To be honest, when Magica came out originally in 2000, I was thoroughly disappointed. Not only had Tracy G left the band, but they had brought back Craig Goldy. No knock against Goldy, because he is a talented guitarist, but I just never thought he fit into the band that well. Though talented, he just came off a little boring. Take Goldy out of the equation, and I still, back 13 years ago, thought the album was stale and tired. It wasn't until the best of release, The Very Beast of Dio 2, that I decided to check this CD out again. The song As Long As It's Not About Love, struck my ears and made go re-visit this now cult classic.
Recently Magica has been re-released in a deluxe 2 CD edition. The first CD contains the re-mastered album and the second "bonus' CD contains some interesting gems. The bonus CD, has Ronnie James Dio, narrating the Magica story line, how cool is that? Next there is the bonus track, from Japan, Annica, as well as one of the last recordings by the great one, Electra, which was to be featured on Magica 2 or 3. Unfortunately Mr. Dio passed before he could finish his story. There are also 5 bootleg live tracks included. These could have been left off in my opinion, but I guess they need to fill up the rest of the disk.
Looking back, I'm not sure why I didn't get this CD the first time around. Though it is not Dio's best work, it is definitely a strong effort. There is a nice variety on the CD, from the slow brooding track Lord of the Last Day, to the Rainbow inspired Fever Dreams to the dark ballad, As Long As It's Not About Love, this album pretty much covers the gamut. I'm not sure if the re-mastering had anything to do with how punchy this record sounds now, but I have a new respect for this album. If you love Dio and do not have this one, then you should pick it up in it's deluxe form, because it is the shit!
Bottom Line: A Dio cult classic re-discovered. A solid performance by the man and his supporting cast. Hopefully some of the lesser known Dio CD's will get this sort of royal treatment.
Stand Out Tracks: As Long As It's Not About Love, Lord of the Last Day, Fever Dreams and Eriel
-Ragman wants to see the expanded version of Strange Highways....Please....