POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Dio’s Wagnerian Excess Tops Metal Mega-Bill

Considering how effective blaring rock music was in rousting Manuel Noriega, perhaps the military should consider a similar tactic to resolve the Gulf Crisis. Of course, it’s a more formidable foe there, so it would call for a greater audio nuisance, such as that produced by the Dio-and-Stryper-headed metal mega-bill at the Pacific Amphitheatre on Sunday. The show also featured the Dogs D’Amour, Cold Sweat and Love/Hate.

Just set them up on the Iraq border and Ronnie James Dio’s Wagnerian excess of blackboard-scratching vocals and bombastic rock could cause even the most fanatical horde to gnash its teeth in despair. The show’s incessant flames and explosions made a wicked show of force, and if there’s any doubt in the Middle East that the United States is the Great Satan, Dio’s devil-horn hand signals and rib-cage stage design should settle the matter.

His 18-song (counting keyboard and guitar showcases) show ranged from his Rainbow days with “The Man on the Silver Mountain” to the well-crafted crunch-fest “Lock Up the Wolves,” the title track from his current album.

Having eschewed its overtly Christian content, second-billed Stryper now seems nearly indistinguishable from countless other plodding metallers. The lyrics on the quartet’s current “Against the Law” album may still go against the grain, supporting fidelity, clean living and such, but Stryper’s lackluster delivery failed to put any conviction behind them. And certainly their message seemed lost on the crowd, which was awash in spilled beer and wafting PCP smoke.