Dio - Evil or Divine

Dio - Evil or Divine

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Movie Reviews of Dio - Evil or Divine

Movie Review: Dio and Crew Blow the Roof Off Roseland
Summary: 5 Stars

Unlike Iron Maiden's ROCK IN RIO DVD which used migrane-headache quick cuts to annoying effect, Dio's EVIL OR DIVINE is perfectly edited with plenty of time to catch every member of the band doing their thing. The picture quality also has a raw, grainy look to it that makes you feel like you're there recording the concert yourself (if you got the camera passed the security guards). Performance-wise, Ronnie's legendary voice is on fire the entire night and the band - particularly long-time bassist Jimmy Bain and guitarist Doug Aldrich - are very lively and on the mark. My only complaint about the sound is that keyboardist Scott Warren can hardly be heard. At least it shows you that it's live and not overdubbed, which is the way to go.

The 17-song set list is near-perfect, combining tunes from Dio's Rainbow and Black Sabbath days, classics from the start of his solo career, and great new songs. The powerful rocker "Killing the Dragon" kicks things off and the band never relents from that point on. A wonderful medley of "Egypt (The Chains are On)" and "Children of the Sea" follows, and the crowd is very responsive. The highlight of the show for me comes very early. The song "Rock & Roll" is Dio's attack against radio stations who pulled rock songs off their playlists for fear of "bad vibes" after September 11th. It's a very heavy, emotional epic with a lot of power and it further deepens the message with an American flag on the screen behind the band. Again, awesome.

Other great performances include Simon Wright's 4 minute drum solo with the "1812 Overture" tagged at the end of it, "Don't Talk to Strangers," and the final foursome of "Heaven & Hell," "The Last in Line," "Rainbow in the Dark," and "We Rock" which are all performed brilliantly. The two songs from MAGICA -"Lord of the Last Day" and "Fever Dreams" - are nothing to write home about and should've been taken out of the set, with "Dream Evil" or "The Mob Rules" taking their place. Also, Doug Aldrich's 8-minute guitar solo starts out well, but then meanders into a total wank-a-thon. Aldrich is magnificent during the entire concert, but his solo could've used some tweaking. These are just minor quibbles, though.

The bonus features are also pretty good. The best of them is an 11-minute interview with Dio himself. Dio is a very smart man and knows about a lot of topics, and it's great to hear him voice his opinion on various subjects. Also, there's some backstage footage and a music video for the song "Push" which features cameos from the ever funny Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D (they did a song called "Dio" on their album).

Overall, EVIL OR DIVINE is a superb DVD with a great concert, slim but cool bonus stuff, and perfect sound, picture, and editing. ROCK IN RIO? Ha, EVIL OR DIVINE is the real metal DVD to buy.

Summary of Dio - Evil or Divine