Magica - Dio

...delve into the story of Magica thank you very much. "Challis" is another superb slice of old-fashioned rock, including the lyrics: "You're like a tear in the ocean, Dust in the wind, Like a stone in the water, I'm gonna sleep with the devil's daughter". Fantastic.

Mr. Robot butts in again before "As Long As It's About Love" which is in no way as sloppy as the title suggests. "Losing My Insanity" ...
...the music. The tale of Magica may lend something to the album, but it is not necessary to appreciate the musicianship which is superb. It is significant that Jimmy Bain, Craig Goldie and Simon Wright have all worked with Dio in the past, as they have managed to get him back on the right path. Very enjoyable, the biggest and most pleasant surprise in a long time.
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The wee magician is back with a lavishly packaged CD including "The Story Of Magica", a fold-out A3 size page containing the closely typed tale of the alien explorers who land on the planet Blessing. And on it goes, but I must confess I haven't quite got round to reading it all.

"Discovery", a robotically spoken intro leads into the "Magica Theme" before we get to the first track proper, "Lord Of The Last Day". This leads seamlessly into "Fever Dreams", a track which was on one of those Classic Rock freebies a few months back. These two are real throwbacks to Dio's glory days of "Holy Diver" and "Last In Line". Great Stuff.

"Turn To Stone" strangely doesn't appear on the insert, but carries on the good work before that damn robot intervenes again. "Feed My Head" gets things underway again with its cheery chorus of "All is lost, Hope is dead". Some quieter passages here, no doubt reflecting some spooky part of the story. More good stuff though, very heavy.

"Eriel" is the Grand Wizard (oo-er sounds a bit Masonic) and legendary hero of Blessing, but I think that's as far as we want to delve into the story of Magica thank you very much. "Challis" is another superb slice of old-fashioned rock, including the lyrics: "You're like a tear in the ocean, Dust in the wind, Like a stone in the water, I'm gonna sleep with the devil's daughter". Fantastic.

Mr. Robot butts in again before "As Long As It's About Love" which is in no way as sloppy as the title suggests. "Losing My Insanity" begins with a medieval slant before returning to more familiar territory. As does "Otherworld". We then get "Magica - Reprise" which is a bit odd as this has lyrics whereas the earlier theme didn't. That pesky robot makes his last appearance before "Lord Of The Last Day - Reprise" is just that - a short blast from the previous track.

That story is then played in full (all 18 minutes of it!), although the narrator is not credited. Maybe it's Ronnie himself?

Not being a fan of fantasy novels, the story behind all this leaves me cold, but you can't deny the power and majesty of the music. The tale of Magica may lend something to the album, but it is not necessary to appreciate the musicianship which is superb. It is significant that Jimmy Bain, Craig Goldie and Simon Wright have all worked with Dio in the past, as they have managed to get him back on the right path. Very enjoyable, the biggest and most pleasant surprise in a long time.
 

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