Dio - Holy Diver (Super Deluxe Edition)

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Released on July 8, 2022, two days before what would have been the late metal singer's 80th birthday, here's a treat for hard core fans of Ronnie James Dio's Holy Diver release, his first under the Dio moniker. This Super Deluxe Edition is a 4-CD box set with two of the discs featuring unreleased tracks, live recordings and rarities. The other two are 2022 versions of the 1983 album that eventually went platinum.

Not only do fans get a newly-remastered version of Holy Diver but they also get the entire album in a remixed form, updated by Joe "Evil Joe" Barresi who has worked with stars like Judas Priest, Slipknot and Soundgarden. Barresi worked with the original analog tapes to make his remix and fans will have a blast picking out the nuances that he brings out in the music as well as hearing stuff that wasn't there at all in the original mix, like a "count in" at the beginning of "Rainbow in the Dark." You might be hard-pressed to pick all of it out but Barresi's mix adds about three minutes of playing time to the record.

The extras here are worthy of throwing devil horns too. First there's a disc featuring a live concert from Fresno in 1983 that includes performances of most of the Holy Diver tracks along with takes on "Starstruck," "Man on the Silver Mountain," "Children of the Sea" and "Heaven and Hell" from Ronnie's time with Black Sabbath. The fourth and final disc presents 10 rarities, seven of which are previously-unreleased. Six of those are Barresi remixes; two takes on "Straight Through the Heart," two on "Invisible," "Don't Talk to Strangers" and the one fans are likely to dig the most, "Rainbow in the Dark" with a different guitar solo.

Also available is a 2-LP version of Barresi's remix on vinyl. In all likelihood this is the end of the line for updates on Holy Diver and associated rarities and fans would be wise to grab this nice keepsake while they can.

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