Although relatively strong sales at the time of its release would appear to refute this claim, Dio's third album in three years, 1985's Sacred Heart, was a terribly divisive affair, and is largely viewed as a disappointment in retrospect. This is because, although many brand-new yet fickle-minded fans were attracted by the album's noticeably more commercial hard rock songwriting, almost as many of Dio's most loyal, long-serving supporters were turned off by this new direction -- as well as the already stagnant clichés being recycled from prior triumphs. If only writer's block had been to blame, but the unnecessary live audience added to the album's obviously self-referencing opener, "King of Rock and Roll," seemed to point to a single-minded and egotistical leader instead. So when he wasn't putting his ever more despondent (and soon to be terminated) henchmen through the motions on rote metallic anthems like the title track, "Like the Beat of a Heart," and "Fallen Angels," singer Ronnie James Dio seemed intent on strangling every last creative spark out of them in a bid to score a pop-metal hit. Among the top candidates, the synth-drunk "Hungry for Heaven" and the deplorable "Shoot Shoot" proved especially forgettable and contrived, and even though "Rock 'n' Roll Children" succeeded in cropping up frequently on MTV at least, Ronnie's distinct lack of sex appeal (not to mention his 40-plus years of age!) killed any possibility of true crossover success in image-conscious America. In the end, selling out with Sacred Heart plunged Dio's career into a steep decline from which it would never entirely recover.
© Eduardo Rivadavia /TiVo