Sacred Heart (Dio album)

Sacred Heart was the final Dio album to include original guitarist Vivian Campbell, who was fired midway through the album's tour. Campbell went on to join Whitesnake and later Def Leppard. A serious rift developed between the guitarist and vocalist Ronnie James Dio during the recording of Sacred Heart, with Dio stating in an interview "...for me, (Campbell) wasn't even there for this record."^[6] When the band was formed, Dio had made an arrangement with his new band which saw them paid very little, but they were promised a larger piece of the pie beginning with their third album, which ended up being Sacred Heart. Campbell has maintained over the years that Dio failed to follow through on that promise, and his unhappiness with the situation drove a wedge between the two.^[7]

Dio had recently separated from his wife and manager Wendy Dio, and Campbell has stated that this personal turmoil resulted in the vocalist's demeanor in the studio becoming "really, really dark" during the recording of Sacred Heart. As a result, the musicians were uncomfortable in the studio and would typically leave after recording their parts, and the band began to fall apart.^[7]

The album, along with Holy Diver and The Last in Line, was released in a new 2-CD Deluxe Edition on March 19, 2012 through Universal for worldwide distribution outside the U.S.^[8] Clocking in at 38 minutes, Sacred Heart is the band's shortest album.

The accompanying stageshow was a spectacle involving a mechanised dragon and laser effects, as captured on the VHS (and later DVD reissue) Sacred Heart "The Video". Ronnie James Dio and his band referred to the dragon as Dean (although the press renamed it “Denzil”).^[9]

The cover art is by Robert Florczak. The inscription around the border of the cover is in Latin and reads FINIS PER SOMNIVM REPERIO TIBI SACRA COR VENEFICVS OSTIVM AVRVM. A possible rendering is Along the borders of dreams I found for you the sacred poisonous heart and golden door. More data useful for the interpretation could be contained within the lyrics to the song "Sacred Heart". Since Latin relies on context for a translation the inscription could translate as follows, "comes the end by sleep I will prepare the sacred heart which is the magic that opens upon the altar".

The RIAA certified Sacred Heart Gold (500,000 units sold) on October 15, 1985.^[10] It was Dio's last album to receive this certification until November 3, 2009, when the 2000 compilation The Very Beast of Dio was certified gold.

Dio

• Ronnie James Dio – vocals
• Vinny Appice – drums
• Jimmy Bain – bass
• Vivian Campbell – guitar
• Claude Schnell – keyboards

Additional musician

• Craig Goldy – guitar on "Time to Burn"

Production

• Recorded at Rumbo Recorders, Los Angeles, California
• Produced by Ronnie James Dio
• Engineered by Angelo Arcuri
• Assistant engineered by Gary McGachan
• Laser effects: LaserMedia Inc., Los Angeles, California
• Laser operator: Michael Moorhead
• Originally mastered by Greg Fulginiti at Artisan Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
• Remastered by Andy Pearce (2012 Universal Deluxe Edition)
• Mixed on Westlake Audio BBSM6 monitors
• Illustration by Robert Florczak