So...Dave "Rock" Feinstein is Ronnie James Dio's cousin. He was with the Metal icon during his formative, pre-Rainbow/Black Sabbath/Dio years, in bands like Ronnie and the Prophets, The Electric Elves, and Elf, but is respected in his own right as frontman for the New York-based band, The Rods.

It's impossible to listen to his 2011 solo album, "Bitten by the Beast", without hearing its influences. Certainly his own past, with some old Judas Priest and old Scorpions in the mix, but the most prominent of all is Dio himself, especially Sabbath-era. Feinstein executes the songs' riffs with infectious passion and energy; it's a joy to listen to him play, even when the material is kinda mundane. And unfortunately, that's the perfect term for much of the stuff on "Bitten". There's no shortage of solid, classic-Metal riffage, but they end up as good components of overly-familiar, by-the-numbers rock compositions, replete with un-compelling, well-worn lyrical tropes ("I live for freedom / You know it's true"). There once seemed to be a songwriting mentality of: "You don't want to put a really great riff behind the vocals, where no one will hear it." Unfortunately, Feinstein seems to play by this obsolete rule. Too often on this album, a song leads in with great, rocking hooks and energy, only to completely deflate during the first verse.

"Bitten" is remarkable for one reason, really: track 4, ‘Metal Will Never Die’, one of the final (if not THE final) recordings to feature Ronnie James Dio on vocals. This is the album's main attraction, and so it does rise somewhat above the rest of the material. Ronnie's vocals are a bit more raw and live than is customary on a studio album, with jagged screams and jarring microphone peaks, but he still sounds great. It's just wonderful to hear him deliver his trademark vocal power one more time. This is the stuff that helped to define the genre.

All of that said, the best song on the CD is ‘Kill the Demon’. With a riff and approach ripped right from “Heaven and Hell” or "The Mob Rules", you can endure the bland verses for the undeniably catchy chorus. ‘Evil in Me’ is also pretty passable. These are the three to burn into your library. Dio gets co-songwriting credits on the final track, ‘Gambler, Gambler’, but he's not heard, literally or figuratively. This song isn't terrible (nothing on the CD is) it's just pretty unremarkable.

The CD is presented as a respectful and loving tribute to Feinstein's cousin, friend, and longtime cohort, and deserves some respect as such.

Two notes about the packaging. DRF's cover logo even resembles the classic, iconic Dio emblem - - which is cool. Less understandable is the full-sized poster of David "Rock" Feinstein when you fold out the CD inlay. My congrats to the man for keeping such an impressive head of hair so late in life, but um. . . was the poster necessary? Hey girls, you want to hang a picture of a 60-something dude on your wall?