๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ - ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ย ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐โฆ
August 13, 1985 โ Dio released the bands third studio album, Sacred Heart via Warner Bros. Records in North America, and Vertigo elsewhere. (Listen: Apple Music or Spotify)
The record peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 chart. It includes the singles Sacred Heart, Rock 'N' Roll Children (Watch video) and Hungry for Heaven.
Background:
This was the last Dio album to include guitarist Vivian Campbell, who was fired midway through the album's tour. Campbell went on to join several other bands, most notably Def Leppard, Riverdogs, Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy.
A rift occurred during the recording of this album between Dio and the guitarist, Dio stating in an interview "...๐๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐ (๐ ๐๐) ๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐."
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.
Clocking in at 38 minutes, Sacred Heart is the band's shortest album.
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Sacred Heart Gold (500,000 units sold) on October 15, 1985. It was for a long time the last Dio album to receive this certification, until The Very Beast of Dio was certified Gold on November 3, 2009.
Album Art & Layout:
The cover art is by Robert Florczak. The inscription around the border of the cover is in Latin and reads ๐ต๐ธ๐ฝ๐ธ๐ ๐ฟ๐ด๐ ๐๐พ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ธ๐ ๐ผ ๐๐ด๐ฟ๐ด๐๐ธ๐พ ๐๐ธ๐ฑ๐ธ ๐๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐พ๐ ๐ ๐ด๐ฝ๐ด๐ต๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ ๐พ๐๐๐ธ๐ ๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ ๐ผ.
A possible rendering is โ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐โ.
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, "๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐".
The Sacred Heart Tour:
The accompanying stageshow was a spectacle involving a mechanised dragon and laser effects, as captured on the VHS (and later DVD reissue) Sacred Heart โ The Video. Ronnie James Dio and his band referred to the dragon as Dean (although the press renamed it โDenzilโ).
The Singles:
โข The first single from Sacred Heart (Dioโs sixth overall), Rock 'N' Roll Children was released in July 1985. It reached No. 26 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart. By coincidence, it also reached No. 26 in the UK Singles Chart in August 1985, and remains their most successful release in the United Kingdom to date. The B-side contained the songs We Rock (live) and The Last In Line (live).
โข The second single from Sacred Heart (Dioโs seventh overall), Hungry for Heaven was released in October 1985. Many different versions of the single exist; the original UK release had the B-side songs King of Rock and Roll (Watch video) and a live version of Like the Beat of a Heart.
An international version, however, had live versions of the songs Holy Diver and Rainbow in the Dark on the B-side, with a different sleeve design.
The Australian release featured The Last in Line on the B-side, but this may have been a promotional release.
The single peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart.
A different version of this song was originally written for the 1985 movie Vision Quest, appearing both in the film and on the associated soundtrack album.
Notice: Any reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. โ E.N. Wells
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