Search - Dio :: Holy Diver

\m/ HOLY DIO \m/

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 04/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll freely admit to being a born-again member of the Church of Dio. With the possible additions of Rob Halford and Bruce Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio is THE archetypical heavy metal vocalist. He is a true icon whose very name is synonymous with metal, and his music has and will continue to shape the nature of metal for generations to come.



1983's Holy Diver was the first solo album from Dio, and you can tell that this is what he had been aiming for, for quite some time. As wild and fantasy-oriented as his work with both Rainbow and Black Sabbath was, Holy Diver showcases a completely unfettered Dio. With no Ritchie Blackmore or Tony Iommi to keep him in check, Dio could write exactly the kind of dragon and rainbow-obsessed songs he wanted; the result of course was an album full of some of the greatest (and yes, the cheesiest) metal anthems ever. If songs like Stand Up and Shout, Don't Talk to Strangers, Straight through the Heart, Rainbow in the Dark, Shame on the Night, and of course Holy Diver don't have you banging your head and raising the horns, nothing will.



Holy Diver is THE classic Dio album, and this was the classic Dio lineup. With Jimmy Bain (ex-Rainbow), Vinny Appice (ex-Black Sabbath), and Vivian Campbell* on board, Dio created one of the all-time greatest heavy metal albums. Holy Diver was the logical succession of the music Dio created in Rainbow and Black Sabbath (Shame on the Night in particular would have been right at home on Mob Rules), and it played a key role in defining the American metal and power metal sound. Look at the big names in (real) metal today, and you're likely to find at least one Dio cover in their catalogs.



What more can I say? Holy Diver is one of the all-time greatest heavy metal albums, and one that every self-proclaimed metal fan should own. I know there is a generation of kids out there who only know the modern metal sound of bands like Opeth, Arch Enemy, Lamb of God, Dragonforce, and (shudder) Slipknot, and to them Holy Diver will no doubt seem a bit silly. Still, I stand by my statement. If you listen to Holy Diver, and I mean really listen to it, you will hear Dio's influence in many of today's metal bands.



NOTE: In 2005, Rock Candy issued a remastered (YES!!!) version of Holy Diver. The digitally remastered sound treatment was long overdue for this classic album, and adding a 30+ minute interview with Ronnie James Dio as bonus material was an especially nice touch. Hopefully they will turn their attention to Dream Evil, The Last In Line, and other Dio classics before too long.



* Vivian Campbell would eventually go on to join Def Leppard, play a large role in watering down their already sterile sound, trash Dio on a regular basis, and generally bemoan the fact that he was ever associated with anything as pedestrian as this fine metal album. Normally I'd pray that karma comes around hardcore on this tool, but he already has to play "Pour Some Sugar On Me" on a regular basis, so perhaps he's already being punished by the universe.

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Dio's legendary album!

Bete Noire | Vancouver, Canada | 11/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After having payed his dues with Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath, Dio struck out out on his own with a very ambitious album that would became a rock milestone. The Rock Candy version here reviewed presents all the original tracks in remastered form plus a 2005 interview with the King of Rock'n'Roll himself. Any serious fan of this legendary musician should have a complete and updated version of the album."

Dio #1 is Timeless, Audial Heavy Head Changing Renaissance E

T. R. Rak | 04/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hard Rock (or "Aboriginal Metal") doesn't get much better than this, and the test of time proves everything. Released in '83, having just graduated from high school, I and this album were not quite ready for one another. "Holy Diver" blew me away. Here was Mr. Ronnie James Dio, a "graduate" of the "Deep Purple" (Richie Blackmore) school, with a CLASSICAL background (french horn player) in his early days no less; he was TOO MUCH, too soon, for me at that precise time, to understand properly and contextually. I thought I knew what "good heavy metal" was. However: Not quite a half century later, I am finally mature enough to appreciate the brilliance which has time and again and even now, defined and redefined the vocal and lyrical genius of Ronnie James Dio.



Often hailed as "one of the very best and most powerful rock vocalists of all time" (with a lung capacity unrivaled by traditional operatic singers) Dio does not disappoint - it was only a matter of time - distancing himself from Elf, Rainbow and even Black Sabbath (where he shined brilliantly enough) - Dio "as Dio," which is to say, on his own and especially, here with his debut album and the followup, "Last in Line," leave the listener speechless with a kind of heavy metal rapture unknown by any other name.



"Holy Diver" the track is a precious gem, and I would NEVER use the term "plodding classic metal" to describe it. Better, I would compare it to the best of the best that Rush, Kansas, Yes or even Styx conjured during their earliest, jamming heydays. I would call this song, "A Classic Rock Treasure," period. A treasure that never grows old, nor stale to the ear. Forever interesting. Fascinating. And forever stimulatingly NEW!



Then of course, "Rainbow in the Dark." A fitting finale to an altogether priceless debut. It was years before I finally realized that "Rainbow in the Dark" was in fact, NOT a "Rainbow" song at all. But part of the NEW DIO!



Ronnie James just keeps on giving his best, better and better and better. And going strong to this day, circa 2010. Wow!



Interesting trivia: Dio popularized the "evil eye" gestures of fore finger and pinky finger, using both hands with arms out-stretched in a sort of "salute" or "salutation" (valediction), at all his concerts once he became exclusive "Dio." Yet this should never be construed as any kind of form of "devil worship" or Satanic symbol, per se. On the contrary, Dio is quoted as saying he learned to make this hand "signal" from his grand mother born in southern Italy, where "the evil eye" was a standard trope TO WARD AWAY ALL EVIL! So those who associate Dio with "Satanic Rock," perhaps - should take a deeper listen I think. Dio's a poet, but not necessarily a black magician, certainly not exclusively. One part Aleister Crowley perhaps, two parts William Blake. Perpetually an explorer of hidden realities - light and/or dark. Either way, a master of his time, his music, his genre. Long live the Best that is Dio. Forever mystical and wonderfully mystifying. Here he is in rarest best form. High Amperage. True theatre of the mind. [Dio(s) Mio!] Keep and Forever Enjoy!"