Magica

Magica

With the emergence of a new generation of heavy bands spearhead by Korn, Slipknot, and that lot in the 1990s, few expected to ever hear again from Ronnie James Dio. Yet he and his band have soldiered on defiantly. <I>Magica</I> is all big hair, big guitars, old-school metal. A concept album inspired by the <I>Book of Magica</I>, this is good-and-evil, swords-and-sorcery stuff, the musical equivalent of a game of Dungeons & Dragons--and likely to share the same fans. With its guitar solos, stadium anthems, and lyrics about wizards and demons, <I>Magica</I> feels dated, but promises a good time for a certain segment of heavy-music fans. <I>--Robert Burrow</I>