"Electra" is the thirteenth and final single by heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Dio

Dio (band)

Dio was an American heavy metal band from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, after he left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath member, drummer Vinny Appice. Naming the band Dio made sense from a commercial...

. It was released with the band's "Tournado Box Set" in early 2010, before Ronnie James Dio

Ronnie James Dio

Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...

's death on May 16, 2010. It was the last song recorded by the band before that date as well.

Background

In an interview with Hit the Lights series creator Robert Gray, Dio was asked about the Magica II & III album, which Dio responded: "[...]I've been doing a lot of work on the [new] 'Magica' album. I believe we'll release one of the songs from 'Magica' that I decided to put together, so that whatever package we happen to hand to the people when we're out there, it's a lot more attractive with one thing they've never heard before. I guess you could call it a teaser. It's a really good song [called "Electra"], and part of the whole 'Magica' trilogy. It's sometimes hard for it to stand alone, but I did write an explanation of what it was about, and what the song is about, and that it's just a brief glimpse into what will be 'Magica' again. There's some plans to do that - there are some special plans."

The song was originally going to debut during the band's European tour, but the tour was eventually canceled, due to Ronnie James Dio's diagnosis of stomach cancer

Stomach cancer

Gastric cancer, commonly referred to as stomach cancer, can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and to other organs; particularly the esophagus, lungs, lymph nodes, and the liver...

. "Electra" is the only song so far that has been released from the unfinished albums Magica II & III.

Reception

Chris Coplan of Consequence of Sound praised the song, stating that "Dio takes things to a whole new level. There’s a freshness and an excitement to the track. And while you can vaguely tell Dio is up in there in years, it gives the vocals a kind of story to them, a feeling of some noble metal statesman once more addressing his kingdom."

Personnel

• Ronnie James Dio
  Ronnie James Dio
  Ronald James Padavona , better known as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal vocalist and songwriter. He performed with, amongst others, Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, and his own band Dio, which means God in Italian. Other musical projects include the collective fundraiser...
  
   - vocals
• Doug Aldrich
  Doug Aldrich
  Doug Aldrich , is a Los Angeles-based hard rock guitarist, since 2003 a member of Whitesnake. He founded the band Burning Rain with Keith St.John in 1998 and has played previously with the bands Dio, Lion, Hurricane, House of Lords, and Bad Moon Rising...
  
   - guitars
• Rudy Sarzo
  Rudy Sarzo
  Rudy Sarzo is a Cuban American hard rock/heavy metal bassist. Sarzo has played with many well known heavy metal acts including Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Manic Eden, Dio and Blue Öyster Cult.-Early life:...
  
   - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Simon Wright - drums
• Scott Warren
  Scott Warren
  Scott Warren was the latest keyboardist for heavy metal band Dio and Heaven & Hell.Scott is a self taught keysman, he begin playing at age 6...
  
   - keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  

Additional personnel

• Wyn Davis - engineer
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
  
• Brett Chassen - assistant engineer
• Adam Arnold - assistant engineer