Vivian Campbell’s Last in Line Play First Show
Several decades after closing the door on his time with Dio, guitarist Vivian Campbell has reunited with his former bandmates and reclaimed a chapter of his musical legacy.
Campbell, whose tenure with Dio coincided with some of the band's most memorable records -- but ended with one of rock's longest-running and most infamously contentious feuds -- has formed Last in Line with fellow Dio vets Vinny Appice (drums), Jimmy Bain (bass) and Claude Schnell (keyboards), along with singer Andrew Freeman. The band, named after Dio's 1984 LP, made its live debut over the weekend, taking the stage on Aug. 3 at a California club for a warm-up show in advance of its upcoming U.K. tour.
According to Blabbermouth, the 16-song set list included Dio classics such as 'Holy Diver,' 'Rainbow in the Dark' and (of course) 'The Last in Line.' Vintage Rock was also on hand for the show, and posted a full review along with dozens of photos. You can see one of the songs above.
As we recently reported, Campbell is aware that some Dio fans feel his return to the material is in questionable taste, given his lengthy war of words with Ronnie James Dio, who died in 2010. Unsurprisingly, Campbell sees things differently. "There’s no black and white, no cut-and-dried," he argued. "I had a very difficult relationship with Ronnie, and he had a very difficult relationship with me … but a lot of water has gone under the bridge, and for me, I’ve taken all that out of the equation."