Sign Of The Wolf Unleashes 'Rage Of Angels'

Feb 122 min read

A fierce werewolf, snarling with glowing eyes, emerges from a misty, monochrome background, evoking a sense of power and intensity.

Ask any fan of 70s/80s Hard Rock to name what they consider to be iconic releases of the era and you can be sure the likes of Rainbow ‘Rising’, Black Sabbath ‘Heaven And Hell’ and Dio ‘Holy Diver’ will all feature highly on that list. The common denominator is, of course, that of legendary powerhouse vocalist Ronnie James Dio.

Listening to the opening strains of ‘Tarot Woman’ from Rainbow’s ‘Rising’, featuring the amazing keyboard skills of Tony Carey, is what first brought Bruce Mee into the world of Heavy Metal many years ago, and he followed Ronnie James Dio fervently ever since.

However, like many, he was saddened by the direction all three bands took after releasing so many revered classics, and after years in the music business decided to do something about it – to bring back that gloriously epic and melodic hard rock sound from the early 80s but also featuring the musicians who played on those seminal albums or in the bands.

Thus, with Sign of the Wolf, you can once again hear those epic keyboard intros and solos from Tony Carey, evoking such fond memories of classic Rainbow.

Powering the songs from behind the drum kit we have Vinny Appice, who was the engine in releases such as ‘Mob Rules’ and ‘Holy Diver’, and here he links up with the likes of Chuck Wright and Mark Boals on bass.

No one could ever replace Ronnie James Dio on vocals, but here with have Andrew Freeman on all songs, who took up the mantle when he became the vocalist for the Dio band, which was renamed Last In Line, and whose powerful vocals give the music real gravitas.

On lead guitar, we have Doug Aldrich who revitalised Dio for the ‘Killing The Dragon’ album before hooking up with David Coverdale in Whitesnake, and whom Ronnie described as the perfect fit for his band.

On rhythm guitar is Fredrik Folkare (Eclipse, Nordic Union) who also co-wrote most of the songs on the album along with Mee, to evoke those magical moments from early in Dio’s career while also encapsulating the lyrical depth and gothic romance of that music.

So, for fans of classic releases like ‘Rising’, ‘Heaven And Hell’, ‘Holy Diver’ and ‘Last In Line’, lie back, turn up the volume and let yourself be taken back to a time when music like this dominated the Metal charts.