The album has been hailed by critics as Dio’s best work and a classic staple in the heavy metal genre. The album was certified Gold in the US on September 12, 1984, and Platinum on March 21, 1989. In the UK it attained Silver certification (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in January 1986, at the same time as Dio’s “The Last in Line” album.The cover features the band mascot, Murray spinning chains around waves where a man with a priest or minister’s collar in chains is floating. Dio was quick to argue that appearances are misleading, that it could just as easily be a priest killing a devil, wanting people not to “judge a book by its cover”.
“Holy Diver” is featured in “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories” on the radio station V-Rock. “Rainbow in the Dark” appears in “Rock Band 3” and “Rocksmith” as DLC, and “Holy Diver” and “Stand Up and Shout” are featured as DLC for the series as a whole. It is also featured in “Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s” and “Rocksmith.” A short excerpt of the song “Holy Diver” also plays twice in a third-season episode of “South Park” titled “Hooked on Monkey Phonics″. It is also heard in the commercial of Hyundai Tucson. In 2017, The LP was ranked 16th on Rolling Stone’s list of “100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time”.
TRACKLIST:
1) Stand Up and Shout
2) Holy Diver
3) Gypsy
4) Caught in the Middle
5) Don’t Talk to Strangers
6) Straight Through the Heart
7) Invisible
8) Rainbow in the Dark
9) Shame on the Night
The post MAY 25, 1983 – Dio released “Holy Diver.” appeared first on NSF - Music Magazine.