These discs represent what was being played on MTV & radio at the time..(When it was white). Classic hard rock music at it's best! Re: "Stone Cold", "Since You Been Gone", "Rainbow In The Dark", "The Last In Line" Superb! late 70's early 80's real rock!!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The seller said it was new and gave me a great offer on it but when it showed up it looks like somebody had it in a dingy basement for 30 years untouched after being played and worn out, it had a huge circular scratch around the cd which didn't ruin the cd but made track one unplayable, the booklet looked tattered and worn out and the jewel was discolored, scratched and totally unusable. This diffidently was not new more like acceptable or good 1/5 About the album, it was fantastic not one bad or weak track, and the guitar work, drumming, keyboards, and bass work was absolutely phenomenal also who can forget Ronnie's beastly vocals especially on Gypsy, Straight Through The Heart, and Don't Talk To Strangers Get this album and play it loud Highlight tracks Gypsy, Don't Talk To Strangers, Rainbow In The Dark, Holy Diver, Straight Through The Heart, and Shame On The Night R.I.P Ronnie James Dio Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
With the debut album, Holy Diver, in 1983, Dio struck gold once again by injecting catchy melodies into the classic metal riffery of his previous groups. Besides Dio's inspired songwriting, the album's consistency owes a lot to his carefully chosen bandmates, including veteran bassist Jimmy Bain and drummer Vinny Appice, and a phenomenal find in young guitarist Vivian Campbell, whose creativity and technique are quite astounding. Dio himself plays keyboards (badly) on the hit single "Rainbow in the Dark," and the remaining cuts range from further stabs at pop-metal ("Gypsy," "Caught in the Middle") to blatant metal anthems ("Straight Through the Heart," "Invisible"). These two facets find a perfect balance on the excellent "Don't Talk to Strangers," arguably the album's high point. I like works of Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow and Black Sabbath times, so I decided to buy his first solo album which I listened previously in tape with bad quality.Read full review
Ronnie James Dio has been a vocalist for the bands Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath and finally his own band DIO. Dio's previous work with guitarists Tony Iommi and Richie Blackmore challenged Ronnie to match their skills with his first album. Although I find the album fantastic after 23 years, I find that it does match the work he did for Rainbow, but lacks the elaborate guitar work of Tony Iommi (Like the intro to Children of the Sea from the Black Sabbath album "Heaven and Hell".) The album does stand on its' own merits and I recommend this for those of us who love HARD Rock and Roll!! Page Sausman Boise,Idaho USA
Ronnie James Dio,left(or,was booted out:quote from RJD himself)from Black Sabbath,he wanted to make his own band.He then made 2 tracks,"holy diver" and "dont talk to strangers",with those 2 songs,he presented them to some of his old "band buddies"(no names needed),and they joined him immediatly after listening to those 2 songs,they made the whole album in not more then 6 months,they had a great chemistry and the whole album kinda just flowed out.The song "Rainbow in the dark" is Vinnie`s riff,he called it "a bottle of wine" when he worked on it,hehe,RJD thought maby "rainbow in the dark" sounded maby "cooler"hehe, i guess he was right,he was then, and still are, the musical genius he is known to be,he made big songs for :Elf,Rainbow,Black Sabbath and ofcourse in my opinion Dio the best group ever put togheter.And i must add,finally got it on a Mint Obi pressing,thats the japanese vinyl-pressings that are superior in sound and quality,beats cd sound down any day of the week if the Vinyl is been handled with care,i only listen to vinyl,its a whole different experience then cd.its the closest you can get the "studio or consert-sound) if this is a importen thing for you,i know,it is very importen for me,then a Obi pressed vinyl album is the best sound money can buy for private use.But,theres also Obi cd albums available, with ofcourse better sound then a regular cd,but not close to a Obi vinyl album,but thats alot of work to handle correctly, and its a very delicate thing,so for party`s and stuff, i only let people use my CD player. kno3dudeRead full review
WHen I listen to Holy Diver, I'm 17 again. Every time. This, to me, is one of a handful of albums that define the essence of heavy metal rock and roll. Even though I'm on the bad side of 40 now, I still bang my head in the car when this plays. Vivian Campbell's AWESOME guitar work is really the best part to me, but Ronnie James Dio's very distinctive vocals are the best of his long career. Every song is great, and the whole disc is so good, that once you hear it, the rest of Dio's work will seem a little lacking.
Holy Diver is one of those magical heavy metal albums. This combination of musicians manages to channel some strange transitional energies that make a tremendous album that incorporates the fantastical oriented energy of early RAINBOW combined with the dark doom-y magic of BLACK SABBATH and then includes the youthful up-and-coming fury of the evolving genre of metal in the early eighties via the melodic power playing of Vivian Campbell matching the intensity of the talent of Randy Rhoads. The recipe is a complete success. I find this album to be the pinnacle in Ronnie James Dio's lengthy career where all the different eras that he represented collaborate perfectly to create this highly melodic, mystical and energetic traditional metal masterpiece. This is classic DIO. This is classic heavy metal.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
If there is any quinasensual to the 80's rock there's dio.Holy diver was one of the greatest releases in that era.Hard,melodic and hooks in abundants. vivian has some of the greatest guitar licks you'll hear.Dio sounded as though he was ready to decapitate you.That's how metal should be,with a real talented voice,instead of just a bunch of guys gargaling with mouthwash.If you don't know him well I suggest getting the 2 sabbath's and the rest of dio's and most important-"hear n aid",like vh1 put it"the greatest in metal moment".Long live rock n roll!
One of the best. Have this on cassette and been listening to this album since the '80s. Time to upgrade to Digital! Excellent quality, extremely good value. Rock in Peace, RJD!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Ronnie James Dio in his hey day. Truly smoking album!!!!!! Today's music is so full of it,,,, it should not even be on the air. If I could afford to go to Germany to "VISIT" I would love to hear some real metal again. Seems like I woke up one day and metal was dead here in the states. Really sad. There is no more musical originality anymore. Ronnie,,,,, as for me and many other Dio fans we will always love you for your contribution to metal and your forth right dedication. I got to see his band up close in Charlotte NC. back in 1990 it ,,,,,it was in a small venue and it was incredible!!!! Vinnie on drums,,,,even!!!!! Now to buy a time machine,,,eBay?
Verified purchase: No
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