RONNIE JAMES DIO: 'I'm Not Really That Impressed With Myself'

The West Australian recently conducted an interview with legendary heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, RAINBOW, HEAVEN AND HELL).

In January this year Dio was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk with fellow rock royalty, including GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash and FRANK ZAPPA drummer Terry Bozzio.

Now with nothing left to prove, Dio stands among those credited with the birth and longevity of heavy metal music. But he is still looking forward.

"I'm not really that impressed with myself," he says.

"I know what I can do and I do that really well. I've got the same kind of status as the other guys in SABBATH, I guess I deserve that. But once you start believing what other people are saying about you, you've got nowhere else to go."

Even at an age when most people are considering retirement, if they haven't already done so, Dio hits the stage with the same enthusiasm and ambition as he ever did.

"I'm my own judge and my own critic, and I'm a harsh critic," he says.

"I want every show to be perfect, I want to sing perfectly, I want the weather to be perfect. Guess what, that never happens. But at least I have a goal.

"As far as other things, I can barely tie my shoes. I can do basically nothing any more but I can still get up on stage. It's a job, I'm no better than the plumber or the electrician."

The legend of BLACK SABBATH has been altered in recent years by the mainstream fame found by Ozzy Osbourne on the reality TV show "The Osbournes".

It's a phenomenon which saddens Dio, who like Osbourne has returned to front SABBATH on a number of occasions.

He regards the various incarnations of SABBATH as different bands despite the same name.

"When we did 'Heaven and Hell' we created another BLACK SABBATH and a new generation of SABBATH fans," Dio says.

"I think when they went back and did things with Ozzy it just reintroduced people to what a lot of people hadn't really forgotten, and turned a lot of people onto it for the first time as well"

As a singer whose image has barely altered in his time on stage, Dio worries that Osbourne's importance has been devalued by his media profile in recent years as a bumbling father.

"I've been saddened by the fact that the way people saw Ozzy on the reality show was the way people perceived him," Dio says.

"We've got to remember that Ozzy was one of the creators of this kind of music, he and the other original SABBATH members. I want to remember Ozzy for the legacy he created and not for some show that attempts to use him in a monetary way."

Read the entire article at The West Australian.