Customer Reviews

Dio - Holy Diver Live

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ronnie James Dio DEFINES quality Heavy Metal. So it's about time that he now has a DVD release that also defines how a music DVD should be done.

This performance of the 2005 Holy Diver tour was captured live at London's Astoria. The show features the Holy Diver album in its entirety, from start to finish, with other Dio, Rainbow and Black Sabbath classics.

The concert portion of the disk is all show. No indulgence by some videographer that thinks a viewer wants to see effects like cut to black and white or split screen pop ups. The picture is crystal clear, and most importantly, the video doesn't jump around every 4 seconds, so you really get to see the performance in a way that feels like you have a front row seat to the concert instead of sitting there watching a DVD.

The sound is terrific. If you've got a surround system you're in for a pounding Heavy Metal experience. You get your choice of Dolby 5.1 (which I have found usually gives the best playback for a concert DVD with my surround system), DTS or Dolby stereo.

Ronnie is excellent. This guy has held up extremely well; there's barely a crack in the vocal armor that has been RJD's signature sound for more than 30 years. Missing are Jimmy Bain, Vinnie Appice and Viv Cambell. In are a group of guys with some impressive resumes: Rudy Sarzo on Bass, Simon Wright on Drums, Doug Aldrich is spectacular on guitar (Craig Goldy was out on injured reserve) and Scott Warren on keyboards. All of the guys are on. They clearly committed to each other to give performances that were true to the studio versions, and their performances indeed channel the original line-up precisely.

You get:

1. "Tarot Woman"
2. "Sign Of The Southern Cross"
3. "One Night In The City"
4. "Stand Up And Shout"
5. "Holy Diver"
6. "Gypsy"
7. "Caught In The Middle"
8. "Don't Talk To Strangers"
9. "Straight Through The Heart"
10. "Invisible"
11. "Rainbow In The Dark"
12. "Shame On The The Night"
13. "Gates Of Babylon"
14. "Heaven & Hell"
15. "Man On The Silver Mountain"
16. "Long Live Rock 'N' Roll"
17. "We Rock"
Along with some bonus interviews.

This is the Dio DVD release we've all been waiting for. Any Dio fan will enjoy this disk immensely. There is no question here. Add it to your cart.

Unbelievable! That's what Holy Diver Live is, simply unbelievable. He's Ronnie James Dio, 63 years old, and he belts out the classics like he was 30 again. Great DVD. I watched it as soon as I got it, curious to see how one of the gods of heavy metal was still doing. Older, a little ragged, but his voice is still full of piss and vinegar. Doug Aldrich fills in for the injured Craig Goldy and he plays all the Holy Diver riffs and licks like he was Vivian Campbell reincarnated (I know Viv's not dead, but he may as well be). The tunes aside from the complete Holy Diver album are all killer and some were a bit surprising. Opening with Rainbow Rising's Tarot Woman was a real treat, and kicking out Sabbath's The Sign Of The Southern Cross was killer as well. Aldrich is a phenomenal guitarist and he plays the Blackmore and Iommi tunes with heart. Rudy Sarzo is on bass. It's kinda funny to watch Rudy because he's still doing the same moves he did on the After Hours Show in 1981 when he was playing with Ozzy. But he's a welcome change from the usual boringness of Jimmy Bain, and Rudy can play like a madman. Simon Wright on drums. Scott Warren on keyboards. As Sarzo says in one of the interviews included on the DVD, there's something about this lineup that justs clicks and he's absolutely right. Is it 1983 again? It feels like it watching this show. Awesome!

Dig it!

RJ Dio's voice still has much of its original fullness and colour well into the singer's (at least) seventh decade of life. At times you can tell he's pushing things just a little - but he has the SKILLS to know just where to back off & still sound great - masterful use of his still-viable voice after so many years. Time cannot conquer this little man. At moments Dio cannot help sounding a bit raspy/ old mannish (give him a break already) but more often than that his powerful vocal phrases leap out at you with staggering brilliance. Witness "Gates of Babylon." Yowza!!

The band is fully professional, and note-on. They are also almost dour, especially the Scott keyboardist and Doug the guitarist. Rudy Sarzo on bass at least makes a show of rocking out & having a good time. Doug Aldrich seems a little disconnected & usually has little interaction at all with the singer onstage which seems odd. His playing is incredibly fluid and the guitar tones are perfect - just utterly flourishing and musical! Maybe he's just full-on player that night, no goofing around onstage because it's a live recording. Doug could easily stand in for Zakk Wilde or any player like that, with his endless capacity for aggressive, flashy tuneful playing (he tries to restrain it.) At times I'd wish Dio would NOT yodel over the solos, but you get used to that on repeat viewings I think, as you come around to like the small flaws of any recorded concert.

You may feel the overall tuning sounds lower, and it is - to little ill effect usually. I'd rather bands do this than tire the singer's voice excessively. Dio's voice really warms up as he goes on in the set and at certain moments he evokes a much younger vocalist! Fans will rejoice.

Overall this did not feel like a "Rock in Rio" type insanely fun concert (the crowd and band were both more subdued but hey this isn't Brazil.) Regardless, this sure is an exercise in brilliant musicality; a showcase of the enduring talent Dio still has, and some utterly monster guitar thrown in (a highly rewind-able bonus feature.) Well worth owning for "Gates of Babylon" alone!!

Dio has, as Tenacious D point out, rocked for a long, long time but on the evidence of this live concert DVD, its going to be some time yet before he is ready to pass the torch.

This show, filmed at the London Astoria in October 2005 was built around the seminal 1983 album 'Holy Diver'. The prospect of seeing the whole of the album performed live drew in the punters wherever they played, and the Astoria was packed out to see Dio's current line-up take a step back in time. There was a late change to the squad however; regular guitarist Craig Goldy had withdrawn from the tour with a hand injury so former Dio six-stringer Doug Aldrich deputised at extremely short notice, having just completed a tour with Whitesnake.

Although the band were renowned at one time for their ever more elaborate stage sets, these days they stick to the basics, just five guys on stage, with lights, amps and a simple backdrop (of the 'Holy Diver' album cover art) - Denzil has long since been retired! The filming of the concert footage is similarly straightforward; plenty of camera angles offering many views of the band members rocking out, including one 'flying camera' over the crowd. Unlike the previous DVD: 'Evil or Divine', there is no grainy filter effect nor are there any sepia 'cut' shots - just straightforward live footage all the way.

With such a minimalist approach it falls to the guys on stage to deliver the goods, and alongside Ronnie James Dio is one of rock's real showmen in bassist Rudy Sarzo. He throws shapes many guitarists would balk at, while keeping perfect time and all with a huge grin on his face - he shows here why he has remained in demand among the premier league of hard rock. Doug Aldrich on the other side of the stage brings electrifying solos and equally dynamic stage presence to Dio. He and Sarzo are a perfect blend; the DVD is worth getting just to see these two at work. With Simon Wright driving the whole thing along with precision and Scott Warren adding the colour it is a formidable combo.

OF course the main focus is on the man who gives his name to the band: Ronnie James Dio demonstrates here just why he is held in such high regard by fans and fellow musicians alike. His voice remains strong and clear, if a little lower in pitch nowadays, and his ability to deliver his lines with such power while bounding about the stage is truly astonishing - others would need to stand and breathe deeply to do that, and to do it for two hours plus, night after night, beggars belief.

The DVD features the full set from the Astoria show, and the 'Holy Diver' segment is preceded by a short animation; an extended version of that was played each night but is edited down for this presentation. They have left in a scary moment when a stage intruder dared to invade during 'Heaven and Hell'; not the brightest thing that fan ever did but it was handled superbly by the singer, and it did not even throw him off his stride. Both drum and guitar solos are featured in full, and a nice moment is when the camera zooms out to reveal an audience member holding a digital camera up to take a picture of Doug Aldrich in full flight. At the end of the set, with the cheers of the crowd ringing in the band's ears the footage fades out.

The interview section is reasonably standard fare, interestingly however it is bassist Rudy Sarzo who is on screen first, all band members talk about how well things had gone on the tour. Particular mention was made of the band's trip to Russia prior to the UK dates; both RJD and drummer Simon Wright spoke at length about the enjoyable experience the band members had. Finally, the crew get to speak on camera too, and it is clear they too remain fans of the 'man on the silver mountain'.

All in all a worthwhile purchase, whether you were lucky enough to see this show last year or not. The band are once again on the road this year, with Craig Goldy having recovered from injury to reclaim his guitar role, and as intimated at the top of this review, Tenacious D will have a long wait before they can expect the torch!

Okay...just finished watching the dvd.......and its amazing...much better sound than the cd....I don't know why....Guitars are louder....and Mr Dio performance is just without faults....excellent....his ability to sing these songs is still there....all the reviews about his voice being past it...are a load of crap!
The Godfather of Metal....is still sitting on top of the mountain...and nothing will knock him down!Rudy shows us why he is one of the best bass guitar players out there....magnificent is all I can say...Simon....is the imposingly splendid thunder....his drums will shake your bones,outstanding solo from Simon,Scott's playing is really good....for a metal band....you can hear Scott playing and is not missing from this Dio symphony of classic songs....which is good.I will not spoil it too much for the fans.....get out there now and get your copy now!
There is great interviews from all the band......you got digital sound 5 and 1.....DTS....the whole lot!One thing I did notice from the inner notes....apart from the mistake about ''Goldy''featured spot....when it should have been Doug.....there is no pictures of Doug on the dvd package....or inside....oh well ....we are not perfect....anyway thats just minor details....I am not a fan of Doug's playing and I will ADMIT....he is brillant on the dvd...I am just don't know what happened with the cd.....also Doug played better in London....than what he did in Glasgow..But this dvd is about the outstandingly good and skilful Mr Dio.....this is an amazing singer....who just gets better and better...Mr Dio should be proud...this is an accomplishment of something very special for the fans.....and I thank him for sharing his talent with us....Long Live Rock and Roll.
Holy Diver is a classic cd....timeless...and you get the whole cd in the show...plus classic tracks from the Rainbow and Black Sabbath days,like Tarot Woman,Gates of Babylon and much more..you also get One Night in the City and of course Heaven and Hell.This is classic Dio.

I'm sitting here watching track 15, and I havn't been able to look away...Ronnie may have lost a tiny bit of range, but you would have to pretty anal to notice.. What a great DVD...NOBODY shows up like Ronnie James Dio... and The new line up is killer too... the drum solo was actually cool as hell (not the usual smoke break), and the Guitar player was A great suprise. He could play for anyone.
Ive watched my "live at the Spectrum" VHS a few times and was afraid this DVD wouldn't stack up..I was expecting it to lean on fireworks and stage bling, but this was so good, I didnt even notice the first spark bombs went off in cut 14...great sound, great picture, great editing...Just great!!!!

the preformance is a great tribute to a great album the band is stellar and its nice to see rudy sarzo on bass, nothing against jimmy bain, i like him but rudy rocks too..doug aldrich is a great player and replicates viv's guitar tones well..simon wright is a superior drummer and rocks hard and well as you know if you are looking at this... there is nothing at all that needs to be said about ronnie james dio's vocal...you need this dvd buy it

What a great concert for the fans of DIO - I can't believe how good Ronnie's voice still sounds - and the guys with him, as always are top notch - I have all his DVD releases and this one just moved to the top spot - Great Sound - Widescreen - And the entire Holy Diver album from start to finish!
Now time to get the 2CD set - Holy Diver Live on one disc and the rest of the concert on the other - What a great way to keep your long time fans happy - Thanks Ronnie!!!

I toyed with giving this just three stars but then decided to put it up to a four star release and my reasoning behind this, and my feelings about this release, can be summed up as below;

Firstly Dio is a very early hard rock/identity and as such he deserves a certain amount of respect. Anyone working in such a demanding business as the music industry for that long deserves, nay, commands some level of appreciation. And Dio actually still has much of his once amazing voice which is truly inspiring when you think the guy must be getting ready to sign up for his social security cheque.

Secondly it is quite obvious that the singer still enjoys much of what he does and is at peace with his past. This means that the concert, filmed in London, has a real celebratory feel which is deserved - it is after all the 25th anniversary of the release of Holy Diver, one of the more amazing albums from Ronnie's amazing career. This celebration factor comes across not only in the quality yet understated stage performances of the band but also the fact that the band absolutely adore the players and the material being offered up. The number of young faces in the crowd surprised me and was actually a high point for me.

My third reason for enjoying this live DVD to the point of giving it four stars is that the material in question is of a very high standard. Personally I'm not in thrall to the legend of the Holy Diver album but such is the gusto with which it's attacked it really does come alive. Not to mention that his release is more than just a run through of the Holy Diver album, it also cherry picks from Ronnies back catalogue including work he did with the mercurial Mr Blackmore and Black Sabbath which really made me thing that he is quite at ease with his heritage within the heavy metal genre.

My personal gut feeling is that if you are a Dio fan, or if you ever were a Dio fan you should pick this up, preferably cheap. You will get a traditional style heavy metal show with interesting players plying their trade honestly in front of an appreciative crowd. The stage production values are not lavish, but they are quite sufficient to blend in with the songs and the bonus interview footage while not earth shattering is actually not too bad in that it isn't a relentless back slapping session. Recommended for the above reasons.

Actually people that would be reviewing this should be DIO fans or at least partial fans from Sabbath and other groups. It appears his age and range is causing people to give this DVD an unfair review and I want to correct it.
I bought it today and watched it completely tonight and found it totally fun and well worth the money I spent. Now a days theres not many DVDs to buy of anything. It is definitely a 5 star Music Metal DVD. DIO does not hit any bad notes and he sings all the songs well. Yea he doesnt have the range he had but he sings like the Pro he is. He looks like he is having a blast and that is all that matters. Great selection of members in the band too. As a Guitarist I really liked the guitarist on this DVD. He played the songs like a shredding player from the 80s and thats what it should be. Rudy Sarzo is always the best.

buy this if you are a METAL HEAD.