Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs: “Shame On The Night” — Dio (1983)

Shame on the night
For places I’ve been
And what I’ve seen
For giving me the strangest dreams
But you never really know just what they mean
Oh so shame on the night…

Quite frankly, if I ever do an annual Buttkickin’ Halloween Songs without the involvement of any Ronnie James Dio tunes, then I have unequivocally failed in my duties.

Ronnie’s been gone for 10 years now, and I’m still feeling the sting on that one. The man was and is Rock & Metal Legend. From Elf to Black Sabbath to Heaven & Hell to his eponymous band Dio, our pal RJD helped forge metal in its nascency. And with it he brought a sense of fantasy, mythology, angels, demons, wizards, castles, and monsters, all of it over the top and fantastical and it freakin’ ROCKED.

Plus it was all perfect for Halloween. Hence we included all of the following Ronnie James Dio songs in our playlist thus far:

This all leads up to this year’s entry, Shame On The Night from the classic 1983 Holy Diver album. This is quintessential Dio. It opens with a howling wolf, transitioning into a rather Halloween-esque riff from guitarist Vivian Campbell. That classic early 80s metal sound crashes into a crushing groove… and then RJD erupts with entirely too powerful voice from someone of such small physical stature.

The song smashes through the night, condemning it for its secrets, for its hidden mysteries, for the evil it protects. Absolute Dio staples, of course, and completely magical in his hands. By the time the song ends, with monk-like chants and bells and the like, we’ve gone full-on metal Fantasia.

Full-on Metal Fantasia is probably the best descriptor for Dio ever. So anyway, Shame On The Night is Classic Metal Halloween at its best. Let the darkness hypnotize and terrorize you, Children of the Night.

Shame on the sun
For the light you sold
I’ve lost my hold
On the magic flame
And now I know your name
Oh Lord just go the way you came again
Oh shame on the night…

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