Dream Child – Until Death Do We Meet Again
Label: Frontiers Records
It’s hard for me to believe that it’s already been eight years since Dio passed away. It was without a doubt one of the biggest losses of my life in music and as a huge fan, I hated seeing his legacy being dragged and stretched far beyond its means. We had Dio Disciples which was basically Dio’s band without him touring as a tribute. Then we had Last in Line who was Dio’s original line up formed by Vivian Campbell who supposedly hated Dio’s music and the man himself which was (and still is) atrocious. Finally, we had the Dio Hologram tour. Is this how I wanted to remember the legacy of Dio’s music? No, but all that would change with the release of Until Death Do We Meet Again by Dream Child.
Dream Child consists of former Dio right hand man Craig Goldy, Wayne Findlay, Dio alumni Simon Wright on drums and Rudy Sarzo on bass guitar, and last but not least, the secret ingredient in Helker vocalist Diego Valdez. When I first heard Helker about two years ago, the first thing that struck me was that this guy was definitely a Dio fan. It was so cool to hear of an Argentine metal band with a singer who was so heavily influenced by Ronnie that while not a clone, he embodied the energy, the spirit, and the powerful presence of Ronnie’s commanding voice. Put all of this together and you get Dream Child.
“Under the Wire” is an absolutely facemelter right out the gates but it’s “You Can’t Take Me Down” that truly grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and shook me a bit. I literally pounded my fist on my desk upon hearing this 7 minute epic and I just said “YES!” in totally Beavis and Butthead style. The real show stopper for me is the title track which at nearly 8 minutes beckoned back to the epic Dio/Sabbath era. With its dynamic changes and its lyrics, this song to me embodied what this band is trying to do and what they are all about. The band is playing so fucking well on this album and Goldy really steps out into his own shoes and does some of this greatest playing to date.
Dream Child isn’t trying to clone Dio. They are not trying to be Dio but, in my opinion, what Dream Child is doing is preserving the legacy of Dio. They are showing the deep rooted, long reaching influence of Dio’s and instead of flooding an album full of dragons and rainbows, Dream Child has managed to forge their own sword to battle their own dragons. Dream Child is without a doubt the ultimate way to carry on the legacy of Ronnie James Dio without dwelling on the past and leaning on the past as a crutch.
Until Death Do We Meet Again is a dynamically exciting album and without a doubt one of the best albums of the year. I am way more excited about this album and band than I ever thought I would be and all I can say is that EVERY Dio fan out there needs to tune into this. Diego Valdez really nailed his position in this band without overstepping Dio but showing just what a huge influence Ronnie was on him as a vocalist. Now this… this is something Ronnie would stick his chest out for and be more proud of than anything.
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