For a large part of his musical life, Craig Goldy was the late Ronnie James Dio's right-hand man on the guitar. So when the iconic singer of Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell and his solo eponymous band died of stomach cancer May 16, 2010, Goldy was crushed perhaps more than most.
Even the subsequent formation of Dio Disciples to keep Dio's legacy alive, which included Goldy's other Dio mates Rudy Sarzo on bass and Simon Wright on drums, couldn't fill the void in Goldy's heart when Dio Disciples played the South Texas Rock Fest at Sunken Garden Theater in October 2011.
Dio Disciples returned to the Alamo City this summer by playing Quatermain's Pub in Live Oak on June 23 (coverage here). As time has passed, Goldy has been more reflective than sad regarding the time he spent traveling the globe and making music with his idol who rescued him from the streets, something he originally touched on with ATM in 2016 (listen here).
Goldy has again teamed up with Sarzo and Wright to form Dream Child, which will release 12-song debut album Until Death Do We Meet Again on Sept. 14 via Frontiers Records. Along with veteran Michael Schenker guitarist/keyboardist Wayne Findlay, Goldy -- who co-produced and co-mixed the record with Alessandro Del Vecchio -- found a gem on vocals in Argentina native Diego Valdez.
To say Valdez sounds a lot like Dio might instantly sound sacrilegious. But it's not as crazy as one might think according to Goldy, who has some strong yet unabashed feelings about the similarity of Valdez's voice to the legend on tunes such as the title track, "You Can't Take Me Down" and "Light of the Dark."
"It was soul-piercing," Goldy said of how he discovered Valdez covering a Dio song, which led to their initial contact. "It was scary. I thought, "God, it sounds like Ronnie had covered his own song. This is impossible!' "
Judge for yourself by watching "Under the Wire" below.
And that's just the beginning.
Listen to Goldy unveil more about Dio and Dream Child that will make you laugh and reflect right along by clicking "Download" on the sound widget below.
{Group photo courtesy Freeman Promotions, clockwise from rear left: Wayne Findlay (guitars/keys), Diego Valdez (vocals), Craig Goldy (guitars), Rudy Sarzo (bass), Simon Wright (drums)}
