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DIO Holy Diver

Mercury, 1983

Producer: Ronnie James Dio

Line up: Ronnie James Dio (vocals, keyboards); Vivian Campbell (guitar); Jimmy Bain (bass, keyboards); Vinnie Appice (drums).

Stand Up and Shout / Holy Diver / Gypsy / Caught in the Middle / Don't Talk to Strangers / Straight Through the Heart / Invisible / Rainbow in the Dark / Shame on the Night

By 1983, it must be have been all too apparent to Ronnie James Dio that being at the whim of others' control was not allowing him freedom of expression, or even guaranteed employment. His first band proper, Elf, had been adopted by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore to form Rainbow, only to be dismissed shortly after the release of their patchy debut; Dio himself was ejected after helping write and record two genuine classic albums in Rising and Long Live Rock n' Roll, in which his swords n' sorcery lyrics were given free reign, albeit briefly. He then helped revitalise the flagging fortunes of Black Sabbath as Ozzy Osborne's replacement; disputes with Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi over the mixing of Live Evil saw Dio - and drummer Vinnie Appice - leaving amidst not a little acrimony.
Holy Diver - with Dio's former Rainbow bandmate Jimmy Bain, and hotshot guitarist Vivian Campbell, fresh from NWOBHM wannabes Sweet Savage - still bristles with energy, two decades on. Of all the key NWOBHM albums of this period (and there weren't many, in fairness) Iron Maiden's self-titled debut owed a lot to punk, while Def Leppard were never shy of flaunting their pop influences; Holy Diver thereby stands as the definitve metal album of this short lived movement, overlooking for a moment the atrocious keyboards on 'Rainbow in the Dark.'
Dio, the band, would last a further two albums with this lineup - the identikit Last in Line and the mediocre Sacred Heart - before fragmenting; Bain and Appice would float in and out of the ever-changing personell, while Campbell would go on to play - in Dio's words - "second banana" in Whitesnake, and now in Def Leppard.

KING'S X Out of the Silent Planet

Megaforce, 1988

Producers: Sam Taylor and King's X

Line up: Doug Pinnick (vocals, bass); Ty Tabor (guitars, vocals); Jerry Gaskill (drums, vocals).

In the New Age / Goldilox / Power of Love / Wonder / Sometimes / King / What is This? / Far, far Away / Shot of Love / Visions

Although Out of the Silent Planet may have seemed fresh in 1988, Houston trio King’s X had been gigging and striving for recognition for nigh on a decade prior to its release (although they did release a self-titled under the name of Sneak Preview in 1983). Yet a record deal with Atlantic subsidiary Megaforce couldn’t guarantee riches for, despite rapturous reviews, King’s X have never really risen above cult status, not helped by a run of albums of increasing mediocrity in the mid-nineties.
1988 was dominated by stadium rock; big hair and cocaine decadence were all the rage, so it was hard to see where a Beatles-influenced trio could fit in, especially given the Christian slant of their lyrics. This was to both the group’s advantage, as they almost the antithesis of rock’s then-current state of mind, and disadvantage, as good reviews don’t necessarily get you headlines. A sold out gig at London’s Marquee gave hint that King’s X could be the ones to change rock in a not dissimilar way to which grunge would eventually succeed, yet the group unfortunately lost momentum, possibly due the clinging dominance of producer and manager Sam Taylor.
Planet is a polished gem throughout; Doug Pinnick’s incredible gospel-like vocals a perfect foil to Ty Tabor’s inventive guitar work which marries economy to flash brilliance. The three-way melodies are a key focal point, lending extra depth to already above-average material, ‘Goldilox’ a key example. The group don’t skimp on heavy riffs either, as the driving ‘King’ and ‘Far, Far Away’ attest.
Although the UK press was quick to pick up on Planet, not least because of the stylistic nods to the Beatles and the harmonic groups of the sixties' Brit boom era, the album sank without a trace in the US (1988 was a year sandwiched by Appetite for Destruction and Dr Feelgood, after all.) Planet’s follow-up, Gretchen Goes to Nebraska, finally saw a buzz floating around the group, and they would support AC/DC and Anthrax on sold-out tours. This momentum wasn’t to last, as disagreements with Taylor eventually came to a head around the release of 1992’s King’s X