ARMORED SAINT Bassist: DIO's Name Shall Be Part Of The Very Definition Of The Term Heavy Metal

May 17, 2010

Bassist Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING, ANTHRAX) has released the following message regarding the passing of legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW):

"Ronnie James Dio.

"His name shall be part of the very definition of the term heavy metal.

"All of us in this community owe a big part to him as he helped shape our entire genre. And he did it with complete originality and sincerity. He is the real deal.

"By now you've read much about him and how every person who'd had the pleasure of meeting the man use the words 'kind,' 'nice,' 'humble' and so on. I can tell you that these descriptions are truly accurate.

"I had the honor of being on tour with Dio on two occasions. Once on his 'Magica' tour in 2001 while I was in ARMORED SAINT and then later in 2004 while I was touring with ANTHRAX. I would watch Ronnie every night side stage and I was continuously blown away by his high level of performance. I must have seen over 40 shows from this vantage point and I never, ever saw or heard a single flaw. You always knew he was a great singer but It was then that I was convinced that he was a gift to us from some other place. Then there's all the times I saw him with SABBATH.

"I can't even go on…

"When you have the privilege of meeting someone like Ronnie — an idol, a legend — you almost expect a person like this to be overly confident, cocky, and they deserve to be, really. But Ronnie was the complete opposite. He really was the most humble, sincere and kind person you'd ever meet. He would always find time to stop in his tracks and say a few words to you. He was so down to earth and generous.

"Through his humility he's taught us all that a man is not measured by the size of his wallet, or trophy collection, but instead by the size of his heart.

"I myself am glad that he chose the profession of singing because even though his body has been taken from us, his voice will stay here for all eternity.

"We're all trying really hard here, but Ronnie, we can't thank you enough."

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).