Ronnie James Dio in the band that “destroyed” heavy metal

This was a time when vigilante parents were literally sowing the land around a kindergarten to find secret tunnels. Gene Simmons from Kiss has once again been accused of having a truly nerdy tongue. This was when good guy Rob Halford from Judas Priest was vilified for writing suicidal messages into his music, and he very astutely stated: “Why would I want to kill our fan base? If I were coding messages it would definitely be to encourage our fans to buy more singles.” Fair point if I’ve heard that, but this was a time when common sense and sensitivity really went out the window.

Central to this was the new medium of MTV. The channel made music a visual luxury. But according to Ronnie James Dio, it also helped kill the most thriving genre of the age. “MTV killed heavy metal music,” says Rainbow singer Headbanger’s Ball. “You had to have a video, which is very true; If you didn’t, you’re doomed. And I think we all hated it.

Suddenly there was pressure on bands that was more than just musical. Many heavy metal bands certainly knew how to perform on stage, but looking cool amidst clips of a scantily clad Madonna and a breakdancing crew is a whole different ball game. “Those who didn’t grow up in the video era hated it because then we had to be something that competed with something we didn’t like,” he continued. “Suddenly we had headbands.”

Heavy metal, once a world of deep curiosity for outsiders, was suddenly forced to move away from the mysticism that made it so explosive in the first place and sell itself in a safe commercial way. In one very quick step, he moved from Satanic Panic to the version approved for broadcast. For Dio, this ironically led him down a more troubling path. He commented: “It was just about how they looked, how many parties they had to throw and how many 14-year-old girls they could attract after the show. The music was terrible.”

But there was no difference between the perverted imposters and the fraudsters who played the game. Musical examples such as Dio. This transformed the waters of metal into something far more insidious than ever before, ironically bringing elements of demonic panic horror to life. “They destroyed what the rest of us created,” Dio said. He singles out one group in particular: “There should be a (sign) that says, ‘Poison killed everything.’”

The group became a major part of the MTV era and the rest is history. “Honestly, I think these types of groups do that. These ‘things’ that show up and make up, you know. What’s all this about? This is not metal,” Dio decided solemnly. “I’m sorry, but it’s not like that. It’s become a Bon Jovi world rather than a Led Zeppelin world, and suddenly no one knows what it is anymore. When I started out, when I did the things I did with the people I did them with, it was a kind of music, hard rock music.”

At that stage he channeled the weight of the world into proper progress. This was the ostentatious funeral procession of the 1960s and our dreams of a liberated utopia. But when MTV came along, he had entered the system he had once opposed. “Suddenly you’re not the same person,” Dio says.

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