JORN – Dio

There is no question Ronnie James Dio was one of the most influential singers of our time. His legacy will surely live on for years to come and many tribute albums and songs will be made in his honor. Jorn Lande has provided us with the first such offering. Although Jorn has been working on this album since 2009, the timing of this release couldn’t be any better; just 3 ½ months following Dio’s unfortunate passing.

Dio is a collection of cover songs spanning Ronnie James Dio’s long and illustrious career. There is also one new original song, “Song For Ronnie James”, in which Jorn pays homage by praising “Like a book of Revelation, I will find my inspiration. You were always there if I’m in Hell or Heaven.” “Song For Ronnie James” has a classic Dio-esque sound and feel. Jorn uses many Dio lyrics and song title references through the entire track to pay the ultimate tribute to the man.

Jorn focuses mostly on Dio’s solo career for many of the tracks in the album. Although Jorn’s vocals resemble Dio’s, to a degree, he does not try to copy or mirror Dio’s work. He does have his own unique sound and incorporates that well. Jorn also does not try to reproduce the songs note for note, he add his own nuances and subtle differences. A good example is the song “Shame On The Night”, which opens with a cryptic keyboard chord not heard in the original song. He also extends it somewhat at the end by adding some vocal runs and background effects which takes the song to a much higher level than Dio’s original recording. There are similar expressions in nearly every track which a trained Dio fan will be able to easily discern.

One of the most exciting tracks on the album is “Lonely Is The Word/Letters From Earth” which turns out to be essentially a medley of Dio’s work from Black Sabbath. You will hear pieces of “Sign Of The Southern Cross” and “Children Of The Sea” at the end of the song. Unfortunately the album only features one track from Dio’s work in Rainbow which is “Kill The King.”

Even though Jorn is the key ingredient in this album, what really makes it exceed above and beyond are the brilliant guitar work from the three featured guitarists. Tor Erik Myhre, Igor Gianola, and Tore Moren all have exceptional performances and really drive this album into greatness. Of course Dio was known for having first-rate guitarists perform on his albums, and Jorn’s axemen are equally as qualified.

Dio is a tremendous tribute to the life and music of the late Ronnie James Dio. Although Jorn intended for Dio to hear this work, all Dio fans can appreciate the labor of love that was put into this album. If you are expecting Jorn to simply impersonate Dio’s work, then you will be pleasantly surprised. Jorn takes the great music of Dio and elevates it to a higher plane. The only thing that Jorn does copycat is a significant amount of passion in his singing, and even the great Ronnie James Dio would appreciate that.