THE ANSWER Guitarist Pays Tribute To RONNIE JAMES DIO

May 25, 2010

Paul Mahon, guitarist for Irish rock band THE ANSWER, has posted the following message regarding the passing of legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio (DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW):

"Let me start by offering our condolences to the family of Ronnie James Dio, one of the greatest voices in rock will be sorely missed!

"I first heard Dio when the opening chords of 'The Last In Line' belted out to open up that long lost but favourite program of my childhood, 'The Power Hour'. A subsequent visit to John Digney's market stall furnished me with all the knowledge a young metalhead would need and 'Heaven And Hell', 'Holy Diver' and 'Rainbow Rising' were purchased. I have 'Stargazer' blasting as I write this and it still is one of the most intense and exciting musical journeys ever committed to tape!

"We were lucky enough to meet the man at the Classic Rock Awards and to see him in concert with HEAVEN & HELL at Sweden Rock 2007, during which Cormo [THE ANSWER vocalist Cormac Neeson] was so impressed with Mr. Dio's pipes he became a convert to 'Mob Rules', which was never off the iPod in the dressing room and airport waiting rooms for years to come.

"Thanks, Ronnie, for the great voice, music and performances that will live on forever and rest in the knowledge the world of music and the wider world are a better place due to your contributions! We will all miss you!

"'If your circle stays unbroken you are a lucky man, 'cause it never ever has for me, in the palace of the virgin lies the chalice of the soul and it's likely you might find the answer there!'

"Ronnie James Dio. Rest in peace, gone but not forgotten!"

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).