Dio

The words Dio and metal are as inextricably linked as, well, rock and roll. Journeyman singer Ronnie James Dio made hard-rock history with a one-of-a-kind voice that combined operatic range with a fierce, metallic edge. Dio's star first rose when guitar god Ritchie Blackmore handpicked him as the frontman for his post-Deep Purple project Rainbow, and when you hear Dio's mighty wail on "Man On the Silver Mountain," you instantly understand why. The fearsome intensity he brings to Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" makes it clear why the original monsters of metal sought him out as a replacement for Ozzy. But Ronnie's days with Blackmore must've stuck with him, judging from the imagery of power-metal milestone "Rainbow In the Dark," the first big hit for his own band, Dio. In Next Steps, Dio walks a mile in Ozzy's sinister shoes and descends into a darkness all his own.

You've got to bring some serious demonic vibes to the table if you're gonna walk in Ozzy Osbourne's shoes, and when Dio roars out the classic "War Pigs" in concert with Black Sabbath, it's enough to make you believe there's more than one Prince of Darkness in the heavy metal monarchy. The epic sword-and-sorcery metal motif became integral to Dio's own band — when he sings "don't think about the darkness" on "Dream Evil," you know he's dealing out a devilish dose of irony. But he could dig down into more personal depths, too — he's got a more intimate target in mind when he unleashes his haunted howl on "Straight Through the Heart." In Deep Cuts, Dio delivers the goods on demand for the gods of rock.

When you've got a voice for the ages, as did Dio, legendary rockers ring your phone off the hook with requests for your powerful pipes. Prog-metal pioneers Queensryche dialed 1-800-DIO for "The Chase" in which they needed a singer who could soar to the heavens while keeping one foot firmly planted in a hotter place. When Kansas guitarist Kerry Livgren cut his first solo album, he knew exactly who he needed behind the microphone for the regal art-rock epic "To Live for the King." And when the axemeisters from KISS and Toto put together an Alice Cooper tribute track, there was no doubt that the demonic Dio was born to tell the world "Welcome To My Nightmare."

You know that two-fingered devil sign that's become synonymous with heavy metal? Well, it was none other than Ronnie James Dio who brought the ancient symbol into rock 'n' roll. That alone assures him a place in the hard-rock pantheon, but he also happened to sing with a little band called Black Sabbath, not to mention Rainbow, Deep Purple, and Sabbath spin-off Heaven & Hell, in addition to pioneering the power-metal sound of the '80s with the band that bore his surname. Stalking the stage and studio like a sonic sorcerer caught halfway between the Divine and the demonic, Dio was the definitive metal frontman. He was taken from us way ahead of schedule, but the constantly in-demand artist left a long legacy in his wake, and we've waded through the Holy Diver's history to bring you the monumental metal moments that will keep his legend alive forever.