Legendary metal frontman Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Black Sabbath and Rainbow, has been on an impressive winning streak lately. The ’00 concept move Magica (Spitfire) was the best Dio album in years, and Ronnie got a loving shout-out from rock jokers Tenacious D on their recent hit Tenacious D (Epic).

On their ninth and latest studio release, Killing the Dragon, the band drop the concept-album pretense but lose none of their fire-breathing intensity. Ronnie’s operatic howl is in fine form on "Push," the first single and a sturdy example of the group’s old-school power-metal mastery. Long-time Dio guitarist Craig Goldy helped write that and two other songs here, but he’s replaced on the album by journeyman Doug Aldrich, whose neo-classical shredding is a perfect fit for Ronnie’s goth fantasies. They break into a fearsome gallop on the title track, and the dark, lumbering groove they settle into on "Scream" brings back fond memories of the Dio classic "Holy Diver." Ronnie does flirt with self-parody on the overblown "Rock & Roll," but that’s an aberration on this typically solid outing from one of metal’s true originals.

Dio perform this Saturday, December 14, at the Palladium in Worcester. Call (508) 797-9696.