diagnosis: rock
i just found out that ronnie james dio has stomach cancer. awful news. he is an absolutely iconic personality in the heavy metal world, and even at 67 fucking years old has one of the most intense voices i’ve ever heard live - an incredibly massive sound for such a tiny man. his influence in the business goes back so far that he’s credited for inventing (or at least popularizing) today’s use of the devil horns gesture. apparently the cancer was diagnosed early, so hopefully he pulls through, though most people in his condition do not.
only someone as awesome as dio could get away with this: to my count, he’s penned 18 songs that mention rainbows. to name a few - rainbow in the dark, catch the rainbow, hide in the rainbow, rainbow eyes, and rainbow - among several others from his 20+ album discography (including his tenure as frontman for the band rainbow).
but aforementioned cheese aside, he’s also sang a few of my all-time favorites, and i wish him the best. clearly, he still has a lot to offer as a performer in 2009:
