Killing the Dragon
Killing the Dragon is the ninth studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio, released on 21 May 2002. Ronnie James Dio produced it himself, and it arrived two years after the concept record Magica and ahead of Master of the Moon in 2004. It sits late in a run of studio albums that began with Holy Diver in 1983.
The record has been given a few second lives. In 2007 it was paired with Magica in a two-CD package, and a remastered edition followed in 2019, reissued in 2020 with fresh artwork. That version adds a bonus disc of six tracks recorded live on the Killing the Dragon tour, which is a handy way to hear how the songs sounded on stage. For anyone following Dio's later years, it is a natural place to pick up the story.
Killing the Dragon: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 45:06Tracklist
- 1Killing the DragonJimmy Bain and Ronnie James Dio4:25
- 2Along Comes a SpiderAldrich, Bain, Dio3:33
- 3ScreamAldrich, Bain, Dio5:03
- 4Better in the DarkJimmy Bain and Ronnie James Dio3:43
- 5Rock & RollBain, Dio, Goldy6:12
- 6PushBain, Dio, Goldy4:09
- 7GuiltyJimmy Bain and Ronnie James Dio4:26
- 8Throw Away ChildrenRonnie James Dio and Craig Goldy5:36
- 9Before the FallJimmy Bain and Ronnie James Dio3:48
- 10Cold FeetJimmy Bain and Ronnie James Dio4:12
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2002 | 199 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2020 | 16 |
| US Independent Albums · 2002 | 18 |
| Swedish Albums · 2002 | 24 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2002 | 27 |
| Finnish Albums · 2002 | 28 |
| German Albums · 2002 | 30 |
| Austrian Albums · 2002 | 70 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2002 | 85 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 21 May
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 2002-05-20 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 20 May 2002 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 21 May 2002 | |
| Wikidata | 21 May 2002 | |
| US release | 21 May 2002 | earliest US date |
7 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | JP | Victor | 4988002433827 | other |
| 20 May 2002 | DE | — | 5036369519926 | original |
| 21 May 2002 | US | — | other | |
| 26 August 2002 | DE | Spitfire Records | 5036369519964 | other |
| 22 October 2002 | US | Spitfire Records | other | |
| 20 March 2020 | XW | BMG | 4050538488739 | other |
| 20 March 2020 | XW | BMG | 4050538488326 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 500×500 | upscaled |