The Last in Line

The Last In Line is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Dio, released on July 2, 1984. It is the first Dio album to feature former Rough Cutt keyboardist Claude Schnell. It became the band's highest-charting album in both the UK and the U.S., reaching number 4 and number 23, respectively (Sacred Heart would later reach number 4 in the UK as well).

It was certified gold (500,000 units sold) by the RIAA on September 12, 1984, and was the first Dio album to be certified platinum, achieving the feat on February 3, 1987. In the UK, it attained Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in January 1986, at the same time as Holy Diver. To date, these are the only two Dio albums to be certified at least platinum.

Reissues
The album, along with Holy Diver and Sacred Heart, was released in a new two-CD deluxe edition on March 19, 2012 through Universal for worldwide distribution outside the U.S.

Critical reception
In 2005, The Last In Line was ranked number 372 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.

Personnel

 * Dio
 * Ronnie James Dio – vocals, keyboards
 * Vinny Appice – drums
 * Jimmy Bain – bass
 * Vivian Campbell – guitar
 * Claude Schnell – keyboards


 * Production
 * Recorded at Caribou Ranch, Colorado
 * Produced by Ronnie James Dio
 * Engineered by Angelo Arcuri
 * Assistant engineering by Rich Markowitz
 * Mixed on Westlake Audio BBSM6 monitors
 * Originally mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound, New York
 * Remastered by Andy Pearce (2012 Universal Deluxe Edition)
 * Remastered by Steve Hoffman (2012 Audio Fidelity 24K edition)
 * Illustration by Barry Jackson