Holy Diver by Dio

Holy Diver, the 1983 debut from Dio, is the sound of Ronnie James Dio walking out of Black Sabbath and building his own castle. He brought drummer Vinny Appice along from Sabbath, added Vivian Campbell on guitar and Jimmy Bain on bass, and produced the record himself at Sound City Studios.

It's heavy metal at its most gloriously operatic: galloping riffs, towering drama, and that voice, huge and commanding, riding on top like a wizard atop a thundercloud. The title track stomps with doom-laden grandeur, "Rainbow in the Dark" races along on a nagging hook and Campbell's slashing guitar, and "Stand Up and Shout" kicks the door in at full speed. Both "Holy Diver" and "Rainbow in the Dark" got onto the radio as singles. The press raved, it became the band's most successful album, and it eventually went double platinum in the US. The Last in Line was next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.