Dio - The Very Beast of Vol. 2
Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 10:31PM 
The Dio releases still keep coming, even after the legend passed just over 2 years ago. The latest is a best of, release called The Very Beast of Vol. 2. The first best of came out in 2000 and covered the Vivian Campbell years, for the most part. This second volume, covers the best tracks from the latter period of the band. The cool thing about this compilation is that you get 3 bonus tracks. The bonus tracks included are: Electra (Magica 2), Metal Will Never Die (David Rock Feinstein) and The Prisoner of Paradise (Master of the Moon).
Beast of Vol. 2 is a nice representation of the post Vivian Campbell era. (Lets be honest, that is the era that Dio had his most success, as a solo artist.) This compilation will hopefully open the ears of those that didn't get past Sacred Heart. The work Dio did with guitar phenom Doug Aldrich on Killing the Dragon was solid, as well as the darker period with Tracy G. These are great tunes that need to be spotlighted and heard. I was especially impressed with the inclusion of the live version of Hunter of the Heart from the Tracy G era. This track is from the very rare live record they did called Inferno - Last in Live. (If you can get your hands on a copy, I highly advise it, because it is awesome). A very nice mix of tunes from some of the lesser known albums from the great one. Essential for Dio fans.
Bottom Line: A great compilation of tracks from Dio's lesser know material.
Standout Tracks: Hunter of the Heart (Live), As Long As It's Not About Love, Metal Will Never Die, One More for the Road and Killing the Dragon.
-Ragman is glad that Tracy is finally acknowledged. It is about time, damn it!
CD Reviews
Reader Comments (2)
Getting a little sick of the Dio releases...at least Greatest Hits packages. Fans of Ronnie would have went out and bought up past releases they didn't buy before. Sure the unreleased song Electra is nice to see..but is it worth the entire back catalog we have? I would rather see DVD releases of concerts, a DVD of Time Machine the old VHS....mainly because the way he intros each video.
Yeah, at this point, I'm totally down with some remastered Blu-rays of his live concerts. That would rock hard. I think best of albums are best for people who want to check out an artists they've heard others rave about and don't know where to start. It's also a way to get certain songs from an artist's otherwise lackluster catalog, separating wheat from the chaff so to speak.
- Genghis is craving some bad-ass, hi-def concert action this Christmas...