Metal Underground.com

If one were grading for good intent, "Ronnie James Dio This Is Your Life" would merit an automatic five skulls. It's a heartfelt tribute to one of the great voices of metal -- and the proceeds go to help fight cancer. Grading it purely musically, it's much more of a mixed bag.

Things get off to a superb start with Anthrax's take on Black Sabbath's "Neon Knights." Joey Belladonna manages to convey the same level of power that Ronnie gave the track without resorting to an out-and-out impersonation of Dio. Just as they did with AC/DC's "TNT" on the superb "Anthems" EP, the band adds enough of its trademark crunch at the end to make the tune their own.

Then, Tenacious D offers up a take on "The Last In Line" that perfectly straddles the line between their more acoustic style and the Dio original. Are Jack Black's vocals a little over the top? Sure, but that's part of the fun.

Another highlight of the disc is the Scorpions' take on the Rainbow chestnut "The Temple Of The King." Turning an acoustic tune electric pays off -- and the tune really begins to feel more like the Scorps than Rainbow, and I mean that in the best possible way.

Metallica's "Ronnie Rising Medley" is a sheer delight from beginning to end, especially when the band launches into "Kill The King." Those expecting that James Hetfield's vocals would fall short of the mark will be quite pleasantly surprised with how well he acquits himself here.

Also, I have to say that having Ronnie put the capper on things with the piano ballad title track (which was originally on the "Angry Machines" album) is a nice touch.

On the downside, there are a few tracks that just plain miss the mark. Most surprising is the misfire delivered by Rob Halford on "Man On The Silver Mountain." The Judas Priest frontman delivers what will likely go down as one of his most boring vocals.

No one expects a Dio-level vocal performance from Lemmy Kilmister, but bringing in Saxon's Biff Byford on Motorhead's take on the groupie anthem "Starstruck" fails to pay off. Corey Taylor's take on "Rainbow In The Dark" is also not all that impressive.

At its best, "Ronnie James Dio This Is Your Life" is an effective tribute to one of metal's finest frontmen. A handful of lesser performances do detract somewhat from the disc, bit the cause is just and the hearts are definitely in the right place.