Dio

After reigning as the lead ghoul in TWO prototypical metal bands - Black Sabbath and Rainbow - Ronnie James Dio struck out on his own in 1983 'cuz he knew he could do it better. He certainly didn't disappoint with Holy Diver, the first album from the band that could only be known as DIO. Like fellow black magicians Ozzy Osbourne and King Diamond, Dio had a preternatural ability to surround himself with virtuoso musicians capable of bringing his Medieval fantasies to fruition. As though the molten-metal assault of his band wasn't enough, Dio augmented his arsenal with outrageous theatrics, including (but not limited to) explosions, smoke and fire, a castle, lasers and a sword fight with a 20 foot dragon. Yes, it's that awesome.

Performance values and technical ability have been all but abolished from rock 'n' roll. Attempting anything even remotely approximating a Dio show could potentially get a band laughed off the stage - and that's what makes it great. It takes guts and no small amount of talent to pull this off, and if done correctly, no one can deny its entertainment value. So, stand up and shout! This is DIO!