Eddie Munson of Stranger Things wore a denim jacket by the band Dio, whose success in the 1980s fit perfectly into the series’ soundtrack. Eddie wore the jacket from the band’s second album The Last in Line (which would also have been perfect in the scene where Metallica entered). Legendary vocalist Ronnie James Dio, the founder of the band, seems to be on the rise in 2022. One of the kings of heavy metal, he is also featured in Thor: Love and Thunder. That’s right, the film ends with one of Dio’s biggest hits, Rainbow in the Dark.

Rainbow in the Dark appears on Dio‘s debut album Holy Diver and was used in Thor as early as the 2019 Comic Con when Love and Thunder were announced. It’s one of the band’s greatest classics and it fits perfectly into the film’s story.

For many years legend had it that it was not one of Dio’s favorites because it was commercial. Unsurprisingly, it’s one of the band’s biggest hits to date. “For me, it was too pop for the album. I didn’t want to create pop because I came from Black Sabbath, a band that allowed me to do anything as dark as I wanted. I didn’t want those people who liked what I did in Black Sabbath to say, ‘Now he’s changed. He became a pop artist. But they convinced me and I thanked them several times. I still feel like the song is too pop, but it works,” he said in an interview.

The riff was created by guitarist Vivian Campbell, on top of a song he had written at age 16, “Lady Marianne”, which was playing at a rehearsal when the singer joined the musicians, immediately singing the melody overhead. In total, it took them 10 minutes to write everything. For fans and musicians, the difference was not only in Ronnie James Dio‘s great vocal power but also in his talent for melodies and lyrics.

Rainbow in the Dark is considered one of the best heavy metal songs of the 1980s. While the title suggests a play on Dio‘s stint in the band Rainbow, the inspiration was his rift in Black Sabbath, where he sings about feeling isolated and unable to fully develop, “like a rainbow in the dark.”

‘I cry out for magic, I feel it dancing in the night/It was cold, I lost my hold, to the shadows of the night…’

The choice to put Dio on the soundtrack of Thor was by director Taika Waititi, who had already used Immigrant Song, by Led Zeppelin, in another film in the franchise. Having a heavy metal classic has become a tradition in the Thor movies.

Dio’s song is perfect for a god like Thor. It was used just after he faced Zeus, so it brings together the favorite elements of the band and the singer: fantasy and magic.

A great tribute to one of the most important rock musicians. It was chilling.