DIO - Holy Diver

In my opinion, Holy Diver is the album that best defines the genre heavy metal. Of course, Cream, Blue Cheer, Hawkwind, the first Black Sabbath records with Ozzy at the helm have helped it shape itself. But I believe that after the release of Heaven & Hell and Mob Rules (Black Sabbath, the first with Ronnie James Dio on vocals) nothing of what followed in heavy metal brought anything new from these two masterpieces and the style had been fully crystallized. Dio split from Black Sabbath after Mob Rules, taking drummer Vinnie Appice with him, because of differences with Tony Iommi (Sabbath’s guitarist). Or, in fact, thanks to these differences, considering that if these differences hadn’t existed, Dio’s solo career wouldn’t have existed either, which brings us to our album. 

Dio’s voice has remained unchanged throughout his career, and has been and still is considered one of the strongest heavy metal voices of all times, if not the strongest. It is true, Dio has always played a significant role in defining heavy metal, but when he was in Elf, it was team work, when he was with Rainbow ideas would flow from Richie Blackmore (Deep Purple) and in Sabbath, from Tony Iommi. It is only on this debut album that it could be about Dio entirely; finally listeners could have a record that was fully conceived by him and truly represented him. The sum of what he had done before. An album that was the heaviest at the time (tracks such as Holy Diver, Stand Up and Shout or Rainbow in the Dark back this up) and finally proved that Dio didn’t necessary need a Richie Blackmore or Tony Iommi behind him to stand out, and that by himself he was an icon of the genre. And the years that have passed since then have placed him at the top of metal’s Pantheon.

The musicians on this album are Vinnie Appice (drums - Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell), Jimmy Bain (bass player and Dio’s friend since they were both members of Elf, in the 60s) and Vivian Campbell (who later appeared in Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy, etc.). From the starting riff of the album in Stand Up and Shout to the fade out on the last song, Shame on the Night, there isn’t a single moment that is unpleasant for the ears, each song has choruses and even verses that are worth remembering. Look Out!!!

Matei T. Nota: 9.5