HOLYHELL Members Talk About RONNIE JAMES DIO's Influence On Their Music

June 19, 2010

Female-fronted metallers HOLYHELL, featuring the voice of Maria Breon, have contributed a cover version of the DIO classic "Holy Diver" to "Magic - A Tribute to Ronnie James Dio", a new CD featuring Magic Circle Music artists and friends performing some of Ronnie James Dio's most inspired work.

"Magic - A Tribute to Ronnie James Dio" is described in a press release as "especially poignant because Dio hails from the same fertile upstate New York soil as MANOWAR," which owns Magic Circle Music.

A three-minute audio clip featuring the members of HOLYHELL talking about Dio's influence on their music can be streamed below.

"Heavy metal has lost a great artist and a true gentleman," MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio said in a statement. "I had the privilege of being his friend and, along with other friends and admirers, we wish to honor him."

In tribute to Dio's legacy, famous fantasy painter and illustrator Ken Kelly, the man behind many of heavy metal's most classic album covers (including some by MANOWAR) has reworked his iconic RAINBOW "Rising" artwork for "Magic".

"Magic - A Tribute To Ronnie James Dio" was released through Magic Circle Music's online store Kingdom of Steel on June 18, and will be made available in Germany on July 16, in the U.S. and Canada on July 20 and further international territories in the forthcoming weeks. The album will also be available at the merchandise booth of all upcoming MANOWAR live appearances, starting at the Sonisphere festival in Sofia, Bulgaria on June 23.

"Magic - A Tribute To Ronnie James Dio" track listing:

01. MANOWAR - Heaven And Hell
02. HOLYHELL - Holy Diver (Live In Norway)
03. METALFORCE - The Last In Line
04. MAGIC CIRCLE ALL STAR BAND - Long Live Rock'n Roll
05. AWAKEN - I Speed At Night
06. CROSSWIND - A Light In The Black
07. DEAN CASCIONE - Never More
08. FEINSTEIN - Far Beyond
09. HARLET - Straight Through The Heart
10. JACK STARR'S BURNING STARR - Catch The Rainbow

HOLYHELL's debut album was released last summer via MANOWAR's Magic Circle Music label.

Consisting of new female vocal sensation Maria Breon, a classically trained singer possessing a unique and powerful voice; shred lord Joe Stump, an acclaimed heavy metal guitar virtuoso who has already made his mark in the world of power metal; Francisco Palomo, the newest keyboard prodigy on the rock and metal scene; bassist Jay Rigney, one of the Boston area's top studio musicians; and ex-MANOWAR drummer Rhino; HOLYHELL mixes elements of classic metal and hard rock with orchestral arrangements and haunting gothic melodies, making HOLYHELL a tour de force of powerful, heavy music.

For more information, visit www.holyhell.com.

HOLYHELL members talking about Dio's influence on their music:

HOLYHELL performing DIO classic "Holy Diver" at the 2009 Magic Circle Festival (go to 7:13 mark):

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