DIO rocks House of Blues

DIO rocked the packed House of Blues in L.A. on Wednesday night, entertaining the crowd with classics like "Sunset Superman," "Gypsy," "Man on the Silver Mountain," "Holy Diver," "Rainbow in the Dark," "The Last in Line," "The Mob Rules," and "We Rock," plus the entire Magica album (save for the spoken narrative at the end), played in order. It was a bold move considering the concept album just came out, but the songs went over very well with the crowd that included CARMINE APPICE, BULLETBOYS' LONNIE VENCENT (now sporting short and spiky hair), and RYAN COOK and BRIAN SAPUTO of HAIR OF THE DOG, whose new album Rise will be released on Tuesday, April 4. Dio will be on tour for at least a year, according to RONNIE DIO, and there may be some kind of video, video game, or animated version of Magica down the line. Subscribers to the Members section of Metal Edge Online will be able to view exclusive interview footage of Dio and Hair of the Dog next week, while WARRANT, UNION, JAMES KOTTAK, and ARMORED SAINT are already available. SKID ROW will be on the site by tomorrow. We have been told from a reasonably reliable source that Marty Freidman has NOT left MEGADETH entirely, and that he is trying to work out his differences with Dave Mustaine. Al Pitrelli was filling in for a brief stint in January. RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE are trying to rearrange their schedule so they can appear at a May 7 New York rally for controversial death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. Even if they can't make it, Rage are "lending their name to the event to help us get others," the event organizer says. FILTER will be joined on tour by VERUCA SALT for 13 dates starting Monday in Blacksburg, Va. Veruca Salt are gearing up for the May 16 release of Resolver, their first album since the departure of singer-guitarist Nina Gordon two years ago. MÖTLEY CRÜE's New Tattoo album will be released June 20, and the band's Maximum Rock summer tour, with MEGADETH supporting, will begin around the same time. A computer game is in the works to coincide with the album's release. POISON has changed the name of its forthcoming album from Live + 5 to Power to the People, but it will still feature live tracks recorded last summer and five new studio cuts, including "I Hate Every Bone in Your Body But Mine," with C.C. DeVILLE on vocals. The band's tour with CINDERELLA, DOKKEN, and SLAUGHTER will kick off June 13 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. No word yet on whether Cinderella's Portrait debut will be out in time for the tour, but Dokken's live disc will be out April 18, with a video and DVD in the works to follow. Looks like the information we had was false...While fans have hoped for a TESLA reunion, it isn't going to happen in the near future. JEFF KEITH and TOMMY SKEOCH are recording with their band BAR SEVEN (formerly SOFA KING) and BRIAN WHEAT is busy with SOUL MOTOR. If you think the current wave of TV game shows don't have enough rock music questions, check out Ultimate Band's Fantasy Music game. Starting April 1, you'll be able to play for cash and prizes at www.ultimateband.com.