Magnum Opus

Ronnie James Dio is a metal god. Besides popularizing the devil horns hand gesture as the international sign of metal, his powerful voice has fronted bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own solo project, Dio. I don’t consider Dio to be hair metal, per se; Dio is about as “hair metal” as Ozzy and Iron Maiden. Nevertheless, “Holy Diver”is a visual tour de force and it would be a crime against humanity to omit it from this shrine of acclamation. I’ve never seen Citizen Kane, but from what I hear, the allegory of Dio’s chef-d'oeuvre makes it look like a loose bowel movement in comparison.


In order to fully appreciate the genius that is “Holy Diver,” one has to leave all preconceptions at the doorstep. First, despite its title’s connotations, the video has nothing to do with deep sea diving. Second, despite the fact that Ronnie James Dio looks like a chain-smoking Camaro mechanic from North Jersey who just can‘t figure out what’s wrong with your carburetor, you will become spellbound by his portrayal of a valiant barbarian on a quest through a desolate medieval town.


Dio, clad in animal pelts and brandishing a sword, walks through the rusty gate and immediately finds himself in a confrontation with a battleaxe toting behemoth. His face is partially covered by tattered rags that resemble ripped up bed sheets with crude tiger stripes drawn on with a Sharpie. Dio is dwarfed by his opponent, which means that the giant brute must stand at an intimidating height in the range of 5’7” and 5’9”. Dio strikes him in the chest with his sword but, instead of killing him, his enemy mutates into rats.

As he fights onward, Dio is haunted by visions of a cardboard cutout of some kind which appears as a satanic silhouette. He visits a blacksmith who reforges his sword and stalks through the hallway with his new weapon past a sick bird on a perch. When he raises his sword, the wild bird soars through the air with the rope used to keep it perched in the previous scene still hanging from its legs.

The video concludes with a cliffhanger. The barbarian’s journey reaches a climax when he encounters three extra-terrestrial demons dressed like monks. The silhouette of the Beast in the background, flames flowing through the eye holes, Dio nears his nemeses as a man has a seizure on the ground.

I can say with all sincerity that “Holy Diver” is one of my favorite songs ever. Although this video may be his masterwork, there is a very strong probability that Dio will garner multiple inductions into this hallowed hall of visual perfection. If Clapton can earn three inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ronnie James Dio can double that number. No one utilizes the visual medium like Dio.