Dio - The Very Beast of Dio

The first domestically available Dio anthology (following the 1994 German import Diamonds), Rhino's The Very Beast of Dio is jam-packed with 16 tracks taken from the band's seven Warner and Reprise albums (spanning the years 1983-1994). Which is to say, it's an excellent overview of the band's career, especially given the unevenness of some of their albums. Ronnie James Dio honed his metal chops singing lead in both Rainbow and Black Sabbath, and his own band is sort of a reflection of both: the sinister, medievally gothic elegance of the former, and the crushingly heavy, doom-laden riffs of the latter. That combination, plus solid songwriting, made Dio's best work some of the most invigorating British metal of the '80s, and those qualities are best concentrated here. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Name Credits Allen Abrahamson Engineer Andy Udoff Assistant Engineer Angelo Arcuri Engineer Bill Inglot Remastering Bill Sienkiewicz Cover Art Charlie Brocco Assistant Engineer Claude Schnell Keyboards Daniel Goldmark Editorial Research David McLees Compilation Producer Don Evans Mixing Assistant Gary McGachan Assistant Engineer Gary Peterson Annotation Guy Chabernau Engineer Hugh Brown Creative Director Jeff Pilson Keyboards, Bass Jens Johansson Keyboards Jimmy Bain Keyboards, Bass Jo Motta Project Coordinator Mike Fraser Producer, Mixing, Engineer Neil Zlozower Photography Nick Basich Assistant Engineer Nigel Green Mixing Ray Leonard Assistant Engineer Richard Markowitz Assistant Engineer Ronnie James Dio Vocals, Compilation Producer, Keyboards, Producer Rowan Robertson Guitar Sevie Bates Design, Art Direction Simon Wright Drums Steven Strassman Assistant Engineer Teddy Cook Bass Tom Biener Engineer Tony Platt Mixing, Engineer, Producer Vinny Appice Drums Vivian Campbell Guitar Wendy Dio Compilation Producer Yan Memmi Mixing Assistant