Holy Diver (Dio, 1983)

In spite of no actual members of Deep Purple being involved, Holy Diver is one of the landmark albums of the greater Deep Purple family tree. Ever since the "discovery" of Elf at a very opportune time by Roger Glover and Ian Paice circa 1972, Ronnie James Dio enjoyed a close relationship with the band. In fact, when Glover left Deep Purple he initially planned on forming a new band with Dio on vocals. However his production work (primarily with Nazareth, though, ahem, including Elf) must have distracted him because the next thing he knew Dio was teamed up with Ritchie Blackmore (the guy who effectively "fired" him from Purple) at the launch of Rainbow. Although Ritchie lifted Dio out of obscurity, it didn't take long for the singer to figure out why Deep Purple was so combustible and the two parted ways by decade's end. In what was either really good timing or just good business, Dio easily moved over to Black Sabbath as a permanent solution to that band's Ozzy problem. All the while between Rainbow and Black Sabbath, Dio was getting coating after coating of steel, transforming the one-time 60's crooner into the lean mean metal machine he's world-famous as today.

Holy Diver was the first release credited to Dio as a solo album (all syntax issues aside regarding Dio the Band and Dio the Man) since the last Ronnie & the Prophets single was released in 1967 and the first full album credited to Dio since Dio at Domino's in 1963. Of course the difference between that stuff and this album is huge. I think Dio was glad to finally get out from under the shadow of controlled guitarists. He smartly picked out band members from his past to launch his new band: Jimmy Bain, who played bass in Rainbow for an album and was looking for new adventures outside his Wild Horses project, and Vinny Appice, who sided with Dio in the Sabbath split over the mixing debacle over the Live Evil album. Of course there was the little matter of the guitarist. Initally Jake E. Lee was selected but it didn't work out and relative-unknown Vivian Campbell was brought aboard. Keyboards (what little there was outside the "Rainbow in the Dark" riff) were not staffed formally until the supporting tour.

This album would set the template for all of Dio's 1980's albums, all the way through Dream Evil, and even 1990's Lock Up the Wolves didn't deviate that much in spite of featuring an entirely different lineup. You have your up-tempo triumph-metal number, "Stand Up and Shout" followed by the title track (always the second song). "Caught in the Middle" is probably the most relaxed song of the bunch (using the Dio definition of "relaxed") before things get downright nasty with "Don't Talk to Strangers" finishing the first side, then immediately dropping the hammer on the live favorite "Straight Through the Heat" to kick off side B. The big giant superhit of the album, "Rainbow in the Dark" seems like an appropriate closer, but "Shame on the Night" gets the honor, sporting a "Hush"-like howl. Maybe a little nod (or slap?) to Ritchie's own first album?

I think this was the first Dio album I ever got (could have been Strange Highways in a weak moment, not sure). While some will waver toward the second album as a refinement of this one, I see Last in Line as just ever so slightly derivative. It's a great album, but it was done first here.