Holy Diver [Original recording remastered, Import]

 

 

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After increasing tensions with Black Sabbath,then vocalist of the band Ronnie James Dio quits the band and brings Vinnie Appice with him to start working on his solo project which would be simply titled "Dio".After recruiting bassist Jimmy Bain and guitarist Vivian Campbell the band made the songs that would become part of "Holy Diver" released in 1983.With mere reflection I think the albums Dio did with Sabbath were good but I am certainly glad that he left to have a solo career,if he had stayed we would not have gotten "Holy Diver","Dream Evil" and that other great stuff he did.This is his first solo album and he produced it himself,it might sound crazy but not for Dio the guy was already a veteran of the rock scene by that time having played with Rainbow,Elf and Sabbath.He also recorded a few albums prior and knows what's good.There are many fan favourite songs here and some of Dio's best material ever.The musicians reunited for the album did their job very well and there is absolutely nothing to complain about on that point,the guitars are excellent,so is the bass,Vinnie does a solid performance on drums and Dio as usual is the ultimate vocalist.

Holy Diver is full of classics,the album itself is a classic and one of my personnal favourite albums of all time.Not a bad track to be found here,everything top notch.Dio really did what he wanted to do and proved he was right by doing so."Stand Up And Shout" as the opening track is killer and is fast-paced with great vocals.You know that its going to be heavy(more than his Sabbath stuff to say the least)and it keeps getting better."Holy Diver"(it was featured in an episode of South Park in the third season,just tought I'd add that in),the title track,the song that made me buy this album in first place.Slow,heavy and its got a killer riff.One of the best songs in metal for sure,its deserved its place there."Gypsy" follows up.It is considerably weaker but still a very good song definatly not horrible,has its moments."Caught In The Middle" is said to have a pop feel to it but I don't think so.The song is pure metal and once the riff starts you're in for quite a ride,quite a catchy chorus and one of my favourite Dio songs."Don't Talk To Strangers" is amazing.It starts very slow like a ballad with Dio singing in a very soft voice and then,BOOM!It suprises you with a heavy part,then goes into a powerfull metal song and it has another ballad part for great harmonies,very good songs not much to say about it,very solid."Straight To The Heart",kinda like caught in the middle,quite catchy and a great song."Invisible" has thoughtfull lyrics,but it is overshadowed by the rest of the album."Rainbow In The Dark" is simple yet so good!Its is definatly one of the greatests metal songs ever done.The harmonies and the metal at the same time is incredible,one of the fans most loved songs and a classic,it was a single also.The album closes with "Shame On The Night",with its group chanting.Good,but a weaker song,not much to add.

One of Dio's best albums if not THE best he ever made.Its everything Rock,Metal and Heavy-Metal fans could possibly want : great riffs and guitars,terrific songs,great writting,awesome singing and all.It ain't exactly a various album but all song sounds different from each other while staying in the same style.Ronnie ain't real tall at 5'4 but that doesn't prevent him from having this amazing voice,once of the best in all of rock'n'roll in my opinion and you can bet that he makes full use of it.

Not much left to say except you should really do yourself a favor and buy this album.It is essential to your collection and you will be glad you got it.Dio has been amazing once more,he was great in all those other bands he's played in and hasn't disapointed anyone at all.In fact this first solo effort focused him to make even more solo albums(which are also recommended checking out if you liked this one,"Last In The Line","Dream Evil" and a few others are also very good!).This is one of the crowning achievements in the career of Ronnie James Dio,the musicians who played on it were very good too!Highly recommanded I give the highest rating possible(trust me if there were a zillions stars it would still getn it),5 stars.Metal is not about being perfect but these guys pretty much were! And the interview from 2005 I must add is very cool.

I listened to this, the sound is improved, although not that much. But that's just because it was very good to start off with. What I found to be really cool was the interviews, where RJD talks about the forming of the band, and what all the songs are about.

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