Master of the Moon
Encyclopedia
Master of the Moon is Dio
's tenth and final studio album. The album was released on September 7, 2004 in America
through Sanctuary Records
and August 30, 2004 in Europe
through SPV Records
.
Master of the Moon marks the return of guitarist Craig Goldy
, who also performed on Dio's Dream Evil
(1987) and Magica
(2000). It also features Jeff Pilson
on bass, Simon Wright on drums and Scott Warren on keyboards, although according to some, Dio and Goldy handled all keyboard duties on the album (Scott Warren is listed in the credits for the album).
One song, "Death by Love", was partly written by former Magica touring bassist Chuck Garric
.
There are no writing credits provided in the album's liner notes. Ronnie James Dio
produced this album.
On the supporting tour for this album Dio went on the road with Fireball Ministry
and Anthrax
opening. He reached into his catalogue and played songs from various stages of his career, including Rainbow
and Black Sabbath
songs.
Due to other commitments, Pilson was unable to tour the album and Rudy Sarzo
took over the bass guitar
duties. Sarzo has had a long career, notably playing with Quiet Riot
, Ozzy Osbourne
and Whitesnake
. Pilson has since gone on to play with Foreigner
, and Sarzo has since gone on to play with Blue Öyster Cult
.
The bonus track is on the Japanese pressing of the album.
Dio (band)
Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...
's tenth and final studio album. The album was released on September 7, 2004 in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
through Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
and August 30, 2004 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
through SPV Records
SPV GmbH
SPV GmbH is an independent German record label.Founded on January 1, 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors and record labels worldwide....
.
Master of the Moon marks the return of guitarist Craig Goldy
Craig Goldy
Craig Goldy is an American guitarist, mostly notably of the band Dio.Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, Rough Cutt, and Giuffria. He replaced Jake E. Lee in Rough Cutt and was himself replaced by Amir Derakh in this group. Prior to joining Rough Cutt, he had played in the band Vengeance...
, who also performed on Dio's Dream Evil
Dream Evil (album)
Dream Evil is Dio's fourth album, released on July 21, 1987. It features former Rough Cutt members Craig Goldy and Claude Schnell, and includes the singles "All The Fools Sailed Away" and "I Could Have Been a Dreamer"...
(1987) and Magica
Magica (album)
Magica is Dio's eighth studio album. It is a concept album and it was released on March 21, 2000, through Spitfire Records. A 2007 re-release puts Magica together with Killing the Dragon....
(2000). It also features Jeff Pilson
Jeff Pilson
Jeff Pilson is an American bass guitarist, best known for his stint in the heavy metal band Dokken...
on bass, Simon Wright on drums and Scott Warren on keyboards, although according to some, Dio and Goldy handled all keyboard duties on the album (Scott Warren is listed in the credits for the album).
One song, "Death by Love", was partly written by former Magica touring bassist Chuck Garric
Chuck Garric
Chuck Garric is a rock bassist who has played with Turd, The Druts, L.A. Guns, Dio, and Eric Singer Project . The current bassist for Alice Cooper, Chuck Garric has played Bass guitar for Billy Bob Thornton, Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent, Don Felder and Journey at the Alice Cooper Christmas Pudding for...
.
There are no writing credits provided in the album's liner notes. Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio
Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
produced this album.
On the supporting tour for this album Dio went on the road with Fireball Ministry
Fireball Ministry
Fireball Ministry is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1999.- Biography :Conceived in Cincinnati in the late '90s by James A. Rota II and Emily Burton, the band moved to New York City before settling in Los Angeles. In 2000 they performed at the two-day "November...
and Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
opening. He reached into his catalogue and played songs from various stages of his career, including Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...
and Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
songs.
Due to other commitments, Pilson was unable to tour the album and Rudy Sarzo
Rudy Sarzo
Rudy Sarzo is a Cuban American hard rock/heavy metal bassist. Sarzo has played with many well known heavy metal acts including Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Manic Eden, Dio and Blue Öyster Cult.-Early life:...
took over the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
duties. Sarzo has had a long career, notably playing with Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot
Quiet Riot is an American Heavy Metal band. They are best known for their hit singles "Metal Health" and "Cum On Feel the Noize". They were founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni, under the original name Mach 1, before changing the name to Little Women and finally Quiet...
, Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
and Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
. Pilson has since gone on to play with Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
, and Sarzo has since gone on to play with Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
.
Track listing
- All songs written by Ronnie James DioRonnie James DioRonald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
and Craig GoldyCraig GoldyCraig Goldy is an American guitarist, mostly notably of the band Dio.Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, Rough Cutt, and Giuffria. He replaced Jake E. Lee in Rough Cutt and was himself replaced by Amir Derakh in this group. Prior to joining Rough Cutt, he had played in the band Vengeance...
except where noted.
- "One More for the Road" – 3:18
- "Master of the Moon" – 4:19
- "End of the World" – 4:39
- "Shivers" – 4:15
- "The Man Who Would Be King" – 4:58
- "The Eyes" – 6:27
- "Living the Lie" (Ronnie James Dio; Craig Goldy; Simon Wright) – 4:25
- "I Am" – 5:00
- "Death by Love" (Dio; Goldy; Chuck GarricChuck GarricChuck Garric is a rock bassist who has played with Turd, The Druts, L.A. Guns, Dio, and Eric Singer Project . The current bassist for Alice Cooper, Chuck Garric has played Bass guitar for Billy Bob Thornton, Cheap Trick, Ted Nugent, Don Felder and Journey at the Alice Cooper Christmas Pudding for...
; Wright) – 4:21 - "In Dreams" – 4:26
- "The Prisoner of Paradise" (Bonus track) – 4:01
The bonus track is on the Japanese pressing of the album.
Album chart positions
| Year | Album | Chart positions |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... Top Independent Albums Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
| 2004 | Master of the Moon |
| #7 |
Credits
- Ronnie James DioRonnie James DioRonald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
– vocals - Craig GoldyCraig GoldyCraig Goldy is an American guitarist, mostly notably of the band Dio.Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, Rough Cutt, and Giuffria. He replaced Jake E. Lee in Rough Cutt and was himself replaced by Amir Derakh in this group. Prior to joining Rough Cutt, he had played in the band Vengeance...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Jeff PilsonJeff PilsonJeff Pilson is an American bass guitarist, best known for his stint in the heavy metal band Dokken...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Simon Wright – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Scott Warren – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Recorded at Total Access, Redondo Beach, CaliforniaRedondo Beach, CaliforniaRedondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
, USA - Produced by Ronnie James DioRonnie James DioRonald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
- Engineered by Wyn Davis
- Cover illustration by Marc Sasso