935 Dio - Holy Diver (1983)

 935 Dio - Holy Diver (1983)

Studio Album - Heavy Metal





About the Act:

Dio were a heavy metal band from the USA, founded in 1982 by two former members of Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio (singer) and Vinny Appice (Drummer). They were joined by Jimmy Bain from Rainbow, and a lesser-known Irish guitarist called Vivian Campbell. The band had a reasonably normal turnover of members, the one stable member being Ronnie James Dio, had a few hiatuses, and finally ended in 2010 when Ronnie died.  They had managed 10 studio albums and a good deal of success.

Many of their album covers feature a giant demon known as Murray.


About the Album:

This was Dio's first album, and their best-regarded one also.


My History with this Album:

None


Review:

I'm not a heavy metal expert, but I know a bit. In the 90s, metal underwent a fundamental change to become heavier, the singing turned to grunting and screaming, and the harmonic structures became something else. In this album, I can hear the tiny beginnings of both the change in the guitar style, with occasional chugging, and in the harmonic shifts - although to be fair the harmonic stuff was presaged by Black Sabbath a good 10 years earlier.

So this is Metal, as it was in the 80s, full of fantasy and religious connotations. Dio were maybe not as well-known as AC/DC and Iron Maiden, but they certainly made an impact. Both musically and lyrically, it sits squarely in the clichés of 80s metal, but not so much that there is no invention - there is invention and it's quite an interesting album. It's not outstanding to my mind, but is certainly listenable, and possibly a grower if I were to hear it several times, although "Rainbow in the dark" could get annoying after a while. "Holy Diver" is more refreshing, mostly because it's quite odd in its lyrical imagery.


6.6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1QJmLRcuIMMjZ49elafR3K

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_opCuPZYldPOn29Hz67M1GPdXNd4Lauv

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Diver


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