Dio Bronco Bowl, Dallas 1990 (Live)

Despite the success of Black Sabbath's 1981 album Mob Rules - certified Gold in the U.S. - personal rivalries and internal strife led to singer Ronnie James Dio quitting the band during the mixing phase of their follow up, Live Evil, in 1982. Accompanied by drummer Vinny Appice, and enlisting the talents of guitarist Vivian Campbell and fellow ex-Rainbow member Jimmy Bain on bass, the quartet promptly entered the studio and released their debut Holy Diver under the moniker Dio in May 1983. The album was a huge success, eventually going Platinum in the States, and remains one of the finest heavy metal albums ever. The record also spawned two hit singles, the title track and 'Rainbow in the Dark', the videos for which received considerable play on new cable channel MTV. The Dio/Campbell/Bain/Appice line up - with the addition of keyboard player Claude Schnell - made two further, equally successful studio albums, The Last In Line (1984) and Sacred Heart (1985), with Craig Goldy replacing Campbell for their 1987 effort Dream Evil. This was followed by a complete personnel change, with 18-year old guitarist Rowan Robertson, keyboard player Jens Johansson, bassist Teddy Cook and former AC/DC drummer Simon Wright joining Ronnie James for Dio's first release of the new decade, 1990's Lock up the Wolves. It is this line up that can be heard on the recording presented on this CD, featuring Dio captured at the Bronco Bowl in Dallas, Texas on 7th October 1990. Touring in support of their recent release, the performance was broadcast live over FM radio, and is presented here in all its glory for the first time. Featuring undisputed classics such as 'Holy Diver', 'Rainbow in the Dark' and 'Heaven And Hell', this glorious item of heavy metal history is certain to become a standard feature of every decent Dio collection in existence.