Dio
Explore the band's historical lineups, musicians, and studio albums.
Retired9 formations10 studio albums
Formation chronology
Newest first
Formation 9 of 9
Jul 2004 – May 16, 2010
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsJul 2004 – May 2010
- Craig GoldyGuitarJul 2004 – May 2010
- Rudy SarzoBassJul 2004 – May 2010
- Simon WrightDrumsJul 2004 – May 2010
- Scott WarrenKeyboardsJul 2004 – May 2010
Formation facts
- Doug Aldrich left Dio for Whitesnake in 2003 and Craig Goldy returned. Jimmy Bain then departed before Master of the Moon. Jeff Pilson came back to record the album's bass parts, but his other commitments prevented him from touring. Rudy Sarzo joined Dio in 2004 instead and says he remained a member through Ronnie's death, making Sarzo, not Pilson, the bassist in Dio's final operating lineup.
- Dio had not quietly ended after Master of the Moon. Rudy Sarzo says the band was rehearsing in November 2009 for another European tour when Ronnie missed rehearsal because he was ill. A doctor sent him to an oncologist, the tour was canceled, and Ronnie died on May 16, 2010. Sarzo has described himself as Ronnie's final bassist and says he remained part of Dio throughout that last period.
Studio albums
- Master of the Moon (Sep 2004)
Formation 8 of 9
Jan 2002 – Apr 2003
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsJan 2002 – Apr 2003
- Doug AldrichGuitarJan 2002 – Apr 2003
- Jimmy BainBassJan 2002 – Apr 2003
- Simon WrightDrumsJan 2002 – Apr 2003
- Scott WarrenKeyboardsJan 2002 – Apr 2003
Studio albums
- Killing the Dragon (May 2002)
Formation 7 of 9
Sep 1999 – Jan 2002
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsSep 1999 – Jan 2002
- Craig GoldyGuitarSep 1999 – Jan 2002
- Jimmy BainBassSep 1999 – Jan 2002
- Simon WrightDrumsSep 1999 – Jan 2002
- Scott WarrenKeyboardsSep 1999 – Jan 2002
Formation facts
- Jeff Pilson returned to Dio in May 1996 and recorded Angry Machines, but his Dokken commitments prevented another long stay. Larry Dennison became Dio's touring bassist afterward and appears with Ronnie, Tracy G, Vinny Appice and Scott Warren in contemporary coverage. Appice left in 1998 and Simon Wright returned; Craig Goldy then came back in 1999, followed by Jimmy Bain, completing the lineup that would make Magica.
- Ronnie conceived Magica as the opening chapter of a trilogy rather than a self-contained concept album. He planned to make a more conventional collection of songs before returning for Parts II and III, giving listeners a break from the larger story. Ronnie never abandoned the idea, but the remaining installments were unfinished when he died.
Studio albums
- Magica (Mar 2000)
Formation 6 of 9
May 1996 – Nov 1996
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsMay 1996 – Nov 1996
- Tracy GGuitarMay 1996 – Nov 1996
- Jeff PilsonBassMay 1996 – Nov 1996
- Vinny AppiceDrumsMay 1996 – Nov 1996
- Scott WarrenKeyboardsMay 1996 – Nov 1996
Formation facts
- Scott Warren joined Dio for the Strange Highways touring period in late 1993 and ultimately remained part of Ronnie's musical circle for the rest of the band's history. Jeff Pilson left after the 1994 tour to rejoin Dokken. In 1995 Jerry Best auditioned, joined Dio, worked on Angry Machines pre-production and toured South America; Best later recalled that what felt like a brief stint had actually lasted about nine months.
Studio albums
- Angry Machines (Oct 1996)
Formation 5 of 9
Nov 1993 – Nov 1994
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsNov 1993 – Nov 1994
- Tracy GGuitarNov 1993 – Nov 1994
- Jeff PilsonBassNov 1993 – Nov 1994
- Vinny AppiceDrumsNov 1993 – Nov 1994
- Scott WarrenKeyboardsNov 1993 – Nov 1994
Formation facts
- When Ronnie restarted Dio after leaving Black Sabbath again, he did not try to recreate the early-'80s sound. In a 1994 interview, Ronnie described Strange Highways as an extension of Dehumanizer. Its subject matter became darker and more rooted in the world around him, while Tracy G's unconventional guitar style pushed Dio toward one of the heaviest and most divisive sounds of its career.
Studio albums
- Strange Highways (Jan 1994)
Formation 4 of 9
Jan 1990 – 1991
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsJan 1990 – Jan 1991
- Rowan RobertsonGuitarJan 1990 – Jan 1991
- Teddy CookBassJan 1990 – Jan 1991
- Simon WrightDrumsJan 1990 – Jan 1991
- Jens JohanssonKeyboardsJan 1990 – Jan 1991
Formation facts
- Rowan Robertson was only 17 when he sent a homemade audition tape through Dio's fan club after getting nowhere with the record company. Wendy Dio eventually flew him from England to Los Angeles, where he auditioned twice and won the guitar job. Robertson suddenly went from an English village to co-writing an entire Dio album with musicians he had grown up admiring.
- Rowan Robertson joined Dio while Jimmy Bain, Vinny Appice and Claude Schnell were still members, and Robertson says most of Lock Up the Wolves was written with that older rhythm-section lineup. Bain and Schnell departed during 1989, Teddy Cook and Jens Johansson entered the picture, and Appice remained until just before recording. Simon Wright then replaced him on drums, producing the five-piece that recorded and toured the album.
- During the Lock Up the Wolves era, Geezer Butler reconnected with Ronnie and even joined Dio onstage for "Neon Knights." The encounter helped set a Black Sabbath reunion in motion. Dio was subsequently put on ice while Ronnie returned to Sabbath and made Dehumanizer, interrupting a band that had already begun thinking about what would follow Lock Up the Wolves.
Studio albums
- Lock Up the Wolves (May 1990)
Formation 3 of 9
Mar 1986 – 1988
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsMar 1986 – Jan 1988
- Craig GoldyGuitarMar 1986 – Jan 1988
- Jimmy BainBassMar 1986 – Jan 1988
- Vinny AppiceDrumsMar 1986 – Jan 1988
- Claude SchnellKeyboardsMar 1986 – Jan 1988
Studio albums
- Dream Evil (Aug 1987)
Formation 2 of 9
May 1983 – Mar 1986
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsMay 1983 – Mar 1986
- Vivian CampbellGuitarMay 1983 – Mar 1986
- Jimmy BainBassMay 1983 – Mar 1986
- Vinny AppiceDrumsMay 1983 – Mar 1986
- Claude SchnellKeyboardsMay 1983 – Mar 1986
Formation facts
- In 1985 Ronnie organized **Hear 'n Aid**, heavy metal's response to the famine-relief projects dominating popular music. The "Stars" sessions brought together performers including Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, Don Dokken and members of Iron Maiden. Ronnie's official biography says the project raised more than $2 million within a year for famine relief in Africa.
- The Sacred Heart tour turned Dio concerts into elaborate fantasy spectacles. Craig Goldy remembers an 18-foot mechanical dragon that breathed fire and fired lasers from its eyes, with Ronnie battling the creature during the show. Goldy says Ronnie absorbed enormous production costs because he regarded the spectacle as something he was giving back to the fans rather than simply another way to make money.
- Vivian Campbell says Ronnie originally promised that if Dio succeeded, the musicians who helped build the band would eventually share more equitably in its success. By the third album Campbell began pressing the issue. Instead, he says he was fired during the Sacred Heart touring period. Vinny Appice later said the other musicians shared Campbell's frustration and that he had urged Ronnie not to fire him.
Studio albums
- Sacred Heart (Aug 1985)
- The Last in Line (Jul 1984)
Formation 1 of 9
Oct 1982 – May 1983
Members
- Ronnie James DioLead VocalsOct 1982 – May 1983
- Vivian CampbellGuitarOct 1982 – May 1983
- Jimmy BainBassOct 1982 – May 1983
- Vinny AppiceDrumsOct 1982 – May 1983
Formation facts
- When Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell first played together in London in 1982, Campbell says Ronnie made clear that he did not want a conventional solo project. They would use the name Dio because Ronnie already had recognition and a record deal, but he wanted the musicians to contribute creatively as a band. That collaboration produced Holy Diver and established the sound of Dio's earliest years.
- "Rainbow in the Dark" became one of Dio's signature songs, but Ronnie initially hated its keyboard-driven sound. He thought it was too pop-oriented and later recalled being ready to take a razor blade to the master tape before his bandmates stopped him. Ronnie eventually admitted they had been right, and the song became one of the most enduring parts of Dio's catalog.
- Ronnie never claimed to have invented the familiar "horns" hand sign. He traced it to his Italian grandmother, who used the traditional gesture associated with protection from the evil eye. Ronnie began using it onstage and became so closely identified with it that the symbol spread throughout heavy-metal culture.
Studio albums
- Holy Diver (May 1983)