Imagine yourself as the chosen one, caught in the middle of a rainbow in the dark; would you pray to be invisible? Oh, stand up and shout! Shame on the night, shame on you, shame on all of you! I could ask to the gypsy but don’t talk to strangers. Pain goes straight through the heart if you would be the holy diver.”

These are the words used by the Italian-American hard’n’heavy singer Ronnie James Dio to introduce the most successful album of his solo career “Holy Diver”, released in 1983 following his split from Sabbath with Mr. Iommi due to production disagreements at the live “Live Evil”. Everything I will write in the following lines comes from reliable sources, mostly interviews with the hobbit. Let's start first with the members of the group, namely DIO (the choice of this name was made by Ronnie James Dio's manager – also his wife - Wendy Dio): the frontman is the charismatic and already frequently mentioned Ronnie James Dio (real name Ronald James Padovana) born in 1948 in New Hampshire but of entirely Italian origin.

Ronnie (allow me to simply call him by his name) began his career at the young age of ten with a group formed by him and three of his classmates. After various record productions, he founded the “Electric Elves” (later renamed “Elf”) combining the world of music with studies. The Elf were noticed by Deep Purple who chose them as a support band for a North American tour. They also decided to produce, on behalf of “Purple Records”, the albums “Elf” (self-titled), “Carolina County Ball” and “Trying To Burn The Sun”.

Meanwhile, Blackmore, excited by the vocal potential of R.J. Dio, recorded a cover of “Black Sheep Family” with the Elf: the idea of a cover of this “rock'n'roll” song had been on the mind of the Man In Black for some time, but he wanted to record it with the “opposed to the idea” Deep Purple. So Blackmore left the Purples after a series of disputes with them and founded a new group called “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow”, which involved all the Elves (except the guitarist – who was also Ronnie's cousin -) and recorded an album (initially distributed only in Germany) that included the cover of “Black Sheep Of The Family” and other songs that would become Rainbow classics like “Man On The Silver Mountain”, “Catch The Rainbow”, and “16th Century Greensleeves”.
Other Rainbow albums followed with the hobbit on vocals, namely “Rising”, “On Stage”, and “Long Live Rock’n’Roll”. This marked Ronnie's separation from the group as he “moved” to become the frontman of Sabbath with whom he recorded the albums “Heaven And Hell”, “The Mob Rules”, and “Live Evil”.

The hobbit then founded his solo group in ’83 (returned to Black Sabbath only in ’92 with the album “Dehumanizer” to immediately go back to recording albums on his own). (Note: I hope I'm not boring you so far). The one who would be chosen as the axe-man for the first three DIO albums (“Holy Diver”, “The Last In Line”, “Sacred Heart” and the live EP “Intermission”) is the young Irish talent Vivian Campbell (currently the guitarist of Def Leppard), an excellent performer, and a great composer.
Vivian Campbell was discovered by Ronnie James Dio himself who wanted him in his group as soon as he heard him play in a rather unknown local band. On bass, there was (in fact, there was since he left the music world two years ago – I hope only temporarily) Jimmy Bain who had already worked alongside the elf on the Rainbow album “Rising”. Jimmy Bain, in my opinion, is a genius both in execution and composition, definitely one of my favorite bassists. Behind the drums, we finally find the very friendly Vinnie Appice (brother of the better-known Carmine Appice); he too, like Bain, had already worked with the frontman: not in Rainbow, but in Black Sabbath.

As you can see for yourself the line-up is excellent and from a group with an excellent line-up nothing but a masterpiece can be born: “Holy Diver”.

The cover:

The cover is not, as many think, a hymn or homage to Satan (even if at first glance it might seem so) but behind that big “devil” named Murray (as Ronnie says in an interview present in the remastered version of the album I am reviewing) drowning a priest, there is a concept that, in a sense, could be defined as “philosophical”: the world, when it was created (not by an omnipotent entity, Mr. Padovana himself has often stated that he is completely atheist) was “something” perfect, it was “Paradise”, but man made it “Hell”; therefore, everyone, in their small way, can make paradise or hell, good or evil (hence the priest, representing good, and the devil, representing evil).
This is just the summary of pages and pages of interviews with the hobbit regarding this cover. It has also been rumored that if you turn the band's logo (DIO) upside down you can read the word “Devil”… a subliminal message? In reality, it’s not anything like that, it’s just a coincidence: the designer of the logo himself said that there is no hidden message in it.

But now let's move on to the album review:

It opens with the very fast and “schizophrenic” “Stand Up And Shout”, I certainly cannot deny having listened to it countless times… by now it has almost become an anthem of the group so much so that many of their concerts will open precisely with this. “Stand Up And Shout” is a concentrate of energy, power, and speed. So we move on to the second track: initially only silence, then you hear the wind whistling and here comes the captivating riff of the title-track: the fact that this has become the group's best-known song speaks volumes. “Holy Diver”, a track that, for twenty years now shines in the top 20 best hard’n’heavy tracks.
From fantasy lyrics reminiscent of novels like “The Lord of the Rings” could only come a magnificent video where Ronnie plays a barbarian with his sword. Then, there is “Gypsy”, a hard song that differs from the usual DIO tracks, not because of the lyrics, but because of the music: Ronnie James Dio's voice, in fact, becomes harder and more aggressive and, at the same time, takes on a touch of acidity that doesn’t quite suit him: a fantastic yet curious track.

Caught In The Middle”, on the other hand, is a track that has always given me a feeling of joy: perhaps the music, perhaps the clean voice that Mr. Padovana takes, perhaps because it is played an octave higher than its “colleagues” or perhaps simply for the cheerful notes of the keyboards in the background. Regarding the next song, I can find no words to describe it, to my taste the best of the whole album and one of the best in the group’s repertoire: I am talking about none other than “Don’t Talk To Strangers”: well, yes, the lyrics are always inspired by fantasy literature and the music is exceptional: a mix of melody, “mystic” arpeggios, a more beautiful than ever voice and, at the same time, decidedly heavy metal rhythms.
About “Straight Through The Heart” there is not much to say: a beautiful and classic “DIO-style” song, that is my favorite genre. Next comes “Invisible”, a nice track but for reasons unknown to me, it never excited me, and I wouldn’t add anything else to this. I think that “Rainbow In The Dark”, given its notoriety, you all know it: it is a nice and cheerful song but nothing more, it has rhythms, in fact, slightly pop (as R.J. Dio himself admits). I strongly recommend, on the other hand, the video of this: filmed in beautiful London, it talks about a boy who falls in love with a woman and begins to follow her through the streets and bars of the city but, when he sees her enter a sex shop and come out paired with her boyfriend Vivian Campbell while playing the guitar (a Fender-stratocaster to be precise), he realizes there is no hope of getting together with his beloved and runs away: all with the notes of “Rainbow In The Dark” in the background.

The album ends with the track “Shame On The Night”, with strong lyrics that make you feel like a “worm” even though you are completely innocent: “Shame on the night, shame on you, shame on your son, shame on all of you!”. Meanwhile, the music transmits images that take you back to the Middle Ages and this is exactly the DIO’s intent: to make you feel shame (of course you really shouldn’t be ashamed but the rebuking text and voice of Ronnie really convey the idea of shame) and at the same time transmit Medieval images. Faced with an album of this caliber, I can only say “I ROCK, YOU ROCK, WE ROCK!”.

If you are reading these words it is because you had the time and patience to read my review and I thank you warmly for that. Moreover, I would like to ask you to be understanding towards me: in fact, with this review, I tried to make a tribute and give my contribution to my idol (Ronnie James Dio). I tried to be as objective as possible and if what I wrote seems like a eulogy, it is only because this is an album that, still today, is among the best “released” hard’ n’ heavy of all time, just like “In Rock” and “Made In Japan” by Deep Purple, “Kiss Alive I-II” by Kiss, “The Number Of The Beast” by Iron Maiden, “Led Zeppelin IV” and “The Song Remains The Same” by Led Zeppelin, “Rising” by Rainbow, “Paranoid” and “Heaven And Hell” by Black Sabbath, “Master Of Puppets” by Metallica, “Screaming For Vengeance” by Judas Priest and so on with other albums and bands that have marked the history of rock.

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   Stand Up and Shout (03:18)

It's the same old song
You've gotta be somewhere at sometime
They never let you fly

It's like broken glass
You get cut before you see it
So open up your eyes

You've got desire
So let it out
You've got the fire
Stand up and shout-shout

You've got wings of steel
But they never really move you
You only seem to crawl

You've been nailed to the wheel
But never really turning
You know you've got to want it all

You've got desire
So let it out
You've got the fire
Stand up and shout

You are the strongest chain
And not just some reflection
So never hide again

You are the driver
You own the road
You are the fire go on explode

You've got desire
So let it out
You've got the power
Stand up and shout

02   Holy Diver (05:51)

Holy Diver
You've been down too long in the midnight sea
Oh what's becoming of me

Ride the tiger
You can see his stripes but you know he's clean
Oh don't you see what I mean

Gotta get away
Holy Diver

Shiny diamonds
Like the eyes of a cat in the black and blue
Something is coming for you

Race for the morning
You can hide in the sun 'till you see the light
Oh we will pray it's all right

Gotta get away-get away

Between the velvet lies
There's a truth that's hard as steel
The vision never dies
Life's a never ending wheel

Holy Diver
You're the star of the masquerade
No need to look so afraid

Jump on the tiger
You can feel his heart but you know he's mean
Some light can never be seen

Holy Diver
You've been down too long in the midnight sea
Oh what's becoming of me

Ride the tiger
You can see his stripes but you know he's clean
Oh don't you see what I mean

03   Gypsy (03:38)

She was straight from Hell
But you never could tell
Cause you were blinded by her light
She could crack your brain
With magic pain
And turn a paler shade of white

(Well) I was on the free
Just me and me
And just about to sail

When I heard the voice
Said you got a choice
The hammer or the nail

You'll be ridin'
You'll be ridin' on the gypsy

Well I rolled the bones
To see who'd own
My mind and what's within

And it's a given rule
That we're all fools
And need to have a little sin

So I'm ridin'
I've been ridin' on the gypsy
On the gypsy queen

She was straight from Hell
But you never could tell
Cause you were blinded by the light

So she cracked my brain
With magic pain
And turned my left around to right, right

So I'm ridin'
Yes I'm ridin'
I'm still ridin' on the gypsy
On the gypsy queen

04   Caught in the Middle (04:17)

Looking inside of yourself
You might see someone you don't know
Maybe it's just what you need
Letting the river in you flow

You can sail away to the sun
And let it burn you while you can
Or walk a long bloody road
Like the hero who never ran

You'll feel it
You'll feel it
You'll feel the rush of it all

Flying away int the clouds
You know you're loosing your control
Finding you way in the dark
Like some poor forgotten soul

You'll feel it
You'll see it
You'll feel the rush of the city lights
You'll fell it
I see it in your eyes, you're

Caught in the middle
Just like the way you've always been
Caught in the middle
Helpless again

Looking inside of yourself
You might see someone you don't know
Maybe it's just what you need
Letting the river I know that's in you flow

You'll feel it
You'll see it
You'll feel the rush of thunder
You'll feel it
I see it in your eyes, you're

Caught in the middle
Just like the way you've always been
Caught in the middle
Helpless again

05   Don't Talk to Strangers (04:53)

Don't talk to strangers
Cause they're only there to do you harm
Don't write in starlight
Cause the words may come out real
Don't hide in doorways
You may find the key that opens up your soul
Don't go to Heaven cause it's really only Hell
Don't smell the flowers
They're an evil drug to make you lose your mind
Don't dream of women cause they'll only bring you down

Hey you you know me you've touched I'm real
I'm forever the one that lets you look and see and
Feel me I'm danger - I'm the stranger

I I'm darkness I'm anger I'm pain
I am master
The evil song you sing inside your brain
Drive you insane
Don't talk
Don't let them inside your mind yeah
Run away run away go

No no don't let them in your mind
Reject your soul

Don't dance in darkness
You may stumble and you're sure to fall
Don't write in starlight
Cause the words may come out real

Don't talk to strangers
Cause they're only there to make you sad
Don't dream of women
Cause they'll only bring you down

Yeah
Run away run away

06   Straight Through the Heart (04:34)

Hanging from the cobwebs in you mind
It looks like a long long way to fall
No one ever told me life was kind
I guess I never heard it, never heard it all

Living in a world of make believe
I can hide behind what's real
But wearing your emotions on your sleeve
And they all know what you feel

And here it comes again
Straight through the heart
Never tell a secret with your eyes
It's the eyes that let you down
Tell a little truth with many lies
It's the only way I've found

Oh here it comes again
Straight through the heart

Shout to the wind
How can you hurt me this way
Oh once it begins
It looks like it's coming to stay

Hanging from the cobwebs in your mind
It looks like a long long way to fall
No one ever told me life was kind
Guess I never heard it, never heard it all

Here it comes again
Straight through the heart

07   Invisible (05:25)

If your circle stays unbroken
Then you're a lucky man
Cause it never, never, never has for me

In the palace of the virgin
Lies the chalice of the soul
And it's likely you might find the answer there

She had thirteen years of teenage tears
And never a helping hand
She had fourteen more of rain before
She saw the sight of land
She was a photograph just ripped in half
A smile inside a frown
And the the light, the answer right
Inside her coming down

I can go away
I can leave here
I can be invisible

He was just eighteen and in-between
A lady and a man
His daddie's girl in momma's world
And that was when he ran
You know the word confused has been abused
But that's just what he was
And then the spark inside the dark
The answer came because it said

You can go away
You can leave here
You can be invisible

Well I grew up quick and I felt the kick
Of life upon a stage
So I bought the book and took a fast look
At just the very last page
It was a single word that I'd just heard
From the two that came before
The only way to realle stay
Is to walk right out the door

You can go away
You can leave here
You can be invisible

You can go away
You can leave here
You can be invisible

You can go away
Lord you know it's right to leave here
So I just become invisible

08   Rainbow in the Dark (04:14)

When there's lightning
You know it always brings me down
Cause it's free and I see that it's me
Who's lost and never found
I cry out for magic
I feel it dancing in the light
It was cold, lost my hold
To the shadows of the night

No sign of the morning coming
You've been left on your own
Like a Rainbow in the Dark
A Rainbow in the Dark

Do your demons
Do they ever let you go
When you've tried do they hide deep inside
Is it someone that you know
You're just a picture
Just an image caught in time
We're a lie you and I
We're words without a rhyme

There's no sign of the morning coming
You've been left on your own
Like a Rainbow in the Dark
Just a Rainbow in the Dark

(Lead/Instrumental)

When I see lightning
You know it always brings me down
Cause it's free and I see that it's me
Who's lost and never found
Feel the magic
I feel it floating in the air
But it's fear and you'll hear it calling you beware
Look Out!

There's no sign of the morning coming
There's no sight of the day
You've been left on your own
Like a Rainbow
Like a Rainbow in the Dark Yeah . . .
You're a Rainbow in the Da a a a a ark
Just a Rainbow in the Dark
No sign of the morning
Just a Rainbow in the Dark

09   Shame on the Night (05:19)

Shame on the night
For places I've been
And what I've seen
For giving me the strangest dreams
But you never really know just what they mean
So oh shame on the night

Shame on you
You've stolen the day
Snatched it away
But I saw the sky
An I never want to die
Now you know the reason why
Oh shame on the night

You don't care what you've done
So I think I'd better run

Shame on the sun
For the light you sold
I've lost my hold
On the magic flame
But now I know your name
Oh lord just go the way you came again
Oh shame on the night

You don't care what you've done
So I know I'd better run

[Repeat verse 1]

You don't care what you've done
Here I go I've got to run

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Other reviews

By Ulver

 "Holy Diver is a fantastic album, which will surely be appreciated by Hard Rock and Heavy Metal enthusiasts."

 "It is, in fact, one of the milestones of heavy metal and a great classic of 80s metal."


By ilfreddo

 Holy Diver is one of those rare albums that you listen to with immense pleasure even after a long time.

 Solid and hypnotic, like the pace I want to keep now that I don’t feel tired yet and I feel invincible.


By Angelowar6

 Ronnie James Dio's intense voice dominates all the songs, with verses and choruses that leave a mark.

 For me, among metal albums, it is one of the best, without a shadow of a doubt.