The Last in Line

by Dio

Overview

Following the extremely warm reception given his self-named band's well-deserving debut album, Holy Diver, Ronnie James Dio figured there was no point in messing with a winning formula, and decided to play it safe with 1984's sophomore effort, The Last in Line -- with distinctly mixed results. Although technically cut from the same cloth as those first album nuggets, fist-pumping new songs like "We Rock," and "I Speed at Night" curiously went from good to tiresome after just a few spins (a sign that the songwriting cliches were starting to pile up...read on); and the otherwise awesome, seven-minute epic, "Egypt (The Chains Are On)," inexplicably lost it's strikingly sinister main riff halfway through, in what sounds like a mastering snafu of some kind. On the upside, more dramatic, mid-paced numbers such as the title track, "One Night in the City," and "Eat Your Heart Out" -- as well as the driving "Evil Eyes" -- delivered enough compelling riffs and melodies to outweigh Ronnie's once endearing, but now increasingly troublesome repetition of words like "rainbow," "fire," and "stone" in seemingly every song. Finally, the distinctly more commercial pairing of heavy rocker "Breathless" and the power ballad/single "Mystery" gave undisguised notice (along with the slightly sleeker production throughout and more generous keyboards from new member Claude Schnell) of Dio's intention to broaden their audience by tapping into the rising tide of pop-metal. This would bring dire circumstances on their next album, Sacred Heart, but despite the telltale signs of decline cited above, anyone who loved Holy Diver will likely enjoy The Last in Line nearly as much. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Product Details

Release Date:	01/29/2021
Label:	Mercury / Umc
UPC:	0602507369248
Rank:	39632

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dio   Primary Artist
Vivian Campbell   Guitar
Jimmy Bain   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Vinny Appice   Drums
Ronnie James Dio   Vocals,Keyboards
Claude Schnell   Keyboards

Technical Credits

Richard Markowitz   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Tony Iommi   Composer
Angelo Arcuri   Engineer
Bill Ward   Composer
Barry Jackson   Artwork
Vivian Campbell   Composer,Lyricist
Dio   Composer,Lyricist
Jimmy Bain   Composer,Lyricist
George Marino   Mastering
Vinny Appice   Composer,Lyricist
Ronnie James Dio   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Neil Zlozower   Photography
Gene Kirkland   Photography
Steve Gerdes   Art Direction
Claude Schnell   Engineer