| Holy Diver | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 25, 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Studio | Sound City (Van Nuys, California) | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal [1] | |||
| Length | 41:46 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Ronnie James Dio | |||
| Dio chronology | ||||
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| Ronnie James Dio chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Holy Diver | ||||
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Holy Diver is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band Dio,released in 1983. The album was acclaimed by the music press and is the band's most successful effort.
Released on May 25,1983,the album has been hailed by critics as Dio's best work and a classic staple in the heavy metal genre. [2] The album was certified gold in the US on September 12,1984,and platinum on March 21,1989. [3] In the UK it attained Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry,achieving this in January 1986,at the same time as The Last in Line . [4]
The original vinyl release had a photomontage LP-liner,with images from both Rainbow and Black Sabbath days.
The album was remastered and re-released by Rock Candy Records in 2005. The only notable addition to the original album is an audio interview with Ronnie James Dio. Tracks 10–19 on the 2005 edition are Dio's answers to various questions about the album. The questions are not posed during the interview itself,but can be found inside the CD's booklet instead. The album,along with The Last in Line and Sacred Heart ,were released in a new two-CD deluxe edition on March 19,2012 through Universal for worldwide distribution outside the U.S. [5]
"Caught in the Middle" shares the main guitar riff with Campbell's previous band Sweet Savage's song "Straight Through the Heart" (1983),whose title was used for another song in this album.
The album art is illustrated by Randy Berrett. It features the band's mascot Murray,a demonic creature,pulling or whipping a snapped metal chain and a man wearing a Catholic priest's attire flailing and splashing around in a body of water,wrapped up and locked in the other end of the broken chain. Dio was quick to argue that appearances are misleading,that it could just as easily be a priest killing a devil,wanting people not to "judge a book by its cover". [6]
Murray is featured on several other Dio albums. [7]
Around the time of making the album,a rise of heroic adventure elements in popular culture (such as J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books and role-playing games Dungeons &Dragons ) were having influence. "Much of heavy metal took place on similar turf,a realm of dark towers and impenetrable wilderness populated by battles and adversity." [8] When Ronnie James Dio had been with Black Sabbath,"He reverently refurbished and reinvented the band's stately doom with grandiose concepts...Dio found a fertile fantasy framework for the big Sabbath themes of madness and desolation". [8] Dio,who had read Sir Walter Scott,Arthurian tales,and science fiction growing up,had previously used fantasy lyrics in his early 1970s band Elf. [8] He explained the influence of his youthful reading to an interviewer,saying,"When I became a songwriter,I thought what better thing to do than do what no one else is doing...to tell fantasy tales. Smartest thing I ever did." [8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10 [9] |
| Mojo |  [10] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10 [11] |
| Sputnikmusic | [12] |
AllMusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia praises the album,stating that "aside from Ronnie's unquestionably stellar songwriting,Holy Diver's stunning quality and consistency owed much to his carefully chosen bandmates,including powerhouse drummer and fellow [Black] Sabbath survivor Vinny Appice,veteran bassist Jimmy Bain,and a phenomenal find in young Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell,whose tastefully pyrotechnic leads helped make this the definitive Dio lineup. Holy Diver remains the undisputed highlight of Dio's career...and,indeed,one of the finest pure heavy metal albums of the 1980s." [2] Canadian reviewer Martin Popoff describes the album as "quintessential traditional metal",with Ronnie James Dio "almost single-handedly reinventing gothic hard rock for the '80s,incorporating strong melodic hooks and more than the genre's usual share of velvety,classical-based pyrotechnics." [9] Kerrang! gave the album a positive review in 1983 and Holy Diver ended up at no. 5 in the British magazine's End of Year list of best releases. [13] Today,Kerrang! still considers it a "perfect melodic metal album" and an "essential purchase". [14]
The rock historian Ian Christe relates that for the post-Sabbath solo career "Dio simplified his stories substantially for a younger heavy metal audience. The 1983 debut Holy Diver,by his band Dio,reduced lush moral landscapes to simple good-versus-evil conflicts,using the lyrical duality of 'Rainbow in the Dark' and 'Holy Diver' to raise questions about deceit and hypocrisy in romance and religion. In the sharp contrasts of Dio's imagery,there was always a built-in contradiction that fed adolescent revolt:a black side to every white light,and a hidden secret behind every loud proclamation of truth. In a similar way,Dio's music balanced torrents of rage with brief acoustic interludes." [8]
On IGN's list of "Top 25 Metal Albums",Holy Diver is at number 8,and this statement followed,"In all his bands,in all his roles,in all his musical vagabond choices,Ronnie James Dio has been fortunate enough to be associated with some of heavy metal's best -- Sabbath,Rainbow,and his own band Dio. To best represent his tenure in the genre,one must look no farther than Holy Diver. His first album with his new band was also his best. It is one of metal's best albums,and it spawned two of the greatest metal songs of the '80s:'Holy Diver' and 'Rainbow in the Dark'. Featuring the underrated Vivian Campbell on guitar,this album showed that Dio could do it on his own." [15] In 2017,it was ranked 16th on Rolling Stone 's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". [16]
All lyrics are written by Ronnie James Dio, music as stated [17]
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stand Up and Shout" | Dio, Jimmy Bain | 3:18 |
| 2. | "Holy Diver" | Dio | 5:53 |
| 3. | "Gypsy" | Dio, Vivian Campbell | 3:40 |
| 4. | "Caught in the Middle" | Dio, Vinny Appice, Campbell | 4:17 |
| 5. | "Don't Talk to Strangers" | Dio | 4:54 |
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Straight Through the Heart" | Dio, Bain | 4:35 |
| 2. | "Invisible" | Dio, Campbell | 5:26 |
| 3. | "Rainbow in the Dark" | Dio, Appice, Bain, Campbell | 4:14 |
| 4. | "Shame on the Night" | Dio, Appice, Bain, Campbell | 5:29 |
| Total length: | 41:46 [2] | ||
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Evil Eyes" (Studio B-side of "Holy Diver") | Dio | 3:46 |
| 2. | "Stand Up and Shout" (Live B-side of "Rainbow in the Dark" 12") | Dio, Bain | 4:13 |
| 3. | "Straight Through the Heart" (Live B-side of "Rainbow in the Dark" 12") | Dio, Bain | 4:36 |
| 4. | "Stand Up and Shout" (Live at the King Biscuit Flower Hour, October 30, 1983) | Dio, Bain | 3:38 |
| 5. | "Shame on the Night" (Live at the King Biscuit Flower Hour, October 30, 1983) | Dio, Appice, Bain, Campbell | 5:20 |
| 6. | "Children of the Sea" (Live at the King Biscuit Flower Hour, October 30, 1983) | Geezer Butler, Dio, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward | 6:15 |
| 7. | "Holy Diver" (Live at the King Biscuit Flower Hour, October 30, 1983) | Dio | 5:57 |
| 8. | "Rainbow in the Dark" (Live at the King Biscuit Flower Hour, October 30, 1983) | Dio, Appice, Bain, Campbell | 5:14 |
| 9. | "Man on the Silver Mountain" (Live at the King Biscuit Flower Hour, October 30, 1983) | Ritchie Blackmore, Dio | 6:51 |
Dio
Production
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [18] | 15 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [19] | 52 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [20] | 43 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [21] | 18 |
| UK Albums (OCC) [22] | 13 |
| US Billboard 200 [23] | 56 |
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) [24] | 176 |
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC) [25] | 68 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [26] | 9 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI) [4] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA) [3] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Ronald James Padavona, known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hell.
Dio was an American heavy metal band formed in 1982 and led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Dio left Black Sabbath with intentions to form a new band with fellow former Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice. The name Dio was chosen because it made sense from a commercial standpoint, as the name was already well known at that time.
Dehumanizer is the sixteenth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath. It was first released on 22 June 1992 in the UK by I.R.S. Records and on 30 June 1992 in the US by Reprise Records.
Mob Rules is the tenth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1981. It followed 1980's Heaven and Hell, and was the second album to feature lead singer Ronnie James Dio and the first with drummer Vinny Appice. Neither musician would appear on a Black Sabbath studio album again until the 1992 album Dehumanizer.
Live Evil is the first official live album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. The previously released Live at Last (1980) was not sanctioned by the band. Live Evil peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
Vincent Samson Appice is an American rock and metal drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer Carmine Appice.
The Last In Line is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Dio, released on July 2, 1984. It is the first Dio album to feature former Rough Cutt keyboardist Claude Schnell. It became the band's highest-charting album in both the UK and the U.S., reaching number 4 and number 23, respectively.
Sacred Heart is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released on August 12, 1985, on Warner Bros. Records in North America, and Vertigo elsewhere. The record peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 chart. It includes the singles "Rock 'n' Roll Children" and "Hungry for Heaven".
Vivian Patrick Campbell is a Northern Irish guitarist. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as a member of Dio and has been a member of Def Leppard since 1992. Campbell has also worked with Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Sweet Savage, Trinity, Riverdogs and Shadow King.
James Stewart Bain was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo albums.
Intermission is the first live album released by the American heavy metal band Dio in 1986 on the label Vertigo Records in Europe and Warner Bros. Records in North America. The live songs were recorded with guitarist Vivian Campbell during the first leg of the Sacred Heart tour. Craig Goldy replaced Campbell in mid-tour, and the band wanted something to represent the new line-up, so they recorded the song "Time to Burn" in the studio with him, which was added to this album.
Diamonds – The Best of Dio is a greatest hits collection from heavy metal band Dio. It was released internationally in 1992, but it was never released domestically in the US.
We Rock is a compilation video album by the American heavy metal band Dio. It collects the out-of-print videos Live in Concert (1984) and A Special from the Spectrum (1984), which had been available on VHS and a Japanese issued Laserdisc, minus a couple of songs.
A Special from the Spectrum is the second video album by the American heavy metal band Dio, containing footage of a live concert performance recorded at The Spectrum arena in Philadelphia on 25 August 1984. Most of the performance has been repackaged on the We Rock DVD, minus the opening track of "Stand Up and Shout". The video has been certified Gold by the RIAA having sold 50,000 units.
The following is a comprehensive discography of Dio, an American heavy metal band led by vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Dio was formed in 1982 after Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice left Black Sabbath. The band went through frequent personnel changes. The final line-up consisted of Dio (vocals), Craig Goldy (guitars), Rudy Sarzo (bass), Simon Wright (drums) and Scott Warren (keyboards).
Time Machine is a video compilation by the American heavy metal band Dio. Ronnie James Dio made extra narration to every song in this video.
Metal Hits is a compilation album by the heavy metal band Dio and was released in 2005 by Rhino Flashback Records. Multi-instrumentalist and heavy-metal mainstay Ronnie James Dio built up a hefty back catalog over the decades, with a career that spans vocalizing for Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and of course, his own group, Dio. This best-of, which covers the Dio years exclusively, spans the period 1983's Holy Diver and 1990's Lock Up the Wolves, and is packed with the kind of high-octane performances Dio fans have come to treasure. Neo-Gothic masterpieces like "Sunset Superman" and "Dream Evil" share space with the metal mysticism of "Last in Line," while Dio's hell's-gate scream holds sway over all.
At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 is a live album from American heavy metal band Dio. It was released on November 9, 2010 as the first release from Dio's Niji Entertainment Group label. It features two appearances by Dio at the Monsters of Rock festival at Donington: the 1983 show and the 1987 show. In addition to his work with his own band, material from Ronnie James Dio's time in Black Sabbath and Rainbow is also showcased. Much of the material on these two discs is included as bonus tracks on the deluxe expanded editions of Holy Diver and Dream Evil, released in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Last in Line is a British rock band formed in 2012 by former members of Dio's original lineup. Their name comes from the 1984 Dio album, The Last in Line. Following the death of frontman Ronnie James Dio in 2010, drummer Vinny Appice, bassist Jimmy Bain, guitarist Vivian Campbell and keyboardist Claude Schnell reunited and added vocalist Andrew Freeman to perform the Dio songs they originally recorded. They released three studio albums of original material without Schnell between February 2016 and March 2023.
