PixlBit

Yes he was, and I wish I had seen him slay that dragon!

Wound up not happening, as I got called into work unexpectely, but will use the songs next time. Oh well. Money.

"Hallowed Be Thy Name," my favorite Maiden song. RIP Clive Burr.

"Earth Rocker" - I both love and hate that guy's voice. I can't explain it. I do like the riffs when the song gets going.

"No Chance to Be Reborn" - Sounds a bit heavier (or at least tuned lower) than Maiden, and I'm not sure I'm hearing the "Maiden gallop" in the instrumental, but I see what you mean, especially by the chorus vocals; sounds like a mix of Dickenson and the male singer from Nightwish, and has a really good melody. Whether it sounds like Maiden or not, though, incredibly good song, I think. Thanks for sharing.

"Mesmerized by Fire" - I'm hearing more Motley Crue, but I love Motley Crue; amazing live band too, saw them with Goddmack a few years ago, need to see Priest live if I can. There is a lot of Priest influence in the instrumental, but if I didn't know better, I'd say Vince Neil was singing that chorus. Again, either way, I hear what you're saying, I just hear other influences as well, and it's a great song, thanks for the post!

"Hard Times" - Sounds like a great moshing tune for sure, great mix of intensity and melody. Since we're talking influences today, Hatebreed? I hear it in there, but I honestly thing this band's instrumental is a lot more diverse than Hatebreed's usually is. Either way, Hatebreed is great live, and I'd love to see these guys as well.

"sblood" - Wasn't quite as into this one, but I do like the drums.

"The Reap" - Love that riff.

Great selections today, pretty much all of them had awesome riffs and vocals. Now I know what bands to plug into Spotify Radio on my run today.

Oh hell, it's a community website, we can talk about thing besides games; I did that obligatory game bit on Solar Striker, so now all bets are off in the comments! haha

I think I'm just gonna listen to all his Sabbath stuff.

He was an amzing vocalist, and I actually prefer his work in Sabbath as well. Still love Ozzy, but my friend Austin's always said Ozzy's a "lucky mumbler." I don't quite agree, Ozzy has a unique voice that works really well in the songs he does, it's just not the same power level as Dio's, in my opinion. I do love his music and both the times I've seen him live.

Steve Harris is amazing as well; I'm not at all surprised he's your favorite, I love Maiden's gallop.

As for "Fade to Black," yeah it's depressing, but it lifted my spirits; I always hear that ending solo as a triumphant return to life, even if that's not how they meant it.

Earlier I saw "Lonely is the Word" from Heaven and Hell, now I'm seeing "Falling Off the Edge of the World," was that an edit or is Youtube doing a weird playlist thing?

And you just made me realize I didn't mention Mob Rules (one of my favorite Sabbath songs, possible albums) in my blog, and the way I typed it made it sound like Dio went straight from Heaven and Hell into forming his own band, also I said "ban" instead of "band" ... that'll teach me to use Wikipedia and rush a blog out before I hit the gym. lol

I can definitely see him being a favorite metal vocalist, which makes it funny you mention Iron Maiden, as Bruce Dickenson might be my favorite , but I've seen neither live (and I had a chance to see both at separate times, and damn do I regret not going; them together would be incredible), so really can't judge. I can imagine him blowing people off stage with those pipes of his, though. I think I'd just enjoy the concert you went to immensely, no matter my opinion on who's "better," both are legends.

By the way, is Geezer Butler your favorite metal or in-general bass player, or is it someone else? Is it a metal bassist at all? (I'm partial to Flea, myself).

Love the song you posted, I need to listen to that album in full. I have Dio's Greatest Hits, which I got from a $5 metal CDs sale the Nacogdoches Hasting's was having when I was in college; even got a black tee with "Live Metal" in white print free with my purchases (I have two, went at least three times).

I can definitely sympathize with getting through a hard time with a metal song, for me it was "Fade to Black" by Metallica. By the way, if you haven't seen that Metal: A Headbanger's Journey documentary I posted the clip from, it features Dio pretty heavily, as he and the documentarian hit it off.

RIP Dio m/

I'm just gonna stick with Grimaldi's, which I'm going to for my birthday this Saturday.

As an addendum, I still enjoy stuffed crust pizza, as I always did as a kid, and want some right now.

Little top heavy there Travis... Travita?

I was told to get a coupon to Red Robin; that also said something about my bodily proportions, but in my case, its assertion was accurate, I'm a fatty.