Dio

Next to Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Ronnie James Dio is probably my biggest inspiration in music and singing. A lot of his songwriting has to do with almost midevil styles, and it works. I like it. Kinda reminds me of Led Zeppelin, sorta. In Dio's case, it's a ton more heavy, and more emphasis is probably put into vocals rather than instruments. No offense to Zeppelin at all, I think they're fantastic.
Dio's voice is something else. When he's really belting it, and rocking it, it makes me get a burst of energy like, "Holy F*ck, lets break something and scream." Bu then there's moments like in Children of the Sea, Sign of the Southern Cross, or Falling off the Edge of the World, where he's singing more softly at moments. He sounds beautiful. On top of him having one of the greatest voices in all of metal, he's an amazing performer. Like Ozzy, he refused to have a concert where not everyone in the audience was screaming as loud as they could. Makes sense. The audience has to get into it in order for most metal to be really fun.

Live performance of Children of the Sea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNJ0fMdeWEc&noredirect=1

The video I just linked was the last concert he ever played. Dio died of stomach cancer in May of 2010. Many, especially myself, were devastated. I share this with you, so you may know what I truly respect. May he rest in peace.