A Ronnie James Dio Hologram Debuted At A German Metal Festiva In Preparation For World Domination

Legends never die in the music industry and now, thanks to holograms, they might be able to go on tour with live bands. Fans were first really wowed with the concept of holographic performances when a hologram of Tupac was trotted out for the world to see at Coachella 2012. We’ve seen great advances in hologram technology since then, with performers like The Notorious B.I.G. and even Whitney Houston getting the hologram treatment and the Japanese have even gone as far as to provide haptic feedback for those who want to feel holograms.

The world of holograms isn’t about to slow down anytime soon, either, because according to Rolling Stone, Ronnie James Dio is back — in hologram form. Dio, one of heavy metal’s most renowned singers, passed away in 2010 after a battle with stomach cancer, leaving a hole in arenas across the world, that is, until now. Eyellusion, the company on the forefront of the dead-musicians-as-holograms craze, debuted their brand new Ronnie James Dio hologram at the Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany on Saturday alongside Dio tribute act Dio Disciples.

The hologram, which is currently only programmed to perform the song We Rock, a Dio mainstay as an encore for years, was so authentic that it moved his widow, Wendy Dio, to tears.

“I cried the first time I saw it. It was quite, quite scary. Our crew, when they first saw it at rehearsal, they were in tears. It’s absolutely amazing.”

Mrs. Dio, who oversees Dio’s estate after his passing, is working alongside Eyellusion and Dio Disciples to launch a full-blown tour with the hologram in 2017. They were working on a number of songs for the Saturday performance, including Rainbow in the Dark and Black Sabbath’s Neon Knights, before settling on We Rock due to how many decades the song endured inside of Dio’s setlist.

The hologram was captured from a live performance and will hopefully, after much work, be one of many that the band and company are able to toss together for a tour. They are hoping for 14 songs so that they can craft a revolving setlist for the tour, including Dio classics and songs from when he fronted Black Sabbath. Making even one song happen is a huge undertaking, involving the live band having to sync up perfectly with Hologram Dio’s performance, with everything down to the lighting effects reflected on Hologram Dio.

There is no telling how far Hologram Dio could go, or if they’ll give him his own emotions, hopes, and dreams. Perhaps for now he’ll just be a projection that they drag out for concerts, but questions as to what happens when the lights go down will still linger.

(Via Rolling Stone)