The song “Holy Diver” by Dio was released as the first single from his debut 1983 album of the same name. Coming off two successful albums as the lead singer of Black Sabbath and as the lead singer of Rainbow before that, Holy Diver is a lesson in classic heavy metal.
The album artwork features a demon, who became the Dio mascot with a priest wrapped up in chains who looks to be drowning. So it could easily be understood that the song “Holy Diver” may be a tad evil. In an interview with BangerTV in 2004, recorded for the documentary Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Ronnie explained what the song is actually about.
“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.”
