Ronnie James Dio: A Tribute to - This Is Your Life

This is your life, a tribute album to the metal god Dio. Metal heads will only accept the highest quality tribute possible and they get it with this album. This is your life is great. The sheer number and caliber of the artists present speaks volumes about the man in tribute, but do they live up to the respect required? They do; there is not a single bad track on the list and some will just blow your mind. Whether it is Tenacious D performing "The Last in Line", or Adrenaline Mob performing "The Mob Rules", or a smorgasbord of rockers performing "Rainbow in the Dark", or Metallica performing "Kill the King", or Doro's amazingly haunting and beautiful voice on "Egypt", this album must be heard. Every artist put their heart and their soul into performing in a way that must make the Metal god smile from heaven above. Let me talk about "Holy Diver" and the band Killswitch Engage. I like their music and I know they have been performing Holy Diver live for several years, but I had never heard their version myself. Holy Diver is one of the greatest metal songs of all time. Like "Stairway to Heaven" and "With or without you", Holy Diver has that magical greatness, few songs truly acquire, it can be about whatever you want it to be. The lyrics touch you (and everyone else) in a very personal way, but the lyrics in a literal interpretation mean nothing. Holy Diver is considered by many to be Dio's signature song, and although this can be debated, Dio himself recognized its magical appeal to the many. Holy Diver is one of the key reasons I fell in love with Dio's music and why I fell in love with Metal, thirty years ago. Obviously I was very hesitant to hear anyone perform Holy Diver. No worries here, Killswitch Engage blows the train right off the rails. The song is amazing and possibly the best track on the album. It is worth $12 just to hear this one track. The contributors include Dio's own music makers, Craig Goldy, Jimmy Bain, Vinny Appice, and Simon Wright, just more proof how fondly Dio touched people's lives. So now you know why I am rating this album a five/five. It is great. Could it missing anything? Two things, that would have made this great album perfect. Vivian Campbell should have been heard somewhere, I don't know what their relationship was in the later years, but Dio's greatest era, Holy Diver, The Last in Line and Sacred Heart were all made possible, only with the collaboration of the two icons. Secondly, "The Gates of Babylon" performed by Yngwie and Ripper. I saw Malmsteen and Ripper Owens live a few years back and their rendition of Gates was one of the most amazing things a pair of human ears can hear. The last track is Dio's own, "This is your Life" and the song will bring water to your eyes. This album is the possibly the greatest tribute album ever.

Ok, well for starters I really liked the Jack Black Last In Line version, especially the flute section. The last thing I want for a tribute album is bands trying to sound like the original. Anthrax does this and probably pulls it off the best if that is what you're looking for. I did like their version of Neon Knights but maybe a little too close to the original for me. I like to hear bands put their own stamp on songs. Anyway, other highlight for me as mentioned by many others on here are the incredible version of Temple Of The King by the Scorpions, probably my favorite track on here. Metallica is on fire and tight as hell on the Ronnie Rising Medley (also great song name!)! I gotta take major exception to the major ripping on Rob Halford as well and although clearly not perfect and not hitting the high notes he is know for that is a fine version of Man On The Silver Mountain. The band around him (Dio's own band) especially shines during that song with an incredible guitar solo. Overall this purchase should be a no brainier for Dio fans but some people don't really like tribute albums so maybe not for everybody. The last song, apparently on Angry Machines from 1996, almost brought me to tears. What an awesome way to end the album with the master himself. Outstanding. Finally, quick mention on the vinyl mastering which does sound fine although a very loud pressing, I would say louder than it should be but still acceptable. It is certainly not going to win awards for technical sound quality but not bad and I am quite sure (even though I have not heard it) it would blow away the overly compressed CD. Great gate fold jacket and very cool idea for the cover, I enjoyed that alot. Highly recommended.

This is a fitting tribute to one of metal's all time legends. Anthrax, Metallica, Halford, Motorhead, songs with Dio's old bandmates of various eras (Craig Goldy, Doug Aldrich, Rudy Sarzo, Jeff Pilson, Vinny Appice, Simon Wright, Scott Warren, Jimmy Bain, Rowan Robertson)…this album absolutely RIPS!!! As many reviewers have already mentioned, the Anthrax cover of Neon Knights is amazing! Joey Belladonna really shows his stuff and the song is so true to Dio. I also like Tenacious D's Last in Line. Dio would have wanted them on here, imo, and while it may not be the greatest rendition of the song in the world, it's incredibly heartfelt by one of Dio's best friends and biggest fans, Jack Black. I like it. The Mob Rules, Rainbow in the Dark, and I were other standouts, Ronnie's Rising Medley by Metallica is awesome. There were a couple of things that could have made the album even better, imo. For example, I would have liked to have heard Lemmy singing on the Motorhead song (Starstruck) and wish Halford would have just let his voice rip Priest-style on his song (Man on the Silver Mountain), but all in all, both songs were still good. Ending with Dio's This Was Your Life was a fitting way to end the album. Man…Dio could just flat out SING. I highly recommend this album to all fans of metal, especially fans of Dio or any of the acts on it. Epic tribute. RIP RJD

This Is Your Life is a tribute album to the late Ronnie James Dio, which is full of covers by various artists. I'm sure many people coming in will feel automatically that no one can do it better than Dio. I recommend leaving that close-minded mentality at the door, because if it is true that no one here was able to surpass Dio's performances; at the very least he was matched a couple of times. Anthrax proves this with their cover on Neon Knights which I consider one of the greatest songs to ever open up an album. The guitars, drums, and bass matches the energy of Black Sabbath rather well, but it's Joey's performance that is nothing short of amazing. It seems as if Dio is running through him at that very moment. This is easily the best cover. Doro is breathtaking on Egypt (The Chains are on) giving an atmospheric, eerie, and captivating performance. Motorhead and Biff Byford were extremely on point with Starstruck, and considering their stay in music they were qualified for this. Not a fan of Corey Taylor at all, but his cover on Rainbow in the Dark is pretty good. Satchel of Steel Panther is a surprise here with a nice solo. For some reason Rob Halford has been catching some heat for his performance on Man On The Silver Mountain. This is not a Judas Priest album; he does a splendid cover and I love the closing with letting Dio finish his own song in the fading background. So sad yet at the same time so awesome. Halestorm's cover on Straight Through the Heart succeeds only due to Lizzy's vocals, because the guitars and drums are in your face weak and are nowhere the level of Vivian Campbell and Vinny Appice. "I" was great, while The Temple of the King, and Ronnie Rising Medley deserve some type of mention. Now this album definitely has its lows that stood out to me so much that I can't call this a truly great album. Adrenaline Mob delivers a louder, rowdier, and guitar crunchier version of Mob Rules. Unfortunately the song feels over-produced and the playing overshadows the lyrical content. This is actually a bad thing because along with being a great singer it was Dio's substance, fantastic metaphors, and Dungeons & Dragons imagination he was known for. The song isn't a fail, unfortunately it does not properly showcase Dio's brilliant imagination either. Killswitch Engage's cover on Holy Diver is a listening struggle. I heard it completely only once, but I can't go through it again. It's way too over-produced with unnecessary screams and just bad playing. It's style over substance despite Dio's band originally providing a 50/50 mix. If you want to hear a splendid cover of this song that is far superior to KSE, then check out Holy Mother's cover. Mike slays all day on that track as if Dio possessed him, and it should have been here. While looking at these two songs though and the things that disturb me about them; I'm glad Heaven & Hell and Sign of the Southern Cross weren't covered, because they probably would have been botched. Iron Maiden should have been on this album taking one of those legendary songs. Overall, this is a fine tribute album and I'm glad to own it, but it could have been much better than this. In any case, give this album a listen if you're a fan of Dio, metal, or music in general. Please do not just download this for free. Pros: Some amazing covers for the most part, Anthrax, Doro, and Motorhead Cons: Small amount of missteps and it could have been better

Standouts - Anthrax's cover of Neon Knights (I like Anthrax, but have never been a huge fan - this cover is THE standout for this album! Metallica's Dio tribute is a great mash up of great songs. Halestorm - Lizzie's voice could make anything sound great. Rob Halford singing "Man on the Silver Mountain" is very good, with a little clip of Dio singing as the track fades out. Tenacious D - I can't take this band seriously (Jack Black....need I say more?). However their cover of "The Last in Line" really surprised me. Very good and Jack channels his inner Dio. Others...I won't go into many specifics here. There are some bands here that I'm just not that into so maybe I'm a little biased (Killswitch Engage's version of "Rainbow in the Dark" was just a mistake). Overall, this album is probably more of a 3 or a 4, but the songs mentioned above are so good that it becomes worthy of a 5. The others I skip. I've heard them once and that was enough.

I usually do not write many reviews, but this item is worthy on so many levels. In addition to benefiting the DIO Cancer fund, it is a stunning collection of DIO songs preformed by top notch performers. I must admit that at first I was worried when I first found out this project was being put together, however all worry instantly evaporated as soon as track 1 played, and it only got better after that! The songs are all very tastefully redone, and remain familiar, but are changed enough to make them completely interesting all over again. Check out Doro doing Egypt (The Chains Are On), Holy cow she absolutely nails it! You will never touch the track advance button on this collection, all are stellar. This is the best music purchase I have made in years. RIP RJD.

One of the better Tribute albums, but still outshined by the great Holy Dio tribute

I basically agree with most of the other reviews. Several GREAT songs, lots of GOOD songs. What I cannot comprehend is , how in the great world of METAL could anyone have let Jack Black ( Tenacious D ) ruin such an iconic song as Last in line ??!! After hearing his version, I was so disappointed that I had to turn off the album completely !! Jack Black needs to go back to the School of Rock & playing with & for kids, & never darken the doorstep of Heavy Metal again !! At least I know I can skip this track every time I put the cd in !! Other then that, great music, great tribute !!

J'ai acheté ce cd pour l'anniversaire d'un fan de métal, il va en être pleinement satisfait je pense. J'ai pu l'écouter grâce au Amazon Cloud, c'est vraiment une très bonne chose ça. De grands noms du métal rendent hommage au maitre Ronnie James Dio! Ce sont vraiment de très bonnes reprises et un titres inédit de Dio. Un must à avoir dans sa discothèque métal! Je pense même investir à mon tour!

Epic tribute to the best there ever was!

Muito bom esse tributo, vale a pena.

Una bella collection piacevole da ascoltare con la consapevolezza che di cover si tratta, considerando che sono brani riarrangiati da grandi nomi che, difficilmente, suonano brani di altri senza metterci del proprio. Quindi chi si aspetta di una riproduzione 'fedele' di brani cantati dal mitico e ineguagliabile Ronnie rimarrà deluso ma chi è consapevole di ascoltare i suoi brani personalizzati da altri grandi artisti, apprezzerà.

Que mejor homenaje a Ronnie James Dio, que grandes Grupos de Rock interpreten temas insignias de Dio. Gran aporte de la "Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund", dirigida por Wendy Dio, donde los fondos recaudados se canalizan a la recuperación de la salud de los necesitados. Personalmente, creo que fue un gran artista y merece todo el reconocimiento a su aporte. Su participación enriqueció todos los proyectos donde participó. Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath y Dio.