mckennal
Joined: 30 May 2010
Posts: 2
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 Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 12:40 pm Post subject: God in the Evil Eye: Corna Padavona |
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Published on my blog the day I found out. I can't say it any better now than I did then. And I've been hearing Ronnie's voice ever since, for me ever encapsulated in that scream that transitions "The Last In Line" from a mystical ballad to pure metal.
Ronald James Padavona, the man we knew as Ronnie James Dio, died two days ago, keeping the Sabbath holy. With his loss goes a voice that, for however prosaic this might sound, was very important to me through difficult times in my adolescence. I will remember his voice, a voice that will and should be one of the most important voices in heavy metal; “The Last in Line” remains one of the songs that many Dio admirers have refrained from covering because the emotion, strength, and power that RJD brought to it simply and truly cannot be matched. Though his voice took on a near spiritual status for his listeners, he created an entire milieu with DIO that was, at risk of sounding cliché (but risking it because the following phrase, when applied to DIO is entirely accurate), unique. Dio contested the Roman Catholicism he was raised in, evidenced by facts of his life as well as the kind of balance he saw in the universe. This is represented by the DIO logo, something that was spine-tingling scary when I first saw it as a thirteen-year-old kid (though everyone is aware of its mystical puzzle now), and the way I interpret it is that RJD knew that for every God you get,
(image)
you get a Devil:
(image)
And they’re in an eternal battle of equal power. The devil seems to have won the battle two days ago, though only time will bear those facts out. Ronnie may very well be communicating to us from the other side. I decided, in honor of RJD, to listen to one of his least remembered DIO cds, Angry Machines, on the way to work this morning. And, call it coincidence or wishful thinking or spirits moving in the world, but "This Is Your Life" finally came on as the cd was spinning down to its last digits before repeating, and it happened just in time so that I could listen to it twice before stopping the car and heading into the day's all-too common commonality. I would encourage you to listen to this today, and whatever kind of music you listen to, I think you'll like this one; it's an evocative piano piece that I'm going to remember as Dio's last words to me. I'll leave you, simply, with the lyrics:
Who cares what came before?
We were only starlight.
One day . . . then nevermore,
Because we're
whispers in the wind.
Once upon a time,
the world was never blind
Like we are.
Right now it seems
You're only dreams and shadows.
If wishes could be
eagles, how you'd fly!
This is your life;
This is your time.
What if the flame
won't last forever?
This is your here;
This is your now.
Let it be magical.
From http://mrdigressius.blogspot.com/search/label/Dio |
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