Why Metallica and Judas Priest's Rob Halford Bow Before Dio — rollingstone.com

"When I hear Ronnie's voice, I just get excited," Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford tells Rolling Stone. "As a singer, he really makes me want to pick up the mic and start screaming. He's just got that kind of electric effect." Nearly four years after Ronnie James Dio's death, that current still runs strong. It's most evident on the just-released tribute comp Ronnie James Dio: This Is Your Life, which contains cover versions of songs that the golden-throated vocalist first aired with bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own eponymous group, now recorded by a host of hard-rock metal artists, ranging from legends like Halford to younger bands like Halestorm. But what makes the album a true standout is the list of Big Metal Names who have gathered to pay homage: Anthrax, Motörhead, Slipknot's Corey Taylor, the Scorpions. Also, comedy-rock duo Tenacious D, who once smarmily asked Dio to pass them the torch of rock, pay their respects with a mostly reverent, recorder-studded rendition of his 1984 single "The Last in Line." And Metallica, whose Lars Ulrich says the similarities between their own thrash blitzes and Dio's classic, epic heavy metal style are not so oblique, recorded a stunning, nine-minute medley of Rainbow tracks.

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