Frontiers (label)
19 February 2016 (released)
20 January 2016
If you put three original members of Dio back together with a new vocalist (ex-Offspring) it is going to be daft to expect these leopards to change their spots and thankfully they haven’t dropped their power riffs and gone acoustic or added overlays of synths either – this is definitely ‘Classic Rock’ with an emphasis on both words.
Vinny Appice and Jimmy Bain make up one of the hardest and most explosive back lines in rock and it is a real pleasure to hear them assaulting the senses the way they do best. Vivian Campbell has great chops as he showed both in Dio and Def Leppard and the three of them showed off Ronnie James Dio’s vocals to their best. Andrew Freeman has been brought in by his mate Vinny and while he is totally different to Dio his vocals are brilliant.
Says guitarist Vivian Campbell, "When we started this project a few years ago, the initial idea was to reunite the original Dio band to play the songs we wrote and recorded with Ronnie in the early 1980’s. Joined by Andrew Freeman on vocals, we played a handful of shows in southern California, the UK, and Japan. It was a limited ambition, but it brought us great joy in reconnecting to this great music, to each other, and to our collective history."
The new songs featured on the debut Last In Line album are all co-written by the four band members. "When we first got together as the Last In Line line-up, our ambition at that time didn’t extend to writing and recording any new music, says Campbell, "but when we were offered the opportunity to do so by Frontiers, we decided to enter the studio to write this new album in the very same spirit as we did the Holy Diver album; Back in 1982 Ronnie, Vinny, Jimmy and I went into Sound City studios to kick around ideas and riffs, and about six weeks later we started laying down the tracks for what was to become the Holy Diver album."
The album is an evocation of classic rock, a celebration of riffery and an unashamed return to the style of heavy music in the ‘80’s to early ‘90’s.
From a listener’s viewpoint the sound is remarkably fresh. Appice is a monster drummer and he really is on form from the off. I had actually forgotten just how good Campbell is but the music suits his style perfectly.
The first single ‘Devil In Me’ is massive but every track seems to increase the power so that when you get to ‘I Am Revolution’ you are completely shattered by the band.
It is a terrific breath of air in a world of average rock – a great start to the year.
