Dio: Dreamers Never Die

As you may have guessed by my tagline, I am a huge Ronnie James Dio fan and have been since my early teens and it was so great to FINALLY see a documentary on this great singer and icon.

I was only able to see it for the first time today. I missed the initial limited theatrical run as the person I was going with got sick with Covid only days before we were due to go and out of solidarity with him, I decided not to go either knowing his disappointment about not being able to go.

It was then released on Showtime in America, a streaming service not available here in the UK. Thankfully, I was able to catch it this morning and I found it a really good retrospective of his life and music.

So, why have I not rated this a 10? This is because I felt that it breezed through too many Iconic periods in his life much too fast. They actually spent more time talking about his cameo in Tenacious D's - Pick of Destiny movie, than they did about his entire time in Rainbow and his first stint in Black Sabbath.

They also completely glossed over the period from 1986-2006. Sure, the 90's were a dark time for Ronnie as it was for most Hard Rock and Metal artists that made their bones in the 70's and 80's, but the period was not without its merits. Some great albums came out during this uncovered period. Maybe not Strange Highways or Angry Machines, as they were just a bit too industrial for my European neo-classical rock tastes, but certainly Dream Evil, Lock Up the Wolves, Magica, Killing the Dragon and Master of the Moon and of course the brief Black Sabbath reunion album from 1992 Dehumanizer all could have been talked about more as these are albums although maybe not as iconic as Rainbow Rising, Long Live Rock N Roll, Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules, Holy Diver and The Last in Line, they're certainly nothing to sniff at and all of them are really worthy of the Dio name and should have been given the respect that they deserved too.

However, one part really struck a personal chord with me and that was when they were talking about the relationship Ronnie had with his fans and how he would always remember you. I had the absolute privilege of seeing Ronnie 16 times over the years and from the late 90's onwards, and through the kindness and generosity of Wendy Dio, (Ronnie's wife and manager), my best friend and I were always able to procure after show passes whenever he played the English Midlands so I got to meet him about 7 or 8 times in all. The last time I saw him was following a Dio concert in Birmingham in 2008 and when Ronnie saw me and my friend he walked over to us, smiling broadly and gave us both a hug and said "I knew you two would be here tonight, you've always been here for me". The guy was just pure magic as an artist, and human being.

I was thoroughly moved by the final 10 minutes of this documentary that detailed his declining health and sad passing from cancer in 2010 and my thoughts went straight back to that day and the emotions I felt then and I still feel whenever I think about a world without Ronnie James Dio.

I'm glad I've finally seen this now and I enjoyed it immensely, but I just wish it could have been a lot more thorough as a career spanning retrospective of such a great talent.

He was the best and he still IS the best as his music will always live on.

Enjoy!

I remember first time I heard a song with Dio signing on it. It was Black Sabbath Neon Knights. Was always a Sabbath fan, so I was excited to hear a new song because there was the rumors of them breaking up (1980).

At first I was like "this isn't Black Sabbath", but then totally knew it was because of the godlike guitar riffage of Tony Ionmi. Then I was blown away and that monstrous voice! I remember me and a buddy sat there, silent, grinning like idiots. I was instantly a fan after thinking I wouldn't like Black Sabbath without Ozzy.

And, hilariously, there was a scene just like that in the movie. I almost died laughing.

But the movie is killer. From his first Elvis sounding band in the 50s through every band until his death.

Wendy Dio did a fantastic job with this documentary and have such a great gift to all Dio's fans.

I had seen him a bunch of times. He was always so great to his fans. He'd get right down there with everyone, shaking their hands and hugging them. Such an awesome person and so non typical for a star.

And I'm my opinion, Dio was THE best metal voice of all time. He is sorely missed.

R. I. P. RJD.

It's a magnificent tribute to Ronnie James Dio. To me, he is the best metal vocalist ever!

Don Argott & Demian Fenton did it again.

It was so well-directed and greatly balanced. I recommend this to every fan of his or anyone else!

To me, it's among the top 5 music documentaries ever.

His career was examined almost excellently. Even me that I have everything that he had released, has some tips to learn.

Wish there was some talks about his come back era in Black Sabbath which leads to "Dehumanizer" release, his previous wife and his agnosticism.

Wish there were more metal musicians behaving like him.

8.5/10.

I loved this documentary and loved Ronnie very much. He treated me so well over the years and always treated me like family.

There was nobody like him and there will never be anyone who can replace him. He was truly magical and was a master at his craft.

I was saddened to see Scott Warren, Ronnie's keyboard player, was not included in the documentary. Scott should have been included! He was a part of Ronnie's band and family just like all the other band members were.

I'm not sure who's decision it was to cut him or not include him, but it was a poor choice, and I'm sure, very hurtful to Scott.

Like a lot of people my age (57) I've always known he was pretty great. But man... this is such a good documentary of him (I'd say rockumentary but that seems too limiting) and his inspiring life. I watched it on a whim. But I'll tell you if you ever liked any heavy metal at all and only watch one documentary about a "rock star" (again seems too limiting) watch this one. I never knew what a truly great person he was in addition to his increfible music skills. If this movie doesn't touch you in some way and also make you relive and feel good about your heavy metal days (then and/or now) nothing will.