"Electra" (also spelled as "Elektra") is the twelfth and final single by heavy metal band Dio. It was released with the band's "Tournado Box Set" in early 2010, before

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hel ...

's death on May 16, 2010. It was the last song recorded by the band before that date as well. The song would later see wider release as part of the posthumous compilation '' The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2'' in 2012, and on the deluxe edition of '' Magica'' in 2013.

Background

In an interview with ''Hit the Lights'' series creator Robert Gray, Dio was asked about the ''Magica II & III'' album, which Dio responded: " ..'ve been doing a lot of work on the ew'Magica' album. I believe we'll release one of the songs from 'Magica' that I decided to put together, so that whatever package we happen to hand to the people when we're out there, it's a lot more attractive with one thing they've never heard before. I guess you could call it a teaser. It's a really good song alled "Electra" and part of the whole 'Magica' trilogy. It's sometimes hard for it to stand alone, but I did write an explanation of what it was about, and what the song is about, and that it's just a brief glimpse into what will be 'Magica' again. There's some plans to do that – there are some special plans." The song was originally going to debut during the band's European tour, but the tour was eventually canceled, due to Ronnie James Dio's diagnosis of

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...

. "Electra" is the only song so far that has been released from the unfinished albums ''Magica II & III''.

Reception

Chris Coplan of ''Consequence of Sound'' praised the song, stating that "Dio takes things to a whole new level. There’s a freshness and an excitement to the track. And while you can vaguely tell Dio is up in there in years, it gives the vocals a kind of story to them, a feeling of some noble metal statesman once more addressing his kingdom."

Personnel

– vocals *

Doug Aldrich Doug Aldrich (born February 19, 1963) is an American hard rock guitarist. He founded the band Burning Rain with Keith St. John in 1998 and has played with Whitesnake, Dio, Lion, Hurricane, House of Lords, Bad Moon Rising and Revolution Saints ...

– guitars *

Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban-American musician. He remains best known as the bassist for Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played with several well k ...

– bass * Simon Wright – drums *

Scott Warren Scott Warren (born November 3, 1962) is an American musician best known as the keyboardist for the heavy metal band Dio from 1994 until the band's dissolution in 2010. Scott began playing keyboard instruments at six years old. He first taug ...

– keyboards

Additional personnel

*Wyn Davis –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

*Brett Chassen – assistant engineer *Adam Arnold – assistant engineer

References

External links

Dio's official website
{{authority control 2010 singles Dio (band) songs Songs written by Ronnie James Dio 2009 songs