Dio - Holy Diver poll

I recently watched a Ronnie James Dio doc on Showtime and since we just polled Master of Reality I thought why not? Originally I was going to do the Heaven & Hell album for the connection but it doesn't even have it's own thread. I did find a little bit of talk in the Dio thread but doing H&H would probably be a waste of time, even if that doc couldn't stop talking about how great it was. Anyways, this album is enough of a connection and is worthy of a poll.

many many faves here but i’m voting Dont Talk to Strangers bc its my sentimental favorite

(Heaven & Hell rules btw)

I will re-listen but at a certain susceptible age, Rainbow seemed to be coming out of every radio and car around me at least twice a day so it is embedded pretty deep.

Hey, I recently listened to this!! (to absolutely zero response on that thread, lol)

Anyway, "Caught in the Middle" all the way…!

Huh, Wikipedia sez:

Released on May 25, 1983, the album has been hailed by critics as Dio's best work and a classic staple in the heavy metal genre.

Dio was quick to argue that appearances are misleading, that it could just as easily be a priest killing a devil

several good candidates but this is "Rainbow," a miracle of a song

my wife is a teacher at a catholic primary school, for sports day they needed to pick a wrestling style hype track for their class. she suggested Stand Up And Shout - the kids seemed to be into it but half a second later were asking curious questions about the album art.... anyway definitely aware if this was the 80s she'd be tarred and feathered as an evil cultist

Damn there are some jams on this one...going to be hard for me not to vote for the title track though

Having really liked all his Rainbow records and moderately liked his Sabbath records, is this going to show any facets of Dio that I didn't already know? I'm feeling Dioed out at the moment.

I have to go with the title track.

everything is playing for second behind the title track. maybe even #3 behind "rainbow."

gonna give some love to "stand up and shout" because it features *the* heavy metal guitar riff. like, the first thing i will think of when i think "heavy metal" is probably the riff from "stand up and shout"

Having really liked all his Rainbow records and moderately liked his Sabbath records, is this going to show any facets of Dio that I didn't already know? I'm feeling Dioed out at the moment.

Dio's best work is with the band Dio and their catalogue is essential HM listening imo. The collection Diamonds: the Best of Dio is a good starting point

As much as I love "Holy Diver" and "Rainbow in the Dark," I'm gonna vote for "Stand Up and Shout" because it and "We Rock" are the Dio songs I listen to the most these days. The band is just eating up the road on "Stand Up and Shout" — Vinny Appice's drumming is just manic, and Vivian Campbell's solo is great. And it has one of my favorite Dio "say nothing, but say it with your whole chest" lines when he says "you gotta be somewhere sometime".

I have to vote for the title track, when I was like 9 or 10 getting into bass playing seriously that bass part was such a big deal to me because it was very cool and iconic but also very easy to play for a beginner.

also this is a good place to talk about my big question about that song:

so after "you're the star of the masquerade" he does one of my favorite things in any song, where he goes "Jump!....jump!....jump on the tiger"

I always wondered if that was a happenstance in the studio, where he came in early and just kept going and then they thought it was cool

or...was it intentional like he's musically foreshadowing jumping on the tiger by "jumping" the line on purpose?

Jomp! Jomp!

Outlier vote for Straight Through the Heart because I like how the guitar solo progresses from scratchy noodling to that fuckin sweet duelling guitar riff at the end

Tragic sign of my old age that I can't remember what any of these sound like apart from the title track but if I listen to this over the weekend I will instantly know them all

I'm feeling Dioed out at the moment.

― Halfway there but for you, Thursday, 28 March 2024 14:42 (three hours ago) link

Dio the band is like medical grade Dio, you can only get with a prescription, if you are feeling Dio'd out you might want a milder substitute, like Whitesnake

Oh no, I can't even bear Coverdale with Deep Purple!

yeah that is not a good substitute at all

That's the point

We don't have Dio, is Whitesnake OK?

"Holy Diver" followed by "Stand Up and Shout"

ok i'm gonna end up voting for all of these

holding my lighter up for the "ViV Campbell is 12" discourse

"you been riding on a Gypsy feels a bit racist idk"

foetal prodigy Vivian Campbell rips out a big solo tho so fair enough

okay Don't Talk to Strangers is so good and chonky it's almost made me stop thinking about the ridiculous Heaven & Hell dis at the start of this thread

"Straight Thru the Heart" = the "I Love Rock & Roll" refix that nobody ordered

honest to god Ronald could just sing "bah bah bah" on every track and i'd still be in

full disclosure this is still an absolutely excellent album but i've been itching to stick Accept on thru most of it

ah fuck i forgot how emo "Invisible" is

already anticipating the bit where Ronnie says "INVISIBLE" in his tummy voice at the end

ok "Rainbow in the Dark" yes yes bring the Casio

right in brief this is still an all bangers classic, still don't regret voting for the title track, still thing none of these quite reach "Man on the Silver Mountain"

Keys played by Ronnie himself! Probably with one finger. Claude Schnell must have gritted his teeth every time they did that song live.

xpost

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

just acquired the live album from 2005. right as the opening strains of "Holy Diver" starts, instead of doing the generic rock star introduction, shouting shit like "ARE YOU ALL READY? ARE YOU READY TO DIVE? IT'S TIME FOR THE HO...LY...DIVER!", he just jocularly says "well it sounds like my theeeeeeeeeeme song is starting" before actually giving it a proper intro.

it's a delightfully goofy moment. miss this man.

yeah there’s often a lovely uncle-y kind of warmth to his stage patter

A proper dude, he always struck me as. Mensch on the silver mountain.