Magica

Already heralded as the best album from Dio since 'HolyDiver' this Japanese edition is out a week earlier than thedomestic & features 1 exclusive bonus track 'Magica Story'.2000 release. Standard jewelcase.

With the emergence of a new generation of heavy bands spearhead by Korn, Slipknot, and that lot in the 1990s, few expected to ever hear again from Ronnie James Dio. Yet he and his band have soldiered on defiantly. Magica is all big hair, big guitars, old-school metal. A concept album inspired by the Book of Magica, this is good-and-evil, swords-and-sorcery stuff, the musical equivalent of a game of Dungeons & Dragons--and likely to share the same fans. With its guitar solos, stadium anthems, and lyrics about wizards and demons, Magica feels dated, but promises a good time for a certain segment of heavy-music fans. --Robert Burrow