Before Ronnie James Dio became the master madman of metal that we came to know through bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio, he was the frontman of a self-proclaimed “rock/honky tonk/blues” band known as Elf.  Now we will see the release of a compilation album consisting of newly unearthed studio and live tracks from the group.

Entitled And Before Elf..There Were Elves, the album will feature twelve studio/live tracks from the band that were recorded in 1971.  It is set for an October 11 release via the Niji Entertainment Group.

Throughout their run, Elf produced a trio of albums before Dio left the group in 1975 to form Rainbow with Ritchie Blackmore. From there, Dio went on to become a seminal leader in the burgeoning metal scene of the 1980s.  He passed away last May.

The tracklisting for And Before Elf…There Were Elves is below:

You Shook Me
Stay With Me
Four Day Creep
Buckingham Blues
Wakeup Sunshine
Driftin’
Smile For Me Lady
You Felt The Same WaySimple Man
Drown Me In The River
Cold Ramona
Little Queenie