Product Description
Brand New ~ Sealed! Deluxe 2LP Expanded Edition Pressed On 180 Gram Heavyweight Vinyl. Remixed By Joe Barresi, With Bonus Track “Evil Eyes” & Etching. Some Songs Are Extended Versions! Newly Commissioned Cover Painting Packaged In Gatefold Cover. The Dynamic Debut Dio Album, ‘Holy Diver’ Features The Classic Line-Up: Ronnie James Dio & Drummer Vinny Appice (Both Previously Of Black Sabbath), Hot Shot Guitarist Vivian Campbell & Bassist Jimmy Bain.
Ronnie James Dio would have turned 80 years old on July 10, 2022. Among the greatest heavy metal singers of all time, Dio’s career spanned five decades, touched millions of fans and pioneered his signature “devil’s horns”, one of the most popular hand gestures in the world. Dio also provided vocals and lyrics for some of the most iconic rock albums of all time with Black Sabbath and Rainbow, before establishing his own band Dio as a metal force with their 1983 debut ‘Holy Diver’ ~ a platinum-certified smash and one of the late singer/songwriter’s most groundbreaking achievements.
Side 1:
Stand Up And Shout
Holy Diver
Gypsy
Caught In The Middle
Side 2:
Don’t Talk To Strangers
Straight Through The Heart
Invisible
Side 3:
Rainbow In The Dark
Shame On The Night
Evil Eyes (Bonus Track)
Side 4:
Demon Etching
AMG –
An undisputed highlight of Ronnie James Dio's career, and one of the finest pure heavy metal albums of the 1980s! After playing a major role in five positively classic heavy metal albums of the late '70s and early '80s (three with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and two with Black Sabbath), it seemed that singer Ronnie James Dio could truly do no wrong. So it wasn't all that surprising -- impressive, but not surprising -- when he struck gold yet again when launching his solo vehicle, Dio, via 1983's terrific Holy Diver album. Much like those two, hallowed Sabbath LPs, Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, Holy Diver opened at full metallic throttle with the frenetic "Stand Up and Shout," before settling into a dark, deliberate, and hypnotic groove for the timelessly epic title track -- a worthy successor to glorious triumphs past like Rainbow's "Stargazer" and the Sabs' "Sign of the Southern Cross." But subsequent metal anthems like "Straight Through the Heart," "Invisible," and the lycanthrope lullaby "Shame on the Night" were no less inspired; and by injecting uncommonly catchy melodies into the heavy rock riffery still dominating more accessible numbers such as "Gypsy," "Caught in the Middle," and hit single "Rainbow in the Dark" (where the singer himself played rather spotty keyboards), Dio proved himself perfectly capable of competing with the increasingly commercial hard rock fashions soon to come. Although most fans would agree that Dio would arguably never again replicate the simply sublime symbiosis of beauty and brawn achieved by the all-time standout "Don't Talk to Strangers." And, to be fair, 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 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. So, too, is Holy Diver still the undisputed highlight of Dio's career, and, indeed, one of the finest pure heavy metal albums of the 1980s.