Holy Diver (song)

"Holy Diver"
Single by Dio
from the album Holy Diver
B-side	"Evil Eyes" "Don't Talk to Strangers"
Released	August 1983 (1983-08)
Recorded	1983
Studio	Sound City, Los Angeles
Genre	Heavy metal[1] hard rock[2]
Length	5:51
Label	Vertigo Mercury Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Ronnie James Dio
Producer(s)	Ronnie James Dio
Dio singles chronology
"Holy Diver" (1983) "Rainbow in the Dark" (1984)

"Holy Diver" is a song by American heavy metal band Dio. It was released in August 1983 as the lead single from the band's debut album of the same name. Although it only reached number 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart at that time, it is one of Dio's most popular songs today.^{[citation needed]}

Reception[]

Following the September 11 attacks, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles distributed by Clear Channel.

In 2009, "Holy Diver" placed 43rd on VH1's Top 100 Hard Rock Songs.^[2]

Content[]

Dio said the lyrics are about a Christ figure on another planet who sacrifices himself to redeem his people. When the people learn that he intends to leave them to save people on other planets, they selfishly ask him to stay.^[3]

Music video[]

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The music video for "Holy Diver", directed and edited by Arthur Ellis, features Dio as a hairy barbarian adventuring through a desolate church (the then recently burnt-out St Mark's Church, Silvertown in east London, which is now a music venue). First he strikes a shrouded figure and his hobgoblin friend with his sword, but instead of killing them he turns them into rats. He later visits a blacksmith who is forging a sword. He throws his sword in the trash and deftly catches the newly forged one. Walking through a corridor, he encounters three seated hooded figures. As the camera pans across them, the third slowly raises its head to reveal eyes resembling those of a cat. The final shots show Dio exiting the church.

Chart positions[]

Killswitch Engage version[]

"Holy Diver"
Single by Killswitch Engage
from the album As Daylight Dies (Special Edition)
Released	17 August 2007 (2007-08-17)
Recorded	2006
Genre	Metalcore
Length	4:10
Label	Roadrunner
Songwriter(s)	Ronnie James Dio
Producer(s)	Adam Dutkiewicz, Joel Stroetzel
Killswitch Engage singles chronology
"The Arms of Sorrow" (2007) "Holy Diver" (2007) "This Is Absolution" (2008)

Killswitch Engage covered the song for the compilation High Voltage!: A Brief History of Rock for Kerrang! magazine. The song was later re-released for the special edition of As Daylight Dies. A live version of the song is also featured on the Special Edition of their 2009 album Killswitch Engage, then in 2014, the song was re-released on the compilation album entitled Ronnie James Dio This Is Your Life. This version of the song as well as the original composed by Dio are DLC for the guitar video game Rocksmith 2014.

Music video[]

The band released a music video for their version. Directed by Brian Thompson,^[7] the video features a comical take on Dio's original music video.

Chart positions[]

Personnel[]

Killswitch Engage

• Howard Jones – lead vocals
• Adam Dutkiewicz – lead and rhythm guitar, vocals, keyboards
• Joel Stroetzel – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
• Mike D'Antonio – bass guitar
• Justin Foley – drums, percussion

Certifications[]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[9]	Gold	500,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[]

External links[]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics