One of heavy metal's major icons will be celebrated with a new U.K. vinyl collection. UMR will release Dio's The Complete Albums 1983-1993, chronicling the seven original studio and live releases from the legendary heavy metal vocalist and his band. (Vertigo/Mercury distributed all the albums overseas, while Warner Music continues to handle this portion of the catalogue today.)

The box, available March 28, offers new pressings of Holy Diver (1983), The Last in Line (1984), Sacred Heart (1985), the live EP Intermission (1986), Dream Evil (1987), and double-vinyl editions of 1990's Lock Up the Wolves and 1993's Strange Highways. These pressings use the latest masterings and have not been newly remastered or pressed for color vinyl; artwork has been faithfully reproduced, however, with replicas of the original album jackets and inner sleeves. What you get, then, is the classic sound of Dio's first decade as heard all over rock radio, in concert and on MTV.

Already celebrated for his distinct vocal range and stints in Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath (replacing Ozzy Osbourne), 1983 saw Ronnie James Dio return to spearheading an original band, recruiting Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice, bassist Jimmy Bain and guitarist Vivian Campbell (later of Def Leppard). Holy Diver was a qualified success in the metal world that performed respectably with mainstream audiences, going double platinum in America - but a metal-hungry Europe and England were particularly enthused, making it a Top 20 album (and the band's next three studio albums Top 10s). The Last in Line (1984) and Sacred Heart (1986) added keyboards from Claude Schnell; this lineup was memorialized on the concert mini-album Intermission in 1986, but one studio track, "Time to Burn," introduced Craig Goldy, the guitarist who would replace Campbell. This quintet recorded 1987's Dream Evil, but their remaining albums for Mercury would feature Dio heading all-new line-ups. On 1990's Lock Up the Wolves, he was joined by guitarist Rowan Robertson, bassist Teddy Cook, Swedish keyboardist Jens Johansson (a sideman for Yngwie Malmsteen) and drummer Simon Wright, fresh off a stint with AC/DC. Three years later, after briefly returning to Black Sabbath, Strange Highways was recorded by Dio, a reunited Appice, guitarist Tracy G and ex-Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson.

You can pre-order or import the box at the below links. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Dio, The Complete Albums 1983-1993 (Mercury/UMR (U.K.), 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

LP 1: Holy Diver (Vertigo VERS 5 (U.K.), 1983)

LP 2: The Last in Line (Vertigo VERL 16 (U.K.), 1984)

LP 3: Sacred Heart (Vertigo VERH 30 (U.K.), 1985)

LP 4: Intermission (Vertigo VERB 40 (U.K.), 1986)

LP 5: Dream Evil (Vertigo VERH 46 (U.K.), 1987)

LP 6-7: Lock Up the Wolves (Vertigo 846 033-1 (U.K.), 1990)

LP 8-9: Strange Highways (Vertigo 518 486-1 (U.K.), 1993)