Customer Reviews

The Last in Line

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After leaving Black Sabbath (and bringing drummer Vinny Appice with him) following the 1982 live album "Live Evil" singer Ronnie James Dio released his first solo album "Holy Diver" in 1983 considered a classic metal album that is highly regarded even today. Following a great album is never easy and Dio didn't outdo himself with this one that's true but it's a worthwile follow up to "Holy Diver". The lineup this time is practically the same as Holy Diver's: Ronnie for vocals, Vinny Apice on drums, Guitarist Vivian Campbell, bassist Jimmy Bain and new member Claude Schnell on keyboards. "The Last In The Line" takes much of the sound of "Holy Diver" but with a few additions to make it a little more commercial (there is some synth work). That doesn't mean it's a commercial album and it's bad, even if it brought more attention to Dio. The album is solid and rocks, especially when you consider how commercial metal music was becoming in 1984.

There is no shortage of good songs here! The opener "We Rock" sets the tone for the album and is a great song to begin the album with, it's a good old straight rocker. The title track "The Last In The Line" is another epic song and one of my favorites on TLITL, I really like the sound of the keyboards on that song. "One Night In The City" is a poppier song for Dio and it works! The chorus is catchy and the guitar work is solid. "Mystery" is another of Dio's pop moments, this one was very popular due to its fantasy tale themed video. I'd day it has a hard edge but a pop chorus (the song reminds me of "Rainbow In The Dark" from Dio's debut somehow), I love the guitar solo on this one. Egypt (The Chains Are On) is another epic song (Dio has rarely sounded this much epic and a lot of what he did can be considered epic) with a slow heavy riff, I really dig this one. The rest is pretty good as well there are no really bad songs or filler material.

I think some of the material on "The Last In The Line" is poppier than the debut but it's still a metal album and fun one to listen to. I don't mean it's a hair-metal album, it's just a bit poppier you know? It's a fine album.Overall I feel that Dio's first solo effort "Holy Diver" remains the best album of his solo career and is stronger than this one. "The Last In The Line" however is a very close second and it's an excellent album, it's in the vein of the first so if you liked Holy Diver you'll like this one as well. If you're a fan of Dio and you don't own TLITL then you're collection has a hole in it it's an essential. For the time it was a very strong album and in fact it still is today. 4 stars, great album.
Comment

This is a fairly strong album from Dio, but if you compare the sound quality to that of Holy Diver, it does not measure up. It's not just a matter of remastering (which would help), but sound engineering. It sounds very flat and canned in. Holy Diver sounds big and bright. I don't know what happened, but none of Dio's later albums sound as good as Holy Diver. Again, it's too bad because Last in Line is probably a stronger album, which is held back only by poor production value. Somebody cheaped out.

THE LAST IN LINE is another great album by Dio, the band. The songs are as good as those on HOLY DIVER, and the production is great. Buy HOLY DIVER, THE LAST IN LINE, and THE VERY BEAST OF DIO all at once.

Rainbows in the Dark Niiigghtchhh, The Lighhhttttchhh, looook Outtccchhh, Its Diooo- A throw before the tosss!! Its his best album, see how its SHINES! Its the Last In Line, awakening the Elves inside of us all. Hear Vivian Campbell's greatest guitar work (IMO), Vinnie Appice's thundering drums, Jimmy Bain's subtle bass lines. This is one of the blueprints of POWER METAL! Better than the debut, arguably better than anything after. Metal fans- Buy it NOOOOOWOOWOOOWWWW!

Dio's second solo album continues without big surprises. There's the same Dio style which started during the Rainbow and Black Sabbath times.

"We Rock" is very good rock song. Dio usually sings this as his last song in the kicks. 4.75/5

"The Last in Line" - a classic, very good keyboards, vocals, guitars and lyrics 5/5

"Breathless" - a good song 4/5

"I Speed at Night" - very fast song, one of my Dio favourites 4.75/5

"One Night in the City" - good work, I have to say lyrically but not so special musically. 3.25/5

"Evil Eyes" - very good song 4.75/5

"Mystery" - there's good vocals and exiciting lyrics 4.25/5

"Eat Your Heart Out" - not so interesting 3.25/5

"Egypt" - a very exotic song 4.5/5

THIS is EXACTLY what metal should sound like. Dio knows EXACTLY what he's doing. He truly is the metal God. Since I got this cd yesterday, I seriously have not stopped listening to it. I got in trouble for listening to it at work today. When I think "metal", I think DIO!!!

The opener "We Rock" is one of the best openers I have ever heard. It just takes hold of you and rocks the hell out of you. It is so cool because in the chorus, when he shouts "we rock!", you know he's so right!! The whole band is incredible, and when they play together, they truly do rock. The title track "The Last In Line" is incredible also. It has an epic kind of sound, and the main synth line is mind-blowing.

The intro to "Breathless" absolutely freaked the hell out of me. The breathing thing is insanely weird and freaky. Dio sings so well throughout the album too. Trading off with Vivian Campbell's awesome guitar soloing, they make one of the best vocalist-guitarist duos ever. Plus, the rhythm section is amazing too. Vinny Appice is one of my favorite drummers, and Jimmy Bain tears it up. The production is excellent, you can hear all the instruments perfectly at all times.

My favorite songs are "We Rock", "The Last In Line", "I Speed At Night" (a great fast rocker), "Mystery" (a really catchy single), and "Egypt (The Chains Are On)". This last song is one of the greatest album closers in metal history. Its main riff is totally awesome, and the whole song is an epic adventure in that slow-paced Dio kind of way.

What more can I say? Every single song is a winner, with the possible exception of "Eat Your Heart Out" which is kind of run-of-the-mill. But other than that one song, all the songs are top-notch metal. I couldn't have hoped for a better metal album. Dio typifies the perfect metal sound. He rocks, he knows it, and he sings about it.

I love this album and i cant believe the guys are still together! This is an old album but its really good. If your a Classic Metal fan check out Dio! The best track is The Last In Line...Its old but it still sends a rush throug you body!

[THIS IS NUMBER TWELVE IN MY SERIES OF RONNIE JAMES DIO ALBUM REVIEWS. ALSO NOTE THAT THE RAITING IS FOUR AND A HALF STARS, NOT JUST FOUR.]

Dio's first solo album, Holy Diver, was nothing short of a power rock masterpiece. Apparenty, he wanted to repeat the stylings again with the follow-up effort, The Last In Line. The line-up is unchanged, and still consists of Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Jimmy Bain (bass), Vivian Campbell (guitar), and Vinny Appiece (drums.)

Now, we will discuss the album itself. Like I stated above, the style here is VERY similar to the one on Holy Diver. The opening track, We Rock, is a mid-fast tempo hard rocker with excellent melodies. It kind of reminds me of the title track from Iron Maiden's Killers album. The title track starts soft and melodic, but soon enough it becomes a hard rocker with an extremely memorable chorus (those keyboard riffs in the chorus are priceless.) Next up is Breathless. This track sounds like a heavier version of Bon Jovi's Roulette, which was also released in 1984. The album closes with the lengthy epic Egypt. This is a slow-mid tempo hard rocker, and after the second verse we get an ultra slow and melodic session, which just plain rocks.

Overall, The Last In Line is just plain awesome. Though it doesn't quite top the high standard set by Holy Diver, it comes close. VERY close. This is REAL Rock And Roll, not the junk that has flooded the mainstream in recent years.

fter Ronnie James' brief stint with Sabbath (which revitalized the latter while putting the former squarely in the early 80s heavy metal map), he forged ahead under his own moniker and quickly left his old bandmates in the dust while quickly churning out 2 very successful albums.

"The Last in Line" is the 2nd of these efforts, and while Dio seems to be losing steam, it has some classic tracks including "We Rock", "The Last in Line" and "I Speed at Night". The album is a step-down from his Sabbath days, but fans of his other work will find something to enjoy here.

If your still leary of getting this, check out his greatest hits CD, "The Very Beast of Dio" - an oustanding collection and then grab "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules" in that order.

Holy Diver was an excellent debut from Dio, and this album, just a year later, continued to show
Dio at full glory. Still, I think most people would agree that it does fall a bit short of Holy Diver,
but still it ranks very high. The album kicks off with one of heavy metal's top ever openers - We Rock.
And indeed it rocks. This is the classic type of metal opener you'd imagine: fast, furious and it rocks!
Excellent. The title track is next, and is the highlight of the album. The Last In Line for me is one
of Dio's top-3 songs ever, along with Holy Diver and Rainbow In The Dark, both from the previous album.
Everything is perfect about this song, and I think it would be correct to categorize it as something
between Holy Diver and Rainbow In The Dark, great stuff! Breathless is next and is a good metal song,
quite fast, decent chorus, and strong solo's. I Speed At Night has some of metal's best solo's, and
has an extemely cool riff. One Night In The City is a mid-tempo song with some strong riffs, that would
best be compared to 'Shame On The Night' from the previous album (nothing to do with the 'night' though).
Evil Eyes is another short and fast rocker, sort of like Gypsy, with strong lines throughout, very good. Mystery is a ballad, with some good keyboard work by Ronnie himself. Its slow but manages to stay solid.
It reminds you a little of Rainbow In The Dark, but surely not of that caliber. Eat Your Heart Out
is a nice mid-tempo song, with nice solo's by Vivian Campbell, once again.
The closing song is Dio's best ballad - Egypt (The Chains Are On). Its a slow song, but has excellent
crunching riffs, great lyrics, and is a real classic. At the same year Iron Maiden released
'Powerslave' which also deals with the same subject, has roughly the same length, and is also an excellent
song, interesting. In conclusion this is a very solid metal album. Not as good as Holy Diver, because some of the tracks
are just missing that energy crunch that was vivid throughout almost all of Holy Diver.
But its still a must for all Dio fans for sure, and for all serious metallists as well.
Excellent musicanship, and Dio has never reached this level of music ever since.
Highly recommended.