Dio – Sacred Heart

(Warner Bros., 1985)

Reviewed by SoDak

I must admit that when Ronnie James Dio sang in Black Sabbath (the first time) from 1979 to 1982, I really did not pay attention or care. It was only much later, thanks to Jimmy “Explosive Diarrhea,” that I went back to listen to Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. Having said that, I was familiar with Dio, as a vocalist. My neighbor listened to the early Rainbow records, which I enjoyed. But, like many people my age, I became a fan of Dio when I heard “Rainbow in the Dark” in 1983. I am still fascinated by this song with the heavy, slow guitar riff and the strange keyboard sound. I fondly remember hearing this song blasting from speakers at the state fair in South Dakota in the early to mid 1980s. Somehow it seemed appropriate given the vibe of the carnival. One thing is certain, Dio can sing. He has a big fuckin’ voice that is quite distinctive. He stands among the best, as far as metal vocalists.

Dio’s third solo album, Sacred Heart, is commonly seen as one of—or being among—his weakest records. I do not dispute this point. It is dismissed as being cliché and filled with weak anthem songs. OK, fine, but this is true of much of rock music. Nonetheless, this record serves as a marker for me. I saw Dio for the first time on this tour. He played July 7, 1986, in Rapid City, South Dakota. As a special bonus, Accept was the opening act, in support of their record Metal Heart. As a teenager in a city where generally only country and metal bands played in the local arena, it was special concert. Both bands were energetic and put on a great show. (While I did not know him then, I believe that Jimmy “Explosive Diarrhea” was also at this concert.)

Sacred Heart is a more mainstream record than the previous releases and most of the albums that he put out after this one. The record starts with the sound of an audience cheering, as the song “King of Rock and Roll” takes off. There are so many songs about rock and roll, and few of them are interesting. This is the case here. It is a forgettable song. “Rock ‘N’ Roll Children,” on the same record, is marginally better, as it speaks of the loneliness that numerous youth experience. Some of the songs on this record are formulaic and plodding, such as “Another Lie.” The only thing that saves many of the songs is Dio’s vocals. He sings as if he believes every word he says. He desperately wanted to reach out and let the scorned and scarred of this world know that he cared. He seemed so earnest, and I value this aspect of his character.

Dio sings about a lot of make-believe shit, such as dragons, wizards, angels, demons, heaven, and hell. I was never really into mystical-fantasy tales. Perhaps it is a lack of imagination on my part. But I can appreciate that he is generally describing a great struggle to survive in an inhumane world and that he wants to offer hope to people. This is all fine. But I have to admit that I never really paid too much attention to the lyrics. I remember the chorus and little parts of the songs. There are a lot of references to dreamers, dancers, and being free. From time to time, he told an interesting story within a song. Often he left me scratching my head, wondering what the fuck he was going on about. In the song “Sacred Heart,” he sings, “You fight to kill the dragon, you bargain with the beast, and sail into a sigh, you run along a rainbow, and never leave the ground, and still you don’t know why.” Ah, OK. I am not sure what to say. I suppose that this is because I have never sailed into a sigh…or sailed at all. I get it, as far as this song is concerned, when you dream you imagine possibilities for the future—or as he puts it: “Whenever you dream, you’re holding the key, it opens the door, to let you be free.”

When this record was released, I bought the cassette tape. I listened to side two (or side B, if you prefer) more often than the flipside. The latter half of the record seemed more cohesive and solid. “Hungry for Heaven,” a song that was used in the film Vision Quest, is the opening track on side two. It is a slower, more melodic song, with a ringing guitar and a decent keyboard part. Of course there is the dancer, who dances on air and is about to fall. The dancer is also a dreamer who is told to “reach for the stars, and you will find, you’re hungry for heaven…but you need a little help.” At times, these lyrics start to sound a like a self-help book. But I must admit that I do like the simplicity of the song. It is a catchy tune.

“Like the Beat of a Heart” has a more driving guitar riff that, along with the vocals, sounds a little foreboding. The song even has a couple stop and start parts and builds in tension as the song progresses. In many ways, these dynamics, which continue on the rest of the songs, are what make side two much better than side one. “Just Another Day” is also a more rockin’ tune, where the guitar and vocals propel the song forward at a nice clip. Dio’s vocals are powerful here. He pleads us to break from the chains that restrict us and make us live our lives as if it is just another day. Is Sacred Heart a great record? The answer is: No. But it does have some good songs that embody many of the things that are classic about Dio.

In 2001, I saw Dio play in a tiny, shitty bar in Springfield, Oregon. Kloghole and I jumped at the opportunity to see him play. I just thought it would be great to see Dio play again. I am not sure what I expected. But I must say that the show was awesome—much better than the concert in 1986. It was very intimate, as the band members and crowd shared sweat. The band sounded incredible and fed off of the energy of the crowd. It was one of the best concerts I had seen in a long time. It reminded me of how great it is to see rock shows in small clubs. In many ways, this event rekindled my interest in Dio. Null, who also posts reviews on this site, only fed this pursuit, when he called a couple years later, asking me what I thought about Dio. He remarked that he had seen some interviews with Dio, who seemed like a good human being. As a result, Null and I have spent countless hours over the last few years talking about Dio. I did not expect this, as I generally associated Dio with my youth. But it has been a real joy to continue to enjoy this music, to discover additional insights about who Dio was, and to appreciate how impressive he was as a singer. He could howl and he could whisper. He made his mark and he did it with dignity.