“Perfect song at the perfect time”: Ronnie James Dio’s favourite rock and metal songs of all time
When explaining heavy metal parameters, Ronnie James Dio has always approached it with grace and sophistication. In his mind, the genre began with the drumming prowess of John Bonham, who introduced its “larger-than-life” aura with an instrument he treated as his thunderous companion, enabling countless others to explore the boundaries of art and aggression.
Dio’s own legacy focuses on this, as well as understanding the value of development and progression. In previous interviews, he’s said that he prefers to work with musicians who share the same understanding that moving forward is as crucial to the art as anything else and that if there isn’t a drive to progress as a musician, there’s no point. This, among other reasons, is why he was the only one suited to drive Black Sabbath into their next chapter following Ozzy Obsourne’s departure in 1979.
Firing someone so integral to the Sabbath mayhem as Osbourne would always feel like dismantling the very thing that kept the entire operation together. Osbourne wasn’t just a musical genius; he represented defiance against the peace signs and flower power, epitomising the disillusionment of the youth by embracing everything that had ever felt dark and melancholic about it. However, he did so with such unapologetic aggression, making music that gave despair an unrelenting fervour.
Therefore, when he passed on the torch to Dio, fans were sceptical. However, according to Tony Iommi, he was exactly what was needed to bring something new to the table following years of extreme highs and lows. “When Ozzy went, the first person I got in touch with was Ronnie,” the musician recalled. “I said to the other guys, ‘Why don’t we try Ronnie and see what you think?’ This was when we lived in LA, so we got him over to the rehearsal room in the house. We had this one riff idea that we’d come up with, which was ‘Children of the Sea,’ and Ronnie started singing something, and I just thought, ‘That’s great!’ It was just such a different approach.”
As someone who had already played in several bands and on different projects, Dio’s understanding of artistic development and drive to apply a fresh perspective kept them going and made them feel a newfound sense of excitement about where the beast that was Black Sabbath could be heading next. Dio was completely different to Osbourne, but it worked out for the better, especially as Iommi also said that the last thing they needed was a carbon copy of their previous frontman.
Surrounding himself with the sounds of those who inspire him has always been Dio’s mainstay. This, aside from possessing an innate talent for what makes great metal, has helped him shape his expression and vision in more ways than one. In short, Dio’s favourites say a lot about his perspective as an artist, which he shared during an interview for Blabbermouth, detailing several choices that endeared him to musical progression in all its forms.
One pick was Sabbath’s early anthem ‘Heaven and Hell’, which Dio appreciates for its reminder that every iteration of the band had its unique charm beyond the main lineup that charged them into unchartered waters. “People remember Sabbath for the Ozzy, Tony, Bill and Geez days,” he said, “Then doing this one, it captured another generation of people who had forgotten about that early Sabbath, and suddenly Sabbath becomes their band again. I think it was an unusual time and just a great song.”
However, he also mentioned the more obvious choice, ‘War Pigs’, which he remains endeared to for its unpredictability, coming at a time when metal—and music, more generally—needed an element of surprise, especially when it had a political undertone. In Dio’s view, this particular song holds up against songs like ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Iron Man’, mainly because it became “one of the standard-bearing songs for the band.”
That said, Dio’s other songs draw from other legends of the genre, like Metallica and their hit ‘Enter Sandman’, which he regards as “a well-played, perfect song from them at the perfect time”. Similarly, he claims Judas Priest’s ‘Nostradamus’ “really knocked my socks off” because it was so intense and so unexpected, while Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke On The Water’ remains high on the list because it’s “one of the ultimate classic songs of all time”.
Ronnie James Dio’s favourite metal songs of all time:
- ‘Spoonman’ – Soundgarden
- ‘Heaven and Hell’ – Black Sabbath
- ‘War Pigs’ – Black Sabbath
- ‘Paranoid’ – Black Sabbath
- ‘Iron Man’ – Black Sabbath
- ‘Nostradamus’ – Judas Priest
- ‘Enter Sandman’ – Metallica
