Customer Reviews

Magica & Killing the Dragon

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ive been a dio fan since the mid seventies when still in high school and i heard rainbow...man on the silver mountain..wow! who is this with such a powerful voice.. then i got rainbow long live rock and roll...i wore out that album as a young guitarist trying to learn every blackmore lick on there...then came sabbath with ronnie at the helm...heaven and hell....neon nights..great album and i also love mob rules....then came the eighties....and dio is back at it..holy diver..last in line...sacred heart....into the late eighties and early nineties....with different lineups....now listening to Magica is a bit different but a very enjoyable experience every time i listen to it...Magica is growing on me....solid album....solid story line!!!

Magica in my opinion is one of Dio's best efforts, it rocks. KTD is real good as well. This is a huge score.

There isn't much I can say here other than it is Ronnie James Dio and the band at his/it's best. I could live without the commentary at the end of 'Magica' but I just skip that track so it doesn't lessen my enjoyment of this album in the least. The other album, 'Killing the Dragon', is superb and doesn't contain a single less than stellar track. As my review title suggests---if you like Dio, you will love this CD. Buy, listen, enjoy.

If you look at the price of these CD's individually at the time of this writing (Magica $45 and KTD $10.99) the price alone on this dual set makes it well worth it. Yeah, the inner sleeve doesn't include lyrics, band line-ups (and with Dio, that was never constant), photos, etc, but does include 4 pages from a fan and does tell who wrote each song on each of the two albums. The quality and sound is top-notch, so if you like Dio and want these two CD's, it's a can't miss buy.

These two releases (Magica & Killing the Dragon) are the epitome of Dio's creativity in the "fantasy metal" genre. All along, fans have been treated to a somewhat loose association of metal fused with fantasy. Here, Dio does 2 albums that are concept-oriented and really truly depict what Dio is all about, and the listener is taken to a magical, chaotic world of good vs. evil. These albums do not stray from the concept, and manage to hold the listener from beginning to end. It's only natural to want to hear the story through the music, and if that wasn't satisfactory enough, we're treated to Ronnie's spoken word story at the end of the Magica album. Many people have said that Magica easily beats Killing the Dragon, but I beg to differ. I think the latter is slightly better, and the music is heavier, which always works for me. Standout tracks from Magica include LORD OF THE LAST DAY, FEVER DREAMS, TURN TO STONE, AS LONG AS IT'S NOT ABOUT LOVE, and LOSING MY INSANITY. Standout tracks from Killing the Dragon include KILLING THE DRAGON, SCREAM, ROCK & ROLL, and THROW AWAY CHILDREN. Role-playing fantasy metal is cool, and only Dio is bold enough to go this route and prove that one can tell a good story through music.

Killing the Dragon is one of Dio's best records, and Magica is pretty good too. This is well worth the price!

Magica/Killing the Dragon is a 2 disk set from the E.U. (Germany?). Liner notes are sparse and don't include photos or lyrics but the slip cover is 3 or 4 pages authored by a fan review stating to the effect that these albums have been overlooked by many fans. Sound and production is normal and both of the CDs content are reviewed separately on Amazon so I think I'd like to comment on the shipping time.

I ordered this on May 31 and received it Aug 7. Its not a deal breaker as these are old releases but it is annoying that Amazon says that they are in stock and "ships from Amazon" but the product still takes over 2 months to arrive.

I've noticed this happening a lot more with Amazon lately but its probably due to their ability to get some really random stuff. While I appreciate that I would like to get a better estimate of the true delivery time before I order.

All that said, Amazon did credit my credit card $[...] when the cost of this item went from $[...] to $[...] during the time between ordering and shipping.

As for the music: I don't get Magica. Its nearly a new age sound. Experimental is what I'd say. Killing the Dragon kicks some serious butt though and ranks up there with my essential Dio of Rising, Heaven & Hell, Mob Rules, Holy Diver, Last in Line, and Dream Evil.