The Bottom Line
A double disc live album with some of Dio's Sabbath and Rainbow songs along with the entire Holy Diver album.
Pros
- Live version of one of the best metal albums of all time.
Cons
- Some shaky vocals.
Description
- Released April 18, 2006 on Eagle Records.
- Recorded at the Astoria in London in 2005.
- A DVD of this show is planned for a May 2006 release.
Guide Review - Dio - Holy Diver Live
1983's Holy Diver is a great heavy metal album, and Ronnie James Dio has one of the best voices in metal, so doing a live version of this classic seems like a great idea. The concept is a good one, but the end result didn't reach greatness.
It's hard to believe, but Ronnie James Dio is human. Some of the vocals weren't as strong as you'd expect. There are a couple of songs where he sounds raspy and the songs are in a lower key. But there are plenty of moments where Dio sounds like the RJD we've been listening to for the past 30 years.
The first disc is Holy Diver in its entirety. The second disc has songs from Dio's solo career along with some Black Sabbath and Rainbow tracks. He put together a tight sounding band including guitarist Doug Aldrich, bassist Rudy Sarzo, drummer Simon Wright and keyboard player Scott Warren. Even with some less than perfect vocals it's still a worthy album, especially for Dio fans.
