Strange Highways

Strange Highways is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio. It's also their first album since Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice's reunion tour with Black Sabbath. The European release was on Vertigo, in October 1993; the U.S. release was on Reprise Records, in January 1994.

For the collection of the same name by Dean Koontz, see Strange Highways (story collection).
Strange Highways
Studio album by
Dio
ReleasedOctober 25, 1993 (Europe & Japan)
January 26, 1994 (US/Canada)
RecordedRumbo Recorders,
Los Angeles, California
GenreDoom metal, heavy metal
Length53:36
LabelReprise (North America)
Vertigo (rest of the world)
ProducerMike Fraser
Dio chronology
Lock Up the Wolves
(1990)		 Strange Highways
(1993)		 Angry Machines
(1996)
Ronnie James Dio chronology
Dehumanizer
(1992)		 Strange Highways
(1993)		 Angry Machines
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[2]
Entertainment Weekly(B−)[3]

After the short-lived reunion with Black Sabbath for the recording of the album Dehumanizer (1992) and the subsequent tour, Dio and Appice returned to Dio's solo group, hiring Tracy Grijalva as new guitarist. Former Dio bassist Jimmy Bain was to make a return to the band, but he was soon sacked by Dio and replaced by Jeff Pilson.[4] It is considered Dio's heaviest and darkest album.

"Hollywood Black" was demoed by Black Sabbath during the Dehumanizer sessions. "Whether it's the same, I don't know…" Tony Iommi remarked of Dio's version (before hearing it). "Could be the same lyrics – probably is. I wouldn't think he would use the same music."[5]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Ronnie James Dio, music as stated.

Side one
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Jesus, Mary & the Holy Ghost"Dio, Tracy Grijalva, Jeff Pilson4:13
2."Firehead"Vinny Appice, Dio, Grijalva, Pilson4:06
3."Strange Highways"Appice, Dio, Grijalva, Pilson6:54
4."Hollywood Black"Dio, Grijalva, Appice5:10
5."Evilution"Appice, Dio, Grijalva, Pilson5:37
Side two
No.TitleMusicLength
6."Pain"Appice, Dio, Grijalva4:14
7."One Foot in the Grave"Appice, Dio, Grijalva, Pilson4:01
8."Give Her the Gun"Dio, Grijalva, Pilson5:58
9."Blood from a Stone"Appice, Dio, Grijalva, Pilson4:14
10."Here's to You"Appice, Dio, Grijalva, Pilson3:24
11."Bring Down the Rain"Appice, Dio, Grijalva, Pilson5:45

Personnel
Dio
Production

Charts
Album
Year Chart Position
1994 German Albums Chart[7] 79
U.S. Billboard 200[8] 142

References
  1. Anderson, Jason. "Strange Highways - Dio". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
  2. Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  3. Sinclair, Tom (1994-01-28). "Strange Highways Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
  4. Metal Rules - Jeff Pilson interview
  5. Southern Cross No.19, March 1997
  6. Saulnier, Jason (24 March 2012). "Vinny Appice Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  7. "Album – DIO, Strange Highways". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
  8. "Strange Highways Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
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