The year 2010 was marked by a great loss on the planet: Ronnie James Dio died on May 16, 2010 at the age of 67 years from a cancer of the stomach. He was one of the most emblematic singers of the heavy metal scene and American hard rock having been part of, among others, the group Black Sabbath and his personal training team called simply Dio.
The technology will help him get back from the dead: a world tour of the singer is scheduled in 2018 and it is rightly called “Dio Returns”.
Dio Returns: Who brought this idea anyway?
The idea came to the widow of the singer: why not revive Ronnie James Dio in the form of a hologram? As she explains to the specialty magazine Rolling Stones, she remembers the same experience she had with Dio in 1986: a crystal ball on which was projected the image of the singer.
It’s not just the tour
As technology has evolved, it is now possible to create very realistic holographic synthesis images. Who would have thought that we could come to such an age; where we can revive dead souls using the holographic or an augmented reality technology, if you want?
Well, since the technology is there, why not tour the world with it and the singer’s wife is rightly doing so.
The hologram of Ronnie James Dio was presented in 2016 at the Wacken festival in Germany and two years later it could tour around the world through the Dio Returns tour scheduled for 2018 and which will start the 2017 round in Helsinki, Before traveling to Europe, South America, Australia, Asia and the United States.
Who will be on stage?
For the illusion to be complete and for Ronnie James Dio to come back from the dead, the musicians who accompanied him on his tours will participate in the experiment. Of course, there won’t be a better team than Dio’s own group.
You’ll find Craig Goldy on guitar, Simon Wright on drums, Scott Warren on keyboard and Bjorn Englen on bass. On vocals, of course, there will be the hologram of Ronnie James Dio who will perform his great hits, including Holy Diver and We Rock.
It remains to be seen whether the fans will be at the rendezvous or whether they will consider this tour holographic as a heresy.