Review Summary: Severely underrated about 3.5 out of. I'd personally say that this is just as good as Dream Evil. This is all just my opinion, but it's not a bad album.
First of all, this is a severely underrated album. I know it's very different from the original albums, like Holy Diver, or Last in Line, but it's actually still a really good album.
Institutional Man, the opener, offers a nice guitar riff, a nice bridge, and a very pounding bass line. The sound of the guitar is very thick, but in a good way. The more I listen to this song, the better it gets. Especially that guitar solo, which helped the son become a great Institutional Man.
Then onto the much more lively Don't Tell the Kids, which has amazing drumming from Vinny Appice, some shaming guitar work from Tracy G (Grijalva), and a pounding Jeff Pilson bass line. Very upbeat.
Next onto my least favourite song on the album, Black. The opening riff is terrible, and it doesn't get much better. I don't have a lot to say for this song.
Onto Hunter of the Heart. Wow! What a bassline. Badass guitar work. Badass riff and powerful vocals and lyrics. "I've known you from the start, Hunter of the Heart". I love this song.
Next we have the longest song on the album. Stay Out of My Mind. A seven minute underrated gem. The vocals are so powerful and the bridge sounds like it could have been plucked from Crash Bandicoot.
Straight onto Big Sister, where the album takes a short drop in quality. The riff is good, but what I don't particularly like about this song is the off-putting intro, of Ronnie shouting "Who controls your mind?" It's very off putting.
"Every Sunday, double Monday". Double Monday, the shortest, but most underrated song on the album. Powerful lyrics and great vocal melody, with very gutsy guitar work by Tracy G and great rhythm section.
Golden Rules is also quite underrated amongst Dio fans, as it is a more upbeat powerful song, which could be shown a little bit more appreciation.
However, not much to say here.
Dying in America has a nice acoustic intro and great didstorted guitar work with great spark vocals to accompany the great instrumental section.
This is Your Life is the most inspirational, beautiful Dio song there is. It was originally written by Tracy G on guitar, but was stripped down to just piano by Scott Warren and Dio sing with some strings going in the back (Violin). It conveys an important message, which is to value your time on Earth, as life's too short and it won't last forever. As far as closers go, I'd say Angry Machines is the best Dio one, along with Shame on the Night on Holy Diver.
In short, this album is dangerously underrated, and personally I think it is just as good as Dream Evil. It certainly continues a very similar sound to Strange Highways. In a star rating, I'd give it about a 3.5/5 or 7/10. Give it a listen with positive thoughts. Thanks for reading. Rock on Ronnie R.I.P. π€π»π€π»
