{"id":98876,"date":"2023-03-22T00:00:36","date_gmt":"2023-03-22T00:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=98876"},"modified":"2023-04-06T09:38:04","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T08:38:04","slug":"news-paul-gilbert-releases-18th-solo-studio-album-the-dio-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/news-paul-gilbert-releases-18th-solo-studio-album-the-dio-album\/","title":{"rendered":"PAUL GILBERT Streams Guitar Instrumental Cover Of RAINBOW\u2019s \u2018Man On The Silver Mountain\u2019 (March 22nd, 2023) | News @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

PAUL GILBERT Streams Guitar Instrumental Cover Of RAINBOW\u2019s \u2018Man On The Silver Mountain\u2019<\/strong><\/span>
\nMarch 22nd, 2023<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Portland, Oregon-based hard rock \/ heavy metal guitarist Paul Gilbert, currently of Mr. Big and formerly of Racer X, has made his instrumental cover rendition of the Rainbow track \u2018Man On The Silver Mountain\u2019 available for streaming, which can be accessed below.<\/p>\n

Paul Gilbert issues 18th solo full-length studio album The Dio Album<\/em> on April 7th, 2023 through Mascot Records \/ Music Theories Recordings.<\/p>\n

As the title implies, The Dio Album<\/em> consists of instrumental versions of tracks originally sung by the late Ronnie James Dio, across his solo career and stints in Black Sabbath and Rainbow.<\/p>\n

Gilbert was inspired to record the album by seeing an individual wearing a baseball cap with the word \u2018Dio\u2019 emblazoned across the front. \u201cI live in Portland where people love bumper stickers, right?,\u201d Gilbert explained. \u201cAnd you get bombarded by everybody\u2019s ideologies constantly. I look with hesitation! But I see this Dio cap on someone and I\u2019m like \u2018I could support that.\u2019 For some reason, it hit me and I just went, \u2018Yeah!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

On his drive home, a plan was formulated to record instrumental versions of tracks originally sung by the late Dio, versions which replicated the man\u2019s vocal melodies through the guitar. \u201cWhen I was learning guitar, even though I wanted to rock, I also aspired to a level of perfection,\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cMaybe I was trying to create some sort of protective shell around myself \u2013 a bit like classical or jazz musicians, who have a really refined, sophisticated technique. Their precision is astounding. They really sound like grown-ups, you know? But what I realised is that what makes vocals come alive is actually the thing that\u2019s missing from all those perfect little notes.\u201d<\/p>\n

In cutting The Dio Album<\/em>, Gilbert wished to pin down the singer\u2019s idiosyncrasies and nuances. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved singers,\u201d continued Gilbert. \u201cThere\u2019s some really good stuff in their type of musical expression, so why not dig into it?! A lot of harpsichord or shred guitar music isn\u2019t quite a fluid as the human voice. I realised I wanted to really dig into what singers have to offer. I could have just gone by memory because I grew up with these songs but in order to learn something and expand my style, I decided to not to put as much of myself in this. Instead I wanted channel Ronnie. If there was something that was not in my toolbox, I wanted to get that tool \u2013 it\u2019s all the stuff you hear in between the notes on paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dio Album<\/em> encompasses riffs and solos originally committed to tape by the likes of Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow \/ ex-Deep Purple), and Vivian Campbell (Dio, 1982-1986, and later of Def Leppard). \u201cPlaying all these metal riffs like \u2018Stand Up And Shout\u2019, \u2018Neon Knights\u2019 and \u2018Kill The King\u2019 gave me serious chills,\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cThe guitar parts of Ritchie, Tony and Vivian brought no small number of goosebumps. It\u2019s nice to be affected that way by music \u2013 it wasn\u2019t just an intellectual \u2018Oh, it\u2019s in this key kind of thing!\u2019 I was getting this primitive reaction to it that goes back to when we were living in trees! It made me curious like \u2018Where do chills come from?\u2019 If you see a cat and its hairs stand up, it\u2019s because the cat\u2019s trying to look big to fight off a predator. But luckily there were no predators in my room!\u201d<\/p>\n

Such fragments made Gilbert the guitarist he became, he contended. \u201cThese amazing riffs are the steel girders of the songs, upon which everything else rests,\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cIt had been a while since I\u2019d been this deep into metal rhythm guitar playing, and it felt like I was digging up gold nuggets of fire with a magic platinum shovel. All while wearing a star-covered wizard hat! The guitar solos in these songs came screaming from distant mountaintops. Ritchie, Tony, and Vivian set the standard breathtakingly high\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to maintain their energy and flow,\u201d he adds. \u201cMuch of my playing was formed from learning these songs and solos as a teenager, so my instincts worked to my benefit. It felt like returning from a raging mountain blizzard to a log cabin, well-stocked with fire wood, and owned by a man who is a descendant of bears!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dio Album<\/em> was engineered by Zach Bloomstein with Gilbert handling all of the instrumentation, save for Bill Ray\u2019s drum work. \u201cI\u2019m hoping that some of his style rubs off on my playing, and I can have a little more of Ronnie James Dio\u2019s spirit in my ears, hands, and heart,\u201d concluded Gilbert. \u201cJust like he sang: \u2018The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams… it\u2019s Heaven and Hell!\u2019 Thank you, Ronnie, and long live rock and roll.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The track listing is as follows:<\/p>\n

01. \u2018Neon Knights\u2019
\n02. \u2018Kill The King\u2019
\n03. \u2018Stand Up And Shout\u2019
\n04. \u2018Country Girl\u2019
\n05. \u2018Man On The Silver Mountain\u2019
\n06. \u2018Holy Diver\u2019
\n07. \u2018Heaven And Hell\u2019
\n08. \u2018Long Live Rock \u2018N\u2019 Roll\u2019
\n09. \u2018Lady Evil\u2019
\n10. \u2018Don\u2019t Talk To Strangers\u2019
\n11. \u2018Starstruck\u2019
\n12. \u2018The Last In Line\u2019<\/p>\n

The tracks \u2018Holy Diver\u2019 and \u2018Heaven And Hell\u2019 can also be streamed below.<\/p>\n

Seventeenth solo studio record \u2018TWAS<\/em> was released in November 2021 via Mascot Records \/ Music Theories Recordings.<\/p>\n

Promotional photograph by Sam Gehrke.<\/em><\/p>\n