The more I think about it, the more I believe 1983 was the
\ngreatest year for metal. Dio’s debut release
\nHoly Diver<\/i> only helps me back up that opinion. Shortly after
\nleaving Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio formed his own solo
\nproject, with former Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice, bassist Jimmy
\nBain, and young guitarist Vivian Campbell, creating The Band of
\nEclectic Names\u2026a.k.a. Dio.<\/p>\n
As soon as you set eyes on the cover art, you know you’re in for
\none wild ride. (Being a hardcore atheist, I found it cool seeing a
\npriest getting dunked.) This is confirmed with the quick guitar
\nwork in the opening track “Stand Up and Shout.” From there on,
\nwe’re treated to some of the greatest metal to ever come out of
\nEngland.<\/p>\n
Campbell is truly a great guitarist, coming up with some of the
\nmost memorable riffs ever using a combination of power chords,
\nscales, and the occasional pinch harmonic for kicks and giggles.
\nAppice’s drumming is top-notch. The bass is no Geezer Butler, but
\ndoes its part well. However, the greatest thing about this record
\nis Ronnie James Dio himself. His voice is so controlled. He hits
\nthe crescendos perfectly, and his range is completely astounding.
\nIn my opinion, the second greatest vocalist in the world, topped
\nonly by the Air Raid Siren (I’m sure the Ozzy purists will be
\ne-mailing their outrage any time now).<\/p>\n
The album is chock-full of great metal hits. From the
\nhard-rocking “Straight Through the Heart” to the slower, anthem-y
\ntitle track (which is my favorite Dio song to date). While all of
\nDio’s “mainstream” hits are on this album (“Don’t Talk To
\nStrangers” and “Rainbow In The Dark”), this album has many tracks
\nwhich have been unfairly overlooked. “Caught in the Middle” comes
\nto mind here. With heavy drumming, and a catchy (albeit simple)
\nguitar pattern, and with Dio’s ascending voice leading into a
\npowerful, sing-a-long chorus, it’s the perfect song to listen to
\nany time.<\/p>\n
The lyrical content on here isn’t as Dungeons & Dragons as
\nsome of his other releases, but still contains his fantasy-esque
\nhallmark. (I’m sure Hansi Kursch has a few copies of this in his
\nbasement).<\/p>\n
By far Dio’s best recording, this album is a must-have for all
\nhard rockers \/ metalheads. With its lyrical brilliance, powerful
\nriffing, and\u2026..are you still reading this? Go buy it,
\nnow!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":24889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6034],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-37754","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-dio","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37754"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=37754"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=37754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}