Sacred Heart (Dio, 1985)

When you have a formula that works, keep using it until it doesn't. That appeared to be the template for Dio in the early 1980's. Following the near-fatal split of Black Sabbath into two factions, Dio (the band) was born. While Black Sabbath floundered in 1983 with a poorly produced album fronted by the unsteady (yet secretly brilliant) Ian Gillan, Dio (the man - let's use RJD to clear up any confusion) put together a rock solid new band featuring his ally from Black Sabbath, Vinny Appice, his old bass player from Rainbow's heyday, Jimmy Bain, and largely untested NWOBHM guitarist Vivian Campbell. Their first fruits, the album Holy Diver, remains a personal and critical favorite to this day, probably one of the finest metal albums of the entire decade. Needless to say, you don't just stop or change direction when you strike gold, you keep digging.

The Last In Line is nearly as good as its predecessor, but not quite. There are enough die-hards out there that will actually think of this as a refinement of Holy Diver, but in a side-by-side comparison, every track is just a little less than its counterpart from the previous album. Nevertheless it worked out sales-wise, which leads us to the next reiteration of the formula, Sacred Heart.

Following the release of their third album it was clear the band would either need a hiatus or a reconfiguration to refresh and recharge. Although it's not a bad album (their 1990's output is more challenging), the 1980's were increasingly taking their toll on the band. I'm of the mostly-unpopular belief that the 1980's were a musically weak decade and even bands that seemed to be above the scene seemed to trend toward a more processed, synthesized sound as the decade wore on. Indeed, Sacred Heart is probably the most eighties-sounding of the four albums from that decade. If I were compiling a career-retrospective, I would probably include the title track and "Rock 'N Roll Children" but I can pretty much get by in life without having the rest on speed dial.

As expected, the dissolution of the band began following this album. First to go was Vivian Campbell. He would end up briefly in Whitesnake before lending his services to a certain hearing-impaired feline, where he remains to this day. Although he and RJD had a well-publicized and unresolved feud, for some reason he still has warm fuzzy feelings for his days in Dio, even reuniting with the old lineup (with a new singer, of course) to perform as the tribute band Last In Line (which apparently debuted in my old hometown of Fullerton). Bain and Appice stuck around for 1987's Dream Evil, with new guitarist Craig Goldy, then Dio jettisoned the entire group and started fresh with Lock Up The Wolves in 1990. The "new" Dio was a non-starter and by 1992 RJD was back in Black Sabbath. Although recognized as a veritable statesman of metal, he wouldn't again reach the lofty heights of the 1980's, especially not anything recorded by Dio. However the quasi-reunion of Black Sabbath entitled Heaven And Hell (to avoid confusion with the slow-moving Ozzy reunion era) showed that RJD still commanded a great deal of respect and his death in 2010 was felt around the metal world. RIP RJD.