Dream Evil

It's no secret the melancholic crooner Ozzy and his elfin yet fully rocking colleague Ronnie James surrounded themselves with awesomely talented guitarists. Between the former's forays with Gibson Icon Tony and tragically departed Randy, followed by equally skilled Jake and Zakk, the latter's posse of excellent axe men consisted of classically trained Ritchie Blackmore, as well as 1980s heavy metal icon Vivian Campbell and finally, a newly discovered Californian virtuoso in Craig Goldy, the musical sage behind Dio's fourth full-length, Dream Evil, released back in '87 - a mystical time when I was starting to catch on to rock n' roll's soul edifying, life affirming magic.

Ahead of praise, an obligatory nod and salutation go out to Majsai Attila, he of downright killer guitar covers, ranging anywhere from Black Sabbath, Ratt and Whitesnake to Alcatrazz, Deep Purple and Rainbow. Actually, his stunning reprise of a pair of classics, Rainbow's wicked "Death Alley Driver" (insanely catchy and rifftastik sequel to "Highway Star") and Dream Evil's instantly seizing "Sunset Superman" sent me flying into a highly galvanized frenzy leading to this here babble-mouthed spiel.

For want of better words, Dream Evil is...freaking amazing! Crammed to the nines with astutely placed, sordid synths and finger twitching riffs and creative solos, stentorian bass lines and loudly smashing drum beats capped by Ronnie's oh-so-powerful, radio crushing prose, each song is a clear-cut winner, beginning with hard-driven, melodic bedfellows, the fast rollicker "Night People" and album highlight (in a sea of highlights) "Sunset Superman". Just for fun, I amused myself with its main riff yesterday, having a blast, while repeatedly revelling in Majsai's heartfelt performance, where, judging from his mind blown expression, you know it's a real gas to play provided the tremendous albeit necessary amount of daily dedication, practice and commitment goes into this World shaking art form.

Onward with the big-time rocking goodness, "Dream Evil" then launches into a basally honky-tonk-ish a la Mob Rules panoply of mid tempo up swinging, as always to the tune of Ronnie's mesmeric chanting. Its skyward, original lead further demonstrates Craig's natural flair for all-too-cool string finagling, whilst the balladic yet Sabbathian successor "All The Fools Sailed Away" slyly waltzes by with Dio's elevated standard of elegance and poise, complete with a candle swaying chorus. Then, the night's turned up once more as the guitar heavy duo of "Naked In The Rain" and ever bouncy and upbeat "Overlove" boggle already overcome, jubilant senses.

"Overlove" starts off with a cleanly pumped twang-er of a blues lick reminiscent of Dave Mustaine's wildly accented country solo in "High Speed Dirt" before ramming itself headlong into an accelerated, 70s Rainbow styled overture liable to compel obsessively compulsive returns, not least of which for its whammy bar woven solo. Speaking of sadly non-Archived 80s mainstay Whitesnake, "I Could Have Been A Dreamer" is a great, mellow tune to improvise over in E minor (B minor pentatonic) and although I briefly posted a tube video of myself ghost soloing to it, it was rather shabby, so am now steered towards perfecting a proper rendition.

After all (the dead) is said and done, Dream Evil concludes its feverish guitar onslaught with another pair of humbucker humdingers in "Faces In The Window", whose curious title simply evokes bratty kids plastering their funny face grimaces in the back of their folks' car on road trips whilst cruising down the highway, but it's still a hot rocking riff orgy worth indulgence. The same goes for additionally Sabbathian (of the Ronnie era) 'When "A Woman Cries". As this spur-of-the-moment review was avidly interrupted by an impromptu jam session, I'm itching to wrap it up so this "dreamer" can go back to crafting a sensible lead worthy of the public...

After the lackluster third wheel of an experience that was "Sacred Heart," Dio needed to come back strong. His fourth album "Dream Evil" is another home run for him, even though this album gets criminally passed over just because Vivian Campbell is gone. Craig Goldy comes in to replace him, and Craig is definitely my favorite overall Dio guitarist. His riff work is WAY better than Vivian's, and his solos are just as good, so he's a far better replacement in my eyes. The shame is, though, that Dio has stated that Jimmy Bain in particular (and possibly Vinny, too, at the time) didn't like Craig for whatever reason, and didn't think he was a good fit for the band, so this entire lineup is rather short lived, despite how good of a record "Dream Evil" is.

Without a DOUBT, "Dream Evil" takes on a much darker and more somber feel to it than all of the very energetic and high energy records with Vivian had. I think the songwriting on this album has more depth and variety to it, however, the slower pace and nature might take some getting used to for someone that is only familiar with the Vivian-era material. The other interesting thing about "Dream Evil," to me, is that I don't think there's a single bad track on the record. However, at the same time, there are MANY songs across it that have small dips in quality or questionable choices to it that I think makes the album suffer a little. There is not one moment listening to this album where I feel the need to skip a song. However, there are quite a few moments that make me go "ehhh..." which is a bit of a strange feeling.

We'll take "Naked in the Rain" as the prime suspect. I LOVE the verse melodies across this song. They're dark and filled with that trademark Dio emotional drama. The verses are all filled with promise and lay wonderful building blocks to something special. However...the chorus is...pretty lackluster. The chorus doesn't fit the mood the verses built even remotely. It feels extremely random to me, and absolutely does not feel related to the verses at all. They feel like they're two entirely different songs mashed together. Like Dio had a chorus without a song to go with it, and also verses that he couldn't nail a good chorus for, so he threw them together. "Overlove" has the opposite kind of problem for me. Craig Goldy is on FIRE on "Overlove." His riff along with Vinny's energy are explosive, and easily the best part of the song. That main riff and the unique clean intro are spectacular. However, when the verses come in, it's kind of...standard Dio melodies that, while not bad at all, are just kind of cliche and not on par with how great the riff behind them is. The melodies detract from the riff, and that's something you NEVER want to do. The chorus matches the electric nature of the rest of the song, so the kind of mediocre verse vocals from Dio stand out as being a real blow to an otherwise phenomenal track.

Next, "I Could Have Been a Dreamer" is your very typical overly sappy song that screams "SINGLE" and "radio airplay" so intentionally that it hurts. The track certainly isn't an awful one, and the chorus is actually filled with a lot of powerful emotion from Dio that the keyboards really accent extremely well. The riffs to the song are just rather weak, and the verse vocals are really just filler to get to that chorus, so it leaves "I Could Have Been a Dreamer" as an extremely one dimensional song. Not offensive, but nothing special. The opener "Night People" is equally inoffensive while still being standard and unremarkable. This is your by the books Dio opening track that he has absolutely done to death over the course of these four albums. "Night People" follows the exact same formula as "Stand Up and Shout" and "We Rock." Same subpar, but quick paced riffs, and same generic verse melodies that are just built to lead to a chorus. Once again, I don't dislike "Night People" at all, but I've just heard things so similar to it before, that it just feels stale even though it is a solid track standing by itself.

Truly, the two standout tracks on the record are two of the more well known ones. The title track might just be Dio's greatest title track of his solo career. For me, "Dream Evil" as a title track is far better than both "Holy Diver" and "The Last in Line." It is filled with terrific riffs, and Dio really paints a perfect picture of what the album is shooting for. His vocals are a little dark and a little bit ominous while not betraying his style at all. The chorus is fantastic and catchy, the solo is moving, and later in the song, the chorus line where Dio's vocals switch to a demonic effect followed by a strong fill from Vinny are just the kick the song needed to stay strong. "All the Fools Sailed Away" is in the running for my favorite Dio solo song. It has a bit of everything. The intro sets up a somber and dramatic foundation. It's one that only someone like Dio could really do justice. The core riff of the song is a slower one that isn't trying to take center stage, but also remains memorable, which is a pretty hard feat to accomplish. Keyboardist Claude Schnell, who has always had excellent work, but never really stood out more than was needed, has a really brilliant and memorable solo on the song. The chorus is the crown jewel of the whole product, though. It seems like every single time it hits, it just builds stronger and stronger. It starts with Dio and what sounds like light backing vocals. By the end of the song, there's a children's choir that is clear and building him up. The choir is always there on the chorus, but at the start, they could easily be mistaken for just Dio doing his own backing vocals. By the end, they are clear as day and adding a lot to the overall emotion of the chorus. It's an amazing track all across the board.

"Dream Evil" ends up being an absolutely fantastic addition to Dio's solo discography that is very much overlooked because of a lineup change. There's no doubt that "Dream Evil" stumbles and trips quite a few times during its runtime, but never once does it fall. It is one of Dio's most consistent albums despite a few of these small missteps. It would also be the last album to have any semblance of the "classic" lineup. On Dio's next album, the entire band would be repopulated, but at the same time, every single one of the musician's on this album (baring Claude) would return later on in some form or fashion. Although, almost never at the same time again. Only once more after this record did any of the other three ever overlap again. "Dream Evil" is a unique record in the Dio discography both for its dark, dreary mood, as well as the consistency of the songs. It is an album that could never quite be replicated. It definitely deserves some "Overlove."

Vivian Campbell didn't get on well with Dio, so he left the band after some hostilities and formed Riverdogs, where he wasn't that successful. However, Vivian always knew how to make profitable his stay in Dio's band, that's why he auditioned for Def Leppard and Thin Lizzy. Apart from that, doesn't seem right the fact that Campbell (his right maybe yet he's not elegant) didn't establish good friendships with Dio. They just never got along, then Vivian took advantage of Dio's legacy looking not very chivalrous for that matter.

Craig Goldy joined in and understood Dio wonderfully, so a very strong friendship bond was born between them. Some will say he's less talented than Campbell but he fulfills his role as a guitarist. This album reached #43 on the American Billboard: it's late 80's, the goose that lays the golden eggs had disappeared and Dio had to be renewed. That was a tough road in their career, trying to sound like commercial bands but it mostly happened in 90s and it's another business. Dream Evil has a high quality appreciated throughout this whole trip, without fillers. There's a certain distance respecting the first two albums but it at least surpasses Sacred Heart.

All the Fools Sailed Away is probably the coolest one. There's a very slick keyboard and guitar interlude, with a very atmospheric solo that proves Craig Goldy wasn't really one-armed. Naked in the Rain follows the line of the previous track with its basic, primitive mid-paced. It shows off the rock essence and it's the most commercial point on the album. Dio's talent for vocals and his capacity as a composer helped him to gain audiences from different worlds and as a result, a large fan base professed genuine devotion to him. Also, Dio's ability to combine the easy-listening hard rock and European-style heavy metal adds actually points. In short, Ronnie was determined to apply the well-known maintenance formula: "If it works, don't fix it".

"Night People" is built on a simple guitar base but with surprising solos that lead to the title track with a riff powerfully reminiscent of Rainbow's Man On The Silver Mountain, but with a more commercial twist outstanding a magnificent chorus. "Sunset Superman" has a keyboard-based intro that doesn't announce an as snappy song as it finally turns outta be. Jimmi Bain does some exceptional bass lines as stand out above the rest songs. Side A closes beautifully with the semi-powerballad “All The Fools Sailed Away” with its dramatic, theatrical chorus like few others. It shines like a classic and one of the most consistent of Dio's career, without a doubt.

Side B begins with a strong keyboard presence as Dio doubles his voice as he only knows how to do, while Craig Goldie proves he's far better on solos than on rhythmic riffs. “Overlove” returns the pulse and tension as one of the fastest, something you wouldn't say judging by the strange, bluesy intro reminiscent of some Blackmore's work. Then, the modest point on the album: “I Could Have Been a Dreamer” looks like an AC/DC school riffs with parts of Brian Adams-like. "When A Woman Cries" recovers the hard rock legacy with a beautiful keyboard performance, courtesy of Claude Schnell. People will say this album was an irregular moment for a career that supposedly never shone again as it really deserves, although it never faded away really.

Time doesn't forgive and much less in the heavy metal business as there are many prepared musicians who push from below with the "renew or die" commandment. Judas Priest, Accept, Iron Maiden, Gary Moore, Whitesnake, Scorpions, Saxon had abandoned their classic sound in the mid-80s, orienting it towards American metal, so there was no reason to think Dio would resist it. In fact, there were two aspects that made us think Ronnie was going to take a break and not a change: on the one hand there was Campbell's farewell, a traumatic event comparable to what Randy's death meant for Ozzy at the time, and on the other hand, the fact their previous album was seen as a live album-like, which gave rise to think that Dream Evil would come with renewed sounds.

The album reviewed here got such a wide circulation around the Bulgarian radio channels in 1987 that at some stage there wasn’t a single metal head in the country who didn’t have it in a safe place in his/her collection. Dio’s “The Last in Line” vinyl was readily available in the record shops before that, further adding to the guy’s enormous popularity on the other side of the Iron Curtain. For some reason Dio, Black Sabbath, and Scorpions were not banned during the 80’s so their albums were easy to find in the studios while Twisted Sister, W.A.S.P., Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, to give a few examples, were featured prominently on the very top of those “banned bands” lists. Ridiculous, truly ridiculous stuff, but what could you do; such were the times…

It’s quite ironic, in a sad way though, that it was the Epitome of Metal (R.I.P.) who tested the poppy, radio-friendly waters with “Sacred Heart”, helping Motley Crue, whose “Theatre of Pain” was released just a few months earlier, in the establishing of the cheesy side of metal. Not a very dignified moment from the man’s discography, but all was forgiven as it sold very well, the audience picked on those new melodic sounds way too fast, and didn’t exactly stain the man’s career.

Once the album reviewed here came out, everyone sighed with enormous relief as apparently the previous opus was just an isolated experiment as “Night People” shows too well, a bouncy boisterous opener with an open speedy swagger regardless of the tangible keyboard presence. The title-track is the staple for the band hit with a big commercial potential, nothing overtly cheesy here; and “Sunset Superman” is the next in line exhibition of less bridled energy, a glorious rousing anthem that sees our small, vociferous superman shaking off the cheese completely, serving one of the finest ballads of the 80’s right after, “All the Fools Sailed Away”, a poignant composition, one of the guy(s)’ highest achievements. “Naked in the Rain” is a heavy brooder recalling the man’s days with Black Sabbath in an introspective epic manner; and “Overlove” is the exact opposite to it, a brisk fast-paced cut with lashing riffs and breezy screamy leads. “I Could Have Been a Dreamer” is a sure reminder of the poppy aesthetics of the preceding album, a relaxed “dreamy” (definitely not evil) piece bordering on the semi-ballad, totally cancelled by the excellent “Faces in the Window”, another prime heavy metal anthem with a nice memorable chorus and dynamic semi-galloping tendencies. Back to the previous saga’s mellower overtones with the closing “When a Woman Cries”, this time a full-fledged semi-ballad, but a good enough epitaph to this enjoyable, diverse roller-coaster.

Dio tried to balance things to an extent here since the last effort was at least a positive commercial step, but at the same time he didn’t want to delineate his core fanbase, and the result was this compelling “evil dream”, a sure-handed entry into the 1987 heavy metal catalogue beside Warlock’s “Triumph & Agony”, Black Sabbath’s “Eternal Idol”, Helloween’s “The Keeper of the Seven Keys I”, and Udo’s “Animal House”. For one thing, Dio was the main contender to the Big Five (Scorpions, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Accept), and he managed to preserve both his integrity and the high quality of his music all the way to the end of the decade, including on the slightly divisive “Lock Up the Wolves”. The Voice of Metal seldom put a foot wrong although some consider his ill-fated return to Sabbath territory in 1992 for “Dehumanizer” one having in mind the acrimonious circumstances under which he had to leave again although the former comrades joined efforts once more under the Heaven & Hell moniker many years later. Even on the more experimental efforts (remember “Angry Machines”) during the 90’s he left his trademark stamp, and who knows how many more interesting works he was going to provide for the fans if it wasn’t for his untimely passing. The music world was robbed off one of its greatest artists, off one of the most important “evil” dreamers in metal history… rest in peace, and… Up the horns!

Dio took the world by surprise with this album, and also took the band back to life after the decadent predecessor. In general terms, the album is still following the basic blueprint from previous works, but this time, Dio was more focused on providing it with a melodic vibe rather than on pretending to make aggressive stuff. The riffs from their new guitarist are still harsh and heavy as hell, and the drumming work done by Appice came back to life, but the choruses are not as aggressive as they used to be. Rather, they are more catchy and melodic, which results hard to believe considering how powerful and emphatic was his voice.

Despite the fact that the Campbell's departure from the band was like a strong punch in the face for the project, Dio moved quickly and hired the young talented guitarist Craig Goldy. He had a somehow similar guitar playing style, though Campbell was more fluent (let's say, somewhere around all those guitarists who were part of Shrapnel Records). Nevertheless, Goldy was efficient with his instrument and able to play solos at an acceptable speed, and he also played tremendously harsh riffs in the Campbell's vein. Of course, there are many examples throughout the album. And for his luck, he was not disturbed by the excessive keyboards used in a commercial aim for the previous release, nor even limited to their narrow-minded songwriting work, as Campbell was in "Sacred Heart".

Appice took his drumming back to the levels of intensity and dynamism that the fanatics of the band were used to, being "Over Love" his most significant moment. That said, the album features an excellent set of songs. "Night People" is the kind of song that would be recurred in the next following releases (for instance, "Better in the Dark") and is fast and efficient. The title-song runs slower and is one of the most melodic moments in Dio's vocal performance. Its riffs are memorable, and the song itself is such an excellent composition. However, no one around would expect from Dio such a frenetic speed metal track in the levels of "Over Love". Even though the ZZ Top-inspired intro riff was not precisely the most appropriate way to begin such an insane track, the guitar playing work afterward is quite efficient. The solo is quite crazy, and it would make you move the tapes/CD backward like twenty times so that you can enjoy it over and over. Other interesting highlights include cuts like "Sunset Superman" and "I Could Have Been a Dreamer". Both songs are part of the melodic orientation of the band and are average Dio, except for the melodic passages of course.

Although it is not an essential album, it is for sure a symbol of hope for a project that was deadly injured. Fortunately, Dio did not apart from this path, and the next following albums would be as good as this one (except for "Angry Machines", which is the most forgettable release in their catalog). However, the band will make some changes in their musical foundation going forward. The next album will show a more doomish sound from which the drumming style of Appice would never move, especially after the release of the Black Sabbath album "Dehumanizer". Having said the above, what you should do at this point is enjoy the album and let the music run wild.

Ronnie James Dio, the little big man who became world famous when eventually joining Rainbow, Black Sabbath and of course singing on the Roger Glover song ‘Love Is All’ from 1975 which pretty much everyone knows, including our parents. He who even managed to become a succesful solo artist back in the eighties. 5 albums of him I still hold dearly from which 3 are utter highlights. ‘Dream Evil’ is one of these three.
‘Dream Evil’ was his fourth solo album in the eighties, following the more rock than metal oriented ‘Sacred Heart’ and stylewise went back to the first two.

We have two speed metal tunes. Full pace and rocking like madmen, ‘Night People’ and ‘Overlove’ from which the first is the better and the second is based around an incredibly good rocking riff. Of course, like on previous albums, the title track is a doom metal song with strong catchy chorus. Now the big ballad here ‘All the Fools Sailed Away’ is pretty damn good. Sensitive, dynamic, great catchy chorus. One of the finest Dio ballads ever written.

‘Sunset Superman’ is one of my most favorite Dio songs. The chorus might be simple but it is based about a powerful riff and the true strength of the song comes from the verses which combine superior riffing with one of Dio's strongest vocal lines. ‘Faces In The Window’ is an upbeat metal tune. Great pace, drive and majestic chorus. This is exactly what made eighties heavy metal so great!

As we all know, the more rock than metal oriented material from Dio CAN also be good. On the ‘Sacred Heart’ album the songs ‘King Of Rock And Roll’ and especially ‘Hungry For Heaven’ proved that Dio can sound more commercial yet still be catchy as hell. Those were amazing songs! The more maintstream rock on this album comes in the form of ‘I Could Have Been a Dreamer’, and ‘When a Woman Cries’. Unfortunately ‘When a Woman Cries’ is a mediocre song and rather bad way to end an otherwise pretty perfect album.

Last song I must mention is ‘Naked In The Rain’ which balances between rock and doom metal. All in all not one of the best songs one the album but once again a very, very strong chorus with which it earns its place on the album.

Productional values are great, solid and really breath that ‘late-eighties’ atmosphere with heavy drums, wide reverb laden guitars and dense yet supporting keys. The artwork is more than superb and maybe even my favorite Dio album cover.

Worst moment: ‘When a Woman Cries’
Best moments: The rest of the songs, the overall performance by ALL members, production & artwork.

After three (and a half) albums of "medieval" themes and metal anthems what does Dio do next? He stays true to his formula. Even his "cuddly" mascot "Murray" is back on the album cover (in the window). Despite the departure of guitarist Vivian Campbell, who left and later joined Whitesnake and Def Leppard, Dio creates an album that nearly matches the legendary "Holy Diver" & "The Last In Line". Campbell's replacement, Craig Goldy, filled the shoes with no problem.

Dio's fanbase had definitely shrunk by 1987 and with the release of "Dream Evil". Partly due to the mediocre live EP "Intermission" and MTV's all-embracing love for fluffy hair alleged "hard rock" bands like Bon Jovi & Poison. Still, the LP entered the U.S. Billboard Top 200 albums at a respectable #43 (his highest LP chart placement in the US was #23 with "The Last In Line") and was another Top Ten in the U.K. Unfortunately, the album exited the charts faster than the previous albums (but eventually received Gold record status years later).

Though similar in it's more polished, slightly commercial leanings the album is a better overall work than "Sacred Heart". The reason? Better songs. No real duds. Dio had another creative spurt teamed with Goldy that produced melodic tunes like the title cut, "I Could Have Been A Dreamer" (his last track to chart in America- #33 Mainstream Rock), "Sunset Superman" and "Night People". It also contains the epic ballad "All The Fools Sailed Away", which certainly ranks in the Top 20 best Dio cuts. Many have noticed the guitar riff resembles the classic Rainbow track "Man On The Silver Mountain". Perhaps.

During interviews for "Dream Evil" Dio admitted that "Sacred Heart" was an "unhappy album to make" because of friction with Campbell. He knew there was a couple tracks on "Sacred Heart" that he referred to as "album helper" songs, his euphemism for what we call "filler". He went on to say "Dream Evil" was a conscious attempt to "return to form". Irregardless of Ronnie's humility "Sacred Heart" was still one of the best albums released in that year. "Dream Evil" is just better. One can only wonder if had this been the follow up to "The Last In Line" would it have gone platinum and kept him on the A list a little longer? Whatever the case it was the beginning of his commercial decline with each subsequent Reprise LP selling less than the previous one. So less and less promotional effort was received from the label. It had nothing to do with quality though. MTV (temporarily) ruined metal.

Dio’s fourth album has proven to be an interesting turning point in terms of the band’s history and sound. It was the first album to feature Rough Cutt guitarist Craig Goldy, the last to ever feature keyboardist Claude Schnell, the last to feature drummer Vinny Appice until 1994’s "Strange Highways," and the last to feature bassist Jimmy Bain until 2000’s "Magica."

Musically, the album seems to take the keyboard oriented sound of 1985’s "Sacred Heart" to a whole new level. While that album seemed to use the keyboards to create more commercial and, dare I say, fluffy textures, this effort uses to create a dark and foreboding atmosphere. These techniques are especially effective on tracks such as the epic "All the Fools Sailed Away" and "Naked in the Rain." Of course, the commercial tendencies of the last album are still retained in the form of "I Could Have Been a Dreamer," though the song itself is much darker than "Hungry for Heaven" or "Mystery."

Aside from the keyboards, everything else is performed in the classic standard that we’ve all come to love. The rhythm section is always solid and distinct, the riffs and solos are strong and memorable, and Dio himself continues to sing in top form. The songs themselves consist of speed metal tracks ("Night People," "Sunset Superman"), dramatic mid-tempo tunes ("Naked in the Rain," "When a Woman Cries"), and even a few bluesier numbers (The title track, "Overlove"). In fact, it makes me think of what Black Sabbath was doing at the time with vocalist Tony Martin...

While Dio’s lyrics have always been about sympathizing with the underdog and overcoming adversity, his specific themes seemed to have changed with this effort. While previous albums (Particularly "SH") dealt with themes related to fantasy and the supernatural, this tune seems to focus on more realistic ideas. Of course, there are still hints of cheese in the mire and it’s still quite the challenge to determine the meaning of tracks such as "Sunset Superman..."

Like previous efforts, this album’s main flaw seems to be related to its dated sound. The songwriting itself is done in good taste but the keyboard layering and kooky sound effects may make this an intolerable listen for closed minded metal fans. Another thing I’ve noticed is that a few songs seem to borrow from Dio’s older material. The title track’s bluesy main riff is rather similar to that of Rainbow’s "Man on the Silver Mountain" and the structure of Overlove reminds me of "Kill the King" with its energetic guitar playing and soaring vocal lines. Fortunately, it’s not that big of an issue as he’s ripping off his own bands...

Albums such as "Lock up the Wolves" would expand on what this album only hints at, but it stands alongside "Holy Diver," "LUTW," and "Magica" as one of the strongest Dio albums to date.

Pros:
1) An excellent band performance, with Goldy in particular standing out.
2) Memorable songs and catchy hooks.
3) An interestingly dark atmosphere

Cons:
1) Occasionally dated keyboards/sound effects
2) A few unoriginal moments
3) An over-reliance on one-liner choruses.

My Current Favorites:
"Night People," "Dream Evil," "All the Fools Sailed Away," "Naked in the Rain," and "Overlove"

One more Dio album suffering from the same problem all his other ones suffer from: the lack of variety. All the songs are too damn similar, following simple and overused structures (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus). On the other hand, Dio's vocals here are exceptional, very strong and powerful. He really adds something to the tunes, with his fantastic voice.

Anyways, individually, there are not many stand-outs present here. I guess “All the Fools Sailed Away” is the best song, being just a little bit more elaborated than the other songs. A decent ballad, at the end of the day. “Night People” is a good opener, great main riff. In fact, there are some worth listening riffs on the album, the title track has plenty of them now that I think of it. When the fifth track, “Naked in the Rain” kicks in, you'll probably want to stop listening to Dream Evil though, since this tune is more of the same. The same old chorus, the recycled riffs, etc, etc... The next four songs are very weak and basically... more of the same. Really, this album is just a mixture of songs that sound all the same. Please, we want variety. Production-wise, this album is almost flawless, great mixing with the keyboard playing adding a nice atmosphere to the whole record. The drums also sound great, despite the drum performance being a bit on the average side.

So, a pretty bad album, all in all. Still, there are some highlights and average songs, but I won't recommend this to anyone. Meh, if you're a big fan of Dio's work, I guess you'll enjoy this album, otherwise forget it. Imagine Holy Diver or Last in Line with weaker songs and you get a nice mental picture of what this piece is.

Best Moments of the CD:
-the beginning of the album, perhaps.

PS. the artwork rules!

Dio, being the legend that he is in the Rock and Metal scenes, needs no introduction, and this, his fourth solo album, shouldn't need one, either. This was the first album without guitar virtuoso Vivian Campbell backing our favorite metal dwarf up, and here was ushered in Craig Goldie, who is no slouch on the strings himself. Fans of the previous Dio albums (and even his work with Rainbow and Black Sabbath) won't be disappointed by this one, as it is more of the same rockish, melodic Heavy Metal that the metal world had come to expect from Ronnie James Dio. His raspy wailing is in fine shape here, and he's backed up by acrobatic guitarwork and perky, upbeat drumming that makes this a very "alive" album. It does not offer anything really new to the standard Dio sound base, but that isn't what Dio was about in the 80s - he was just about making good, solid Heavy Metal to headbang to.

The material here is still very Hard Rockish, with a distinct synth presence, some vocal layering and a nice, laid back sort of groove, but that doesn't change the fact that the riffs here just rule. "Night People," the creepy, atmospheric title track, the anthemic "Sunset Superman," album highlight "All the Fools Sailed Away," with its epic overtones and buildup, the groovy "Overlove," which packs the best guitar solo here, and the excellent, catchy "When a Woman Cries," which ends the album with a classy Hard Rock organ and a great riff. There's no excuse for not liking this one if you're a fan of Heavy Metal in the slightest. Mandatory.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

Here we have one of the founding fathers of metal, Dio, however this is an album without Vivian Campbell and you can easily tell, the solos are really nothing spectacular. It is a rather disappointing follow up to Sacred Heart and isn't even in the same league as Holy Diver. Most can tell that this is where Ronnie really began to run short on ideas. I'm not saying this album is totally worthless(the album cover is extremely eerie, but says nothing for the music), but about 80 percent of the album is repeated simplistic choruses, the most obvious major examples being Faces in the Window, When a Woman Cries, and Overlove.

Most Dio albums tend to die out towards the end, but Dream Evil never really gets started. There are pretty much only about 3 songs here that I can listen to, those being Night People, Dream Evil, and All the Fools Sailed Away. The latter being by far the best song on the album with a very grandeur chorus and a really good solo and also decent riffs. Besides Angry Machines, I would view this as Dio's lowest moment.