It’s been eight years since Ronnie James Dio passed away from stomach cancer at the age of 68. His legacy is legendary. From ELF to Rainbow to Black Sabbath and his solo career. No one rocked like Dio. His voice was 80 megatons bigger than himself. And believe me, I wish he was still around. Even though he would be 76 by now, he undoubtedly still be gracing the planet with his excellent melodic metal. But he’s not here. He’s passed away and it’s been eight years. And I think it’s time we let the man rest.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying let’s forget him or anything. But that being said we need to stop with the whole hologram situation. And that doesn’t just apply to DIO. There’s plenty of others who’ve had the posthumous hologram happen. And I have no issue with it happening at an honors ceremony or anything like that. But what Dio’s widow Wendy has proposed is an entire hologram tour. As in, a Ronnie Jame Dio tour even though he’s dead. That idea just rubs me the wrong way. A one off show is one thing. But an entire tour?! I don’t think so.
And I don’t think Dio would like this idea. Now, I didn’t know him and his widow, Wendy has reassured everyone that he would love the idea. But I’m calling it as I see it. And when you go back and listen to Dio’s 90’s work with Sabbath and his solo career you’ll find that he is very very weary of technology. The subject is in many of his songs: ‘Dehumanizer’, ‘Angry Machines’ and ‘Strange Highways’ all greatly cover the subject of the consequences of technology. So I think it stands to reason that Dio wouldn’t care much for full on tour of his hologram.
And I know Wendy Dio has been saying don’t judge before you see the show. It’s really not that. I’m sure the show is good. It’s got his band from the last 17 years going out. It’s a great band no doubt. And I miss Dio. We all miss Dio. And when you do watch the video of his hologram there’s a nice comfy nostalgia. But we also should let him rest. He’s moved on and that’s life. And it’s really that principle that forms my opinion on the matter. Not the show itself. It’s the idea of it. The idea of going out on a tour without your lead artist being alive and then using technology to bring him back to ‘life.’ That frankly makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I get that we want to honor our hero’s. And they should be honored. Dio’s autobiography is set to come out sometime early next year. That’s always a good move; having a posthumous biography. And maybe dig around the archives for some unreleased material and remaster the albums with special editions. All of that is great. But that’s where it ends. So please honor Dio. But don’t stain his legacy with a hologram please. Let the man rest.
How do you feel about the Dio hologram?
