Dio Holy Diver Live
by John Kindred
Staff Writer
The Blu-ray release of Holy Diver Live captures the ’05s incarnation of DIO performing the album Holy Diver in its entirety as well songs from Rainbow, Black Sabbath and Dio’s solo albums. Filmed October 22, ’2005 at the London’s Astoria Theatre the live performance has been captured in high definition for the enjoyment of Dio fans worldwide.
The latest addition to the DIO catalogue Holy Diver Live was originally released on DVD as well as 2-disk CD set. The Blu-ray release captures the bands performance of one Dio’s classic studio releases, Holy Diver. Not only is this classic album performed in its entirety but the band also performs songs from Ronnie James Dio’s days with Rainbow, Black Sabbath and from his solo career under his namesake.
The 05′ band lineup included some of metals finest musicians: Rudy Sarzo (b), Simon Phillips (d), Scott Warren (k) and Doug Aldrich (g). Aldrich who filled in for the injured Craig Goldy, handles his guitar duties with flawless execution as always. Although Sarzo’s performance isn’t as dynamic or aggressive as his predecessor Jimmy Bain but he gets the job done. Drummer Simon Phillips doesn’t show any dings in his armor and keyboardist Scott Warren delivers as usual.
It is interesting to note that Dio choose to perform the complete Holy Diver release live. It is apparent that for all the classic songs that were culled from that album that several tracks were purely filler. This in itself may be what makes the set list not as lively as it could have been. The performance captured on film is probably not one of Dio’s finer moments. Ronnie seems tired and his voice is lower than normal. Following up 2003’s Evil or Divine is definitely hard footsteps to follow in. Still one can’t get enough of classics like “Holy Diver,” “Rainbow In The Dark,” “Heaven and Hell,” “The Gates of Babylon” and “Long Live Rock and Roll.”
Bonus features include interviews of all the band members, which is insightful.
Although small in stature Ronnie James Dio had a huge heart and voice, he leaves a legacy that few will ever attain within the Hard Rock and Metal genres.
Genre: Hard Rock
Band:
Ronnie James Dio (v)
Rudy Sarzo (b)
Simon Phillips (d)
Scott Warren (k)
Doug Aldrich (g)
Blu-ray Details:
Studio Eagle Rock Entertainment ltd.
Original Year 2005
Catalog number: 33368
Discs 1
Release Date Oct 12, 2010
Running Time 125 Minutes
DTS Sound
Color
Track Listing:
1. Tarot Woman
2. The 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 Night
13. The Gates of Babylon
14. Heaven And Hell
15. Man On The Silver Mountain
16. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll
17. We Rock
Hardrock Haven rating: n/a