By Carlos Zaldívar
To Wendy,
The
wife who was always.
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| The Metal Horns |
Simply
magnificent. A complete documentary full of enthusiasm, motivation, anecdotes,
nostalgia, happiness and sadness; And a lot of metal, of course.
A
vision well captured on the big screen, by Demian Fenton and Don Argots, in a
BMG production.
A
story… the true and emotional story of one of the greatest voices on the
planet: Ronnie James Dio.
Changing
his last name from Padavona to DIO, taking it from the mobster Johnny Dio (although
there is another version that the name was suggested by his grandmother, from
the Italian for "god") and starting his musical career in 1957 with
The Redcaps; and without stopping, until his death in 2010.
It
is a film that reaches the heart and soul, causing tears again, just as they
slid down the cheeks, that May 16th, 2010, when DIO left us.
Spectacular
story, where many of his great friends and musicians share experiences,
anecdotes and opinions about the legendary vocalist; and of course, the
wonderful participation of his wife Wendy.
Playing
the trumpet and with a very "crooner" style, he began his successful
career, until he formed The Electric Elves, and it is here that he took the
path to a mystical, fanciful music with more power than classic Rock and became
becomes the vocalist, next to Ritchie Blackmore of "Rainbow".
After
leaving Rainbow, he is invited to sing with the legendary band, in decline,
"Black Sabbath", since after firing Ozzy, the position was vacant.
“I
don't know if I like Sabbath's music” – he commented to Wendy.
“Well,
you have to like it, because we only have 800 dollars left in the bank” –
she answered. And then they recorded “Heaven and Hell” and Metal history was
rewritten and Sabbath was reborn with more power. After recording a few albums
alongside Tony Iommi, DIO decides to leave the band.
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| Wendy DIO |
And
Wendy, there she was, through the good times, the bad times, the very good
times and the very bad times. What a woman!
Back
in financial straits, DIO walks into his garage and begins writing and
rehearsing, inviting some "friends" to form a personal band. He is
joined by Jimmy Bain, Vinny Appice and Vivian Campbell, so that in 1983 Metal
received a tremendous blow when receiving the album that would change the history
of Rock: "Holy Diver", by the band: “DIO”.
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| Holy Diver cover |
Oh,
and “Murray”, the legendary mascot named after Ronnie, just because; referring
to the huge diabolical monster that appears on its covers.
Extraordinary
words and feelings expressed in the film, by Rob Halford, Tony Iommi, Simon
Wright, Rudy Sarzo, Eddie Trunk (already a thin guy), Bill Ward, Lita Ford,
Geezer Butler, Vinny Appice, Sebastian Bach, Jack Black and of course his
inseparable Wendy.
I
am lucky because I was able to see DIO live, and this, ladies and gentlemen,
not every living being experienced it. Huge voice, huge human being, huge
vocalist... and short in stature.
Simply
an excellent film, unmissable.
Tears
are unavoidable, because many of us have been on the journey since 1957 since
1974, with Rainbow.
And
so, the name of “The Man on the Silver Mountain” is engraved on his beautiful
grave.
And
to close with a diamond, Wendy walks slowly, with sad and emotional eyes,
towards that grave, white, huge and, with flowers in hand, she thanks him.
He
was the one who popularized the use of the "Metal horns", signifying
protection against the evil one, a sign taught by his grandmother.
In
Memoriam, DIO.
Always
in our mind. Always in our hearts.
Wendy,
the perfect huge wife and manager; always by her side.
Oh,
and a perfect moment, was when my very close friend “Carlos Andrés Rojas”,
appears in this film, with a picture with Ronnie! A very great moment.
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| Carlos Andrés Rojas with DIO |
Last night at the film premiere:
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| Ramón, Israel & Me |
