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Dio Hologram Premieres At Wacken Open Air, Full Tour Planned For 2017

posted Aug 8, 2016 at 2:49 PM by xFiruath.  (9 Comments)

Photo of Dio

Band Photo: Dio (?)

Over 75,000 fans were rocked at the Wacken Open Air music festival in Germany this weekend as the late Ronnie James Dio reunited with his bandmates via hologram.

The surprise performance took place at the end of Dio Disciples' set to close the world's largest annual live heavy metal event. Dio Disciples features members of the Dio band, which last performed with Ronnie in 2008 before he passed away two years later, leaving a void in the rock community.

Eyellusion, a hologram entertainment company focused on the live music market, created the hologram and produced the groundbreaking performance. The Wacken Open Air Festival marked the debut of the Ronnie James Dio hologram, which features the singer's actual live vocals and will be toured globally in 2017, with further details to be announced.

"When I first experienced the full production of Ronnie performing with his band as a hologram, I couldn't believe my eyes and ears," said Wendy Dio. "With Eyellusion, we have been able to get Ronnie back up on stage where he belongs, ensuring that his music and memory live on. I want Ronnie's fans around the world to share this experience."

"We know how much the fans miss Ronnie and the special and unequaled element that he brought to his live performances," said Craig Goldy, lead guitarist for Dio Disciples. "Being able to recreate that same kind of magic for his fans at Wacken was incredible. For so many years Ronnie always invested big in his live shows as his way to give back to the fans, and that is exactly what we aimed to do with this latest performance. We can't wait to bring this experience to even more of his fans and perhaps even a newer generation when we bring this incredible live experience on the road next year."

What's Next?

9 Comments on "Dio Hologram Premieres At Wacken"

GORECUNT's avatar

Member

1. GORECUNT writes:

I'm sure a lot of you are thinking 'sacrilege' But this is pretty cool

# Aug 8, 2016 @ 9:03 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Blindgreed1's avatar

Member

2. Blindgreed1 writes:

Would be a lot cooler if there was at least some audible audio to accompany the image. How many people were there that night at Wacken and this is the best video available? WTF?

# Aug 9, 2016 @ 9:32 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Drum_Junkie's avatar

Member

3. Drum_Junkie writes:

I'm guessing the FOH sound guy got hungry, went to the kitchen, and somehow left the mics there. I could have sworn I heard Dio's hologram sing "order up".

# Aug 9, 2016 @ 11:35 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
xFiruath's avatar

Former Contributor

4. xFiruath writes:

Just replaced it with a better one. Weirdly that was the only clip on YouTube when this article first went up - people have been really slow to upload footage of this and I could only find one so far that had decent sound.

# Aug 9, 2016 @ 11:53 AM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Drum_Junkie's avatar

Member

5. Drum_Junkie writes:

Much improved. Thanks!

I'm honestly not sure what to think about this.
It's cool to see him on the stage again, but it's still not real and seems only marginally different than showing a video in place of a live concert.
While Dio's hologram and vocal tracks are from an older live performance and have a live band backing, it is only a matter of time before other barriers be broken and digitally recreated 'likenesses' are shown to create brand new performances. A supergroup of Dime, Hanneman, Burton, Dio, and Cozy Powell playing a collection of songs from each of their groups? That seems too far, but not impossible with today's technology.

However, this is a chance for a younger generation to witness how awesome Dio was.

IDK, I'm on the fence on this one.

# Aug 9, 2016 @ 12:39 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
xFiruath's avatar

Former Contributor

6. xFiruath writes:

I've been wondering if this catches on and how far it goes - maybe a full digital version of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones or Aerosmith hitting the road with no living on-stage members?

# Aug 9, 2016 @ 12:48 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Drum_Junkie's avatar

Member

7. Drum_Junkie writes:

^ Imagine the uproar from all the Beatles impersonators.

# Aug 9, 2016 @ 1:22 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
Blindgreed1's avatar

Member

8. Blindgreed1 writes:

Thanks xFiruath. Much better.

# Aug 9, 2016 @ 2:05 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address
GORECUNT's avatar

Member

9. GORECUNT writes:

Dime and Chuck are gonna be the next holograms. Watch. sh**, What if one day Mayhem decides to bring Dead back?

# Aug 9, 2016 @ 6:08 PM ET | IP Logged Reveal posts originating from the same IP address

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