s sound to their 1980’s heyday had been completed by recruiting a band that had that familiar look to it.
There was of course no guarantee that all of this change would in fact help Dio return to the popularity that you can be sure their management and record company were hoping for. Changes only work if the fans enjoy the direction that has been taken, and that would require promotion of the album in a way that would help to bring back disaffected fans to give the new album a chance. What then happened was probably beyond the imagination of what everyone concerned would have hoped for.
The decision to make what for all intents and purposes could be described as a ‘comeback album’ as a concept album was a bold move. The great concept albums in the history of music, especially those in the metal genre, are legendary but there are also those that have flopped. But Ronnie James Dio has always been a storyteller, and here he chose to do so over the course of an album. One that had a great deal riding on it. And the best concept albums generally have songs that are so good on it that it isn’t necessary to know what the story being played out is to enjoy the album. That was the challenge that awaited Dio on this album. At the end of the album Dio actually tells us the story of the album, which in short is this: "Magica is the saga of Blessing, a netherworld invaded by dark forces that vaporise people into pure, evil energy. The planet's saviours are master and apprentice heroes Eriel and Challis, who must recite a spell from the sacred book of Magica to defeat their foe, Shadowcast”.
The album starts with the arrival of robots from another planet, who discover the desolate planet whose suns dies a thousand years before, and begin to read the manuscript to understand what has occurred, and they appear between tracks to continue their investigation of the circumstances surrounding what is being played out in each track of the album.
After the opening banter of “Discovery” and “Magica Theme” the album opens into the first song proper of “Lord of the Last Day”. Though the tempo is reminiscent of the past two albums, the energy being pushed out from the guitars of Goldy and Bain, and the wonderful hard beats of Simon Wright on drums – something that is a star of this album – leads into the powerful middle section of the song, when Dio’s vocals carry the lines with intent: “I don't feel pain or sorrow, The child's a man tomorrow, Crossing the line, then he's mine, Don't care which god you follow, Whose promises you swallow, Time and again, we must meet at the end”. It is a great opening track, setting the platform for the songs and story to come.
“Fever Dreams” has a great chugging riff from Goldy that sets up the song beautifully, and tells us of Shadowcast’s effort to cloud Blessing’s Grand Wizard Eriel’s mind so as to avoid a confrontation as he begins his takeover of Blessing, as emphasised in the lyrics; “I have seen some evil as I've walked upon the earth, But this is way beyond what eyes can see, Wicked is as wicked does and if I lose control, Is this the way that hell is gonna be?”. “Turn to Stone” follows, describing how the bodies of the inhabitants of Blessing turn to stone as their spirits are transited to Otherworld. The song settles into a mid-tempo again led by a great guitar riff from Goldy and that leading and defining back beat from Wright with the bass line from Jimmy Bain holding everything together. Dio’s lyrics are perfectly emphasised again by the master as he sings of the terror that has come to Blessing with wonderfully horrific lyrics; “Welcome to sundown, Welcome to the dark, Could it be that evil has heroes?” and “Words have control, To take away your heart and then your soul”. Sometimes you wonder if these lyrics portray our own world as it is in the current day.
Then we have the closing song of act one, “Feed My Head”, when the captives of Otherworld are assimilated into the collective evil. The opening of the song, from Goldy’s riff backed by Wright’s heavy-handed drum beat, into Dio’s spitting diatribe of Eriel’s fears of what is to come, and the loss of his people to the machine that deprives them of their life and the assimilation of their spirit into Shadowcast. HIs despair and need for action comes through the music, hard handed and powerful to start, to the quiet and reflective of the middle of the track and into the inevitable build back to the heavy and loaded end of the track, which closes out side one and act one of the album.
“Eriel” is the longest track on the album, and coming as it does off a sequence of songs that build in tempo and intensity, reaching a crescendo of the story, this one plays as the epic opening to the second act of the story, of the master of the Book of Magica Eriel finds himself in the middle of a crisis he feels partly responsible for, and how he must try to limit the damage and save his people against the evil being unleashed. This song stretches out to almost 7.5 minutes, unchanging in its plodding tempo and without the saving grace of a true change of vocals from Dio or drum beat from Wright, and the play out of the song travels longer than necessary. “Eriel” segues straight into “Challis”, the tempo moves to a slightly faster time and Wright’s drums again take on the hard-hitting rhythm that drives through the song in the same way he has throughout the album. Dio’s vocals take on the role of the hero, powering through the opening lines “I am a rock and you are glass, never broken, never last, and if you’re in my way I’ll knock you down, If it's a joke, I’ll never laugh, here’s exactly how I see you in the light”. This gives the album the impetus that it had lost during the previous track, showcasing the anger that the character must release if he is to be a hero of the story.
“As Long as It’s Not About Love” acts as the power ballad of sorts of the album. Ronnie has shown in the past that he can master these songs as well as anyone, and this one being such an important piece of the album leaves him in the position of having to deliver again. The song talks of how Eriel had to spurn the love of his soul mate Annica as he needed to keep his mind free of all emotion in order to be the spiritual leader of his people, with him reminiscing of how he had to do so. While the song is sung beautifully softly and emotionally by Dio throughout, it still has the powerful interlude of the guitars and drums to lift the drama of the track into the back half of the song. Dio serenades us as Eriel with the words: “From the first time we touched with our eyes, Only magic could take away my heart, I am always afraid for my heart, So lay beside me now and tell me lies, sweet lies, As long as it's not about love, Shall we sail off the edge of the world, Fall forever and never look behind, But I must keep my heart from my mind, Lay beside me now and tell me lies, As long as it's not about love”.
From here the album builds up again with “Losing My Insanity”, as Challis tries to come to terms with the burden he has been left with, as the only person who can save the people of Blessing from oblivion.
“Someone said You'll light up the universe, It's there in your head then Crazy comes to call, Break me down, I'm only an everyone, Running from free, Running for me, And though it's not of my choosing, I'm losing my insanity, Again”. The folk music opening and conclusion reminds you of the dance being held at the start of the story, as old in “Lord of the Last Day”, before breaking into the harder riff from Goldy that then drives through the rest of the song. Just another great song. Moving into the conclusion of the album, it starts with the song of the same name that tells us of the horrors of “Otherworld” and into “Magica Reprise”, both of which share a similarity with the song “Eriel”, in that they are a bit too long and musically a bit too dreary. As a part of the story they comprise the end of the tale, and overall hold true to the music of the album, but perhaps doesn’t quite finish everything off in the way it deserves.
After the enormously difficult and downtrodden “Angry Machines” album, and the “Inferno: Last in Live” album that followed it, I began to think that all was lost in the Dio music machine. It had been a great ride, almost 25 years of great albums from the likes of Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, for the most part all legendary. But was the well at last seeping dry? There had been question marks over “Lock Up the Wolves" back in 1990, and then “Strange Highways” had also seemed more on the average side of great than you would like to have your music. I was concerned that this was an end point.
Despite this, I still bought “Magica” when it was first released. The fact that it was a concept album, with a story written by Ronnie, tweaked my interest a little, and though I put the CD on and listened to it a couple of times, while reading the CD insert in regards to the story, I really didn't pay too much attention to it immediately. It wasn't until a mate of mine, who I was spending a lot of time with playing cricket and socialising with afterwards, started constantly singing, "I love the night, so many shadows" at almost every pause in conversation, that it started to get into my head as well, and I began to invest myself in the album. And once that door had opened, the world beyond changed for me.
Why did this album take its time to get its hooks in me, and then what dragged me in so deep? I don't really know. It took awhile because I had been burned by the previous album, and also the tempo of the songs was still settled in that very mid-range of the previous three albums. I really prefer the faster pace, but as the hooks sunk in, I found that this didn't matter to me anymore, that the songs themselves were so good that it eradicated from me any rhetoric involved in such ventures. So, once I got past those issues, I discovered the power of the music, and the power of the lyrics, and thus the power of the vocals. Each improves the other throughout this album. The story intertwines and connects the album as well, along with the discoverers of the Magica story's comments throughout which link some of the songs. And while this plays some importance, I soon found that I enjoyed the album and the individual songs as themselves, and not necessarily as a greater part of the whole. The strength of any concept album is that it can be listened to in its entirety as the story, and that individual songs can indeed be listened to and enjoyed on their own without having to be a part of that story. “Magica” ticks all those boxes.
Musically this album brings back some familiar faces, whose style and connection with the band's great era help to focus the music in a much better atmosphere. Craig Goldy returns on guitar and also in co-writing duties. Jimmy Bain returns on bass guitar, and lends his friendly and familiar rumbling throughout the album. Simon Wright returns on drums, adding a different style on the drumming than long-time cohabitant Vinny Appice does. Scott Warren remains on keyboards, and again fulfills his role with aplomb. He is the sole survivor of the disappointment of the previous two albums. Without wishing to lay the blame for the problems associated with those albums with the musicians who were involved with them, there is no doubt that the return of these members to the band makes it feel a lot more like the real Dio, and that is a real bonus for the album.
Despite the story concept, it is now the furthest thing from my mind when I listen to this album - which is still often. I think the songs all flow beautifully to each other, playing off each other. The music is fantastic. I love Simon's drumming on this album. It can feel or sound like he is playing very simply, not extending himself, but when you really listen to what he's playing it is just terrific, especially his emphasis when it is needed most. It really makes a difference, and along with Jimmy's bass it gives the rhythm section a real presence throughout. Craig guitaring is also great, again it may not be overstated and may not be flashy but it makes its presence felt when necessary. And then we have Ronnie James Dio, who rises back to his seat of power on the throne of exalted legendary vocalist. The power through the middle section of "Lord of the Last Day" is the first sign that the band and its leader is back. "As Long as It's Not About Love" is the game changer on the album, removed from the mood of upbeat into the moody and introspective. Ronnie again proves his mastery on this song, as his vocals soar in a way that only the most brilliant can achieve. It may not be as hauntingly beautiful as "Rainbow Eyes" from his days in Rainbow, but as a power ballad it is up at the top of the tree. Like I said, this was a real creeper for me, but it soon grabbed my heart and has never let go. It isn’t the story that really found me, it was the music and the passion that is felt throughout the album that made this. A great band and a legendary singer had fought back from the brink, returned to their roots, and found themselves again. And I love it for that.
I have spent the last week and a half listening to this album all over again. At work, at home. Singing at the top of my voice, hammering along to those wonderful drum beats from Simon Wright, and generally getting all emotional about an album that has driven its stake through my heart and never left. And then listened to it all over again. 25 years after its release, and 15 years after the great man’s passing, it is still as wonderful to listen to as it ever has been.
Dio the band released ten studio albums over its career. This ranks for me at #4 of those ten, though there isn’t much that separates all but one of those albums.
Following the success this album had in revitalising the band and the lead singer’s career, it was floated at different points of the next decade that Dio and Goldy had a plan to release “Magica Parts 2 and 3” to complete the story that they had come up with when preparing for this album. Two tracks, the instrumental “Annica” and sister track “Electra” finally came to be released following Dio’s passing in 2010, a death that halted any chance of sequel story albums coming to fruition. Thankfully, Dio’s resurgence carried on strong from this point, giving us all more music to enjoy from one of the greatest vocalists of all time.
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