Heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio lost his battle with stomach cancer one year ago today. A relatively late bloomer, he didn’t truly rise to prominence until he was in his mid-thirties; he served in Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow and Black Sabbath before fronting his own self-titled outfit. Now Swedish lounge metal band Hellsongs have released their version of Dio’s “Stand Up and Shout,” originally on 1983’s Holy Diver. Continue reading »
Tribute albums give established artists a chance to tip their hat to a friend or influence and provide valuable exposure for up-and-coming acts looking to access a larger audience. Once in a while, a strange theme pops up – remember, SIN-atra the heavy metal tribute to Ol’ Blue Eyes drops March 29th! It seems like a lot of tribute album news has cropped up in the past week, so Cover Me rounded up the most interesting-looking ones. Continue reading »
Cover News is a weekly feature keeping you up to date on the goings-on in the world of cover tunes, tribute albums, etc. At the bottom we showcase the submissions we’ve been sent in the past week (send us yours)! As always, follow Cover Me on Twitter for the latest news.
This Week’s News
May’s Cover Commissions has hit the ground running. Cast your vote for what song Christina Cone and the Best Intentions should cover? [Cover Me]
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Dio has rocked for a long long time…
As you’ve probably heard, legendary metal singer Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer yesterday. The man fronted a an impressive list of heavy metal bands, popularized the devil’s horns and inspired the Tenacious D song from which the above line comes (which he apparently took in good humor). He rose to superstardom as Ozzy Osbourne’s replacement in Black Sabbath, so today we take a look at the Godfathers of Metal. Technically Dio only sang one of the songs covered here, but is it our fault that “T.V. Crimes” didn’t have quite the impact of “Paranoid”?
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