Dio.Rainbow in the Dark-The religion of anti-religion
This song is an anthem of metal. It is also a signature song of an artist.
Ronnie James Dio is iconic in the world of metal. If you are a fan of rock music- you know this song–if you are a fan of metal-this song is probably branded to your soul and you are baptized by fire with it.
“That is a little strong Mr. Cave Guy”
Whoa…there!… casual music person that was searching for climbing gear and somehow found my website and then clicked on a couple things because you were intrigued by a Radiohead song.
I am not blaming the song.
“When there’s lightning – you know it always bring me down
‘Cause it’s free and I see that it’s me
Who’s lost and never found
I cry out for magic – see it dancing in the light
It was cold – lost my hold
To the shadows of the night.”
Blaming Dio for someone indoctrinating themselves in the world of metal and all it stands for is not what this is about.
It is about us and how we turn everything we like into a religion.
From Star Wars to Marijuana to “My little Pony”—-we as humans have this need for spiritual structure and instead of abandoning it altogether; replace it with anything we find lying around.
Going to church is like going to shows-you meet up with other followers-you throw up your hands in exaltation and you get some more metal religion.
You dress the part – you walk with the other lost souls and convince yourself that the rest of the world just does not get it.
Now –we are getting a little “culty”
In this age of making no money from actual musical product-Bands are forced to market as the whole experience—they have to sell the tickets and the merch in order to make any money.
The music game is becoming like pro wrestling-the W.W.E business model is the future of music. We already have the V.I.P experience and special limited edition boxed sets- Look for action figures and candy bars arriving real soon….can’t wait to bite into a chewy Marilyn Manson!
W.W.E as religion? Farfetched? Have you talked to a 35 year old wrestling fan—-please don’t— and there are plenty of them out there.
I could go on but I am getting off base.
This is a great song-I like this song.
We all have times that we feel abandoned and have lost all hope so we all can relate.
I just don’t think we have to live our lives like that every single day and believe that that is the correct way to view ourselves.
Because-it is a bloody miserable way to go.
\m/ from the cave!
You know I love you metal guys and girls out there- so please tell me how wrong I am with this post-would love to hear from you!
Cave of Fame 
This is a great song! I have been a Dio fan since 1983, have most of the albums and seem him live five times. I used to be a big wrestling fan before it was popular to be such. I was always having my intelligence questioned for liking that “phony sh*t.” But you are right, things today are being seen almost like a religion.
Thanks for the comment and I plan to do more on this song soon!
We are “rainbows in the dark…reaching out for magic.” Fabulous lyrics.
Thanks for stopping by!
I had a band back in the “old days” and one of the most well received songs when we would play was the “Man on the Silver Mt” – it is still one of my all time faves. But this is really great!
I forgot that one but could hear it playing in my head when I read “man a a silver mountain” …the way some of these tunes lay dormant in the brain for decades and then come to life again is crazy stuff. 🙂
I’m agreeing with a lot of what I’m reading in the original post & comments section (though that Manson candy sounds unpleasant at best!)
I think there’s something quite special about a group of people singing along at a concert (an experience that cannot be replicated on twitter/etc.).
I’m also quite hesitant to meet any of my musical heroes for the same reason I’m sometimes hesitant to go to those live shows: if I get the vibe from the band that it’s ‘just another stop on the tour,’ it’s a disappointing experience. I’d imagine, for the rock star, meeting me would be meeting ‘just another fan’ so I don’t need to have that sort of anticlimactic event possibly ruining my love of their music.
Thanks Stephen,
This is what makes a fulfilling post, getting different viewpoints circling around a subject. The whole religious experience of rock music tends to happen more in metal than other genres (as per this cave guy). It has to do with less casual fans and more true believers at the shows…it used to happen across the board but those days are gone. As far as meeting a hero- once that happens-the spell is broken-not saying that is a bad thing.
As I woke up a little early and had my iPhone by my bed, I started reading through my blogs. woah! This one made me get up early on a Saturday to respond. I do get what you are saying. I think back in 1984 when a lot of kids were in their teens metal was a religion to them. Now that those kids are older, not so much. There were also plenty of kids who worshipped Michael Jackson, but oh yeah, they were the dicky kids who stuck bubble gum in my hair when I was 13 and laughed at me for liking heavy metal. You know, I hate to add links into other people’s comment pages but I would love you to read this: http://rockandrollsupermom.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/the-infinite-wisdom-of-anjelica-bean/
Keep in mind that my daughter was 6 when she wrote it, so a little young to be feeling worshipful of much other than the Equestria Girls My Little Pony doll.
Thanks for that link and that was a great post! The depth of feelings for an artist and a song is why we suffer through this blogging stuff. There is much that can be said about finding our own light in the darkness when all seems lost. I am going to do more on this song because it deserves it and it has opened up a vault of emotion.
Thank you Wayne. I look forward to those posts.
Great share, and just last night; I was checking out all the old DIO material from my youth. I was once ignorant of how much his music effected me when I was younger. I was blind to the spirituality angle of it, because I was spiritually ignorant back then. Last night, I was actually reading the lyrics of some of his work, and could see the deep spirituality in it. Truths for me now, in a different way than back then. I had missed Rainbow in the Dark, but you filled that gap for me. LOL. This song is damn deep, if one is mindful of the lyrics as well. http://youtu.be/VUjUIP2ugG4
Thanks man—I do love every single kind of music there is….and it is funny what you hear if you actually listen with your intelligent side as well as your spiritual side. I don’t blame any artist for the way their work is consumed—we tend to be binge eaters. 🙂 We create the myths and legends!
agreed :).
I have no problem with the idea of regarding a metal concert as a spiritual event. I’ve certainly felt that way at many of the concerts I’ve attending, and being an aspiring musician myself, I hope one day to give my audience the same quality of experience. I think we only get into trouble when we put the musicians themselves on too much of a pedestal. I went to see Heaven & Hell back in ’09 because I love the way the music makes me feel and I wanted to spend an evening with people who love it just as much as I do. I didn’t go because I idolize Dio and Iommi, even though those two are my biggest influences as a musician. It’s important to draw a distinction between the music I crave and the mere mortals who create it.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. You could probably write a few books on this subject instead of a quick hit on a blog post because there is so much here. I agree that with music and religion we get into big trouble when we create idols of the people instead of focusing on the source. And I understand that warm feeling of fellowship that only happens when a group gets together to celebrate. The spiritual aspect of any genre is usually not talked about because it is close to the heart and a personal thing. So thanks again for the input and I wish you the best with your own music.
I get what you’re saying. I think when I was younger, my love of rock and roll (and, yes, wrestling too!) was “religious” in the sense that you mean here. As I got older I realized that not only were my heroes fallible, but they were really, really, really fallible. Not the kind of people that I generally want to pattern my life after, although there certainly are exceptions. A guy like Bruce Dickinson, from Iron Maiden, is a classic example of an intelligent heavy metal overachiever. Neil Peart would be another.
Anyway, today I like to use the word “passion”. I love the way music makes me feel and I spend time every single day with music.
Thanks Mike -that was a very eloquent and thoughtful response considering I hit you twice in that post—metal and wrestling!
I took my son to a WWE event last year and was impressed with the quality of the show-The good vs evil-The action movie type ending to the matches-The way the crowd was in to it. Great stuff.
And then I saw a couple older fans with a glazed look in their eyes that scared me-they were buying this-they were believers!
Cheers Wayne, it was a good post! Wrestling and I parted ways back in 1989. I had a girlfriend and a new part time job, guitar lessons, and I had no time…I had to lose a hobby. Wrestling took a lot of time (5 HOURS of WWF a weekend!) and wasn’t at all sexy to girls! That was an easy choice.
But I’ve seen those glazed looks and they scare me too. And I’ve certainly seen people argue online about Star Wars (another passion of mine!) so vigorously that I wonder why it all matters. I love Star Wars and I’m very excited that Episode VII started filming yesterday, but my excitement has been tempered by the prequel trilogy. I’m guarded.