You might remember back in 2012, when Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were joined on stage by a Hologram of Tupac Shakur, ‘performing’ several tracks with them on stage to a sold out crowd at Coachella. You may also remember an event in 2014, when it was the King of pop himself, Michael Jackson’s turn, performing ‘Slave to the Rhythm’ at the Billboard Music awards. The technology is as strange as it is awesome, and is undoubtedly going to be used for years to come to bring various larger than life characters back to the stage.
One such man returning in the hologram form is the late great best vocalist in metal, Ronnie James Dio. He is still a monumentally important figure in the genre, and fronted legendary bands such as Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell and Rainbow. His music was loved by many and he constantly received adoration across the music industry for how nice and talented a person he was. As such, Did was brought back with a hologram last year, performing the song ‘We Rock’ alongside the band Dio Disciples at Wacken Open Air festival. It marked the first time that a hologram had ‘performed’ with a live band, quite a momentous occasion!
A step Further…
Going one step further, the band is taking the hologram out on tour across Europe, presumably performing on each and every track that they play. It was created by the company Eyellusion using thousands of images and vocal stems of the singer and may be one of the most awesome (and interesting) things you can see this year, if you’re a fan of the genre! The band consists of Craig Goldy, Simon Wright, Scott Warren and Bjorn Englen. The tour kicks off in Helsinki, Finland this November, so keep an eye out and get ready to see more and more hologram tours!
By Matt Lott
He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.
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