In an interview with Loudersound, Anthrax’s Scott Ian talked about his first time meeting and impressions of Dio’s Ronnie James Dio.
Along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer, Anthrax is considered among the ‘Big Four’ of the thrash metal scene. In 1987, Anthrax released their third studio album ‘Among The Living,’ often recognized as the band’s breakthrough.
After gaining recognition, Anthrax members had established themselves as one of the hottest new artists in the metal community. They added to the list for that year’s ‘Monsters Of Rock Festival’ at Castle Donington, alongside iconic musicians such as Bon Jovi, Metallica, and Dio. This festival was where Scott Ian got the chance to meet Ronnie James Dio backstage.
Talking about his first encounter with Dio, Ian stated that he first met him while Dio was still in Black Sabbath. He had mentioned their band Anthrax to Dio. After settling into the metal scene and performing alongside Dio at the ‘Monsters Of Rock Festival,’ Ian went to talk to him. The rocker mentioned that singer immediately remembered who he was and their band. He added that Dio was the nicest person you could ever meet.
Here are Scott Ian’s words on what he thinks of Ronnie James Dio:
“I first met Ronnie in 1982, when he was with Black Sabbath. Sabbath was playing Meadowlands in New Jersey on the Mob Rules tour, and I met him quickly after the show that night. We’d started Anthrax a year or so before, so I said, ‘I have a band called Anthrax, we’re going to do an album, blah blah blah.’ He was friendly and polite even though he had no idea who I was.”
He added:
“So we’re backstage at Donington, and I see Ronnie standing there, and I’m, like, ‘Holy sh*t, it’s Ronnie James Dio.’ So I went over to him, and we started talking. I say, ‘Actually, we met before.’ And he looks at me and goes, ‘New Jersey, Meadowlands, the Mob Rules tour, after the show, right?’
And I’m, like, ‘You remember that?’ And he went, ‘Yeah, you told me about your band Anthrax. How can I forget? It’s good to see you guys made it.’ I had that energy in me even before we went on stage. Just the fact that Ronnie remembered meeting me and the name of the band. He was just the nicest person you could ever meet.”
Ronnie James Dio tragically died of stomach cancer on May 16, 2010. However, fans were recently thrilled to hear a new authorized documentary titled ‘Dio: Dreamers Never Die’ will be released this year. It will include never-before-seen footage of the artist and rare footage of him spending time with his peers, family, and friends.
