The song Holy Diver was made by the band Dio in 1983 during heavy metals highest point of popularity. The main target audiences for Dio tend to be between the age of 18-30 due to the time it was released and the genre of music as Heavy Metal became popular in the 70’s and it is still seen as popular with the youth of today as the genre has expanded drastically.
The lyrics of the song has been debated by many people as to what they actually mean, for example ‘ Ride the Tiger You can see his stripes but you know he’s clean’ this sentence is constantly argued on whether it is about heroin or is it linked to religion.
This is not the first time that the band has had controversy when dealing with religion as the cover art of the album that the song ‘Holy Diver’ was released on shows a priest in the sea that has been tied up in chains by a demon. This album cover offended a lot of Christians; however the band retaliated by saying that “it could be in fact a priest killing the demon and that people should not be so quick to judge.”
In terms of a Heavy Metal song this is a typical example of one. Heavy Metal Music is generally associated with Masculinity, which is represented through the videos use of warriors and fighting. Themes which are commonly related to males. The music itself is also typical of Heavy Metal as the main instrument used is the electric guitar, and its loud and energetic, something which gets the audience pumped and excited. The song is also conventional of a Heavy Metal theme as there are many Heavy Metal songs that have a fantasy theme for example Black Sabbaths ‘The Wizard’, Mega deaths ‘The Conjuring’ and Judas Priest's "Dreamer Deceiver. However Heavy Metal has faced many problems in recent years, getting a lot of bad publicity in the media for example In 1990, Judas Priest was sued in American court by the parents of two young men who had shot themselves five years earlier, allegedly after hearing the subliminal statement "do it" in a Priest song. There was also the case of the columbine massacre where the Heavy Metal artist Marilyn Manson was blamed for the killing as the two boys had listened to his songs before they went on to the incident.
The opening of Holy Diver by Dio starts off with a close up pan across the top of some trees, fading out into more shots of treetops with the ambient sound of the wind blowing through. This connotes that the video is set some kind of woods and the sound of the wind also connotes that you are all alone and there is no other forms of life in the area. The camera then fades into a panning shot
of bare branches connoting that something has come and to the land and has killed everything, leaving not even the trees.
The scene then fades to a close up shot of a wooden structure and the camera slowly zooms out to reveal the remains of an old structure. We then see the shadow of a demon super-imposed into the shot suggesting that the demon is the one responsible for the destruction of the land and building. The music then starts with a cut to a long shot of the roof of which pans down to reveal a big room with lots of broken pews, connoting that this use to be a church. We also see at the far end a red light coming from behind one of the windows indicating that some kind of evil and satanic force is waiting. A sword then swings into shot close to the camera, so it gets focused on connoting that a hero had come to fight the evil force.
The camera then cuts to a close up shot of the tip of the blade and slowly pans across the blade and then cranes up to reveal the hero to connote that he has power and is manly. We also see that the hero wears a leather outfit, a common material used for both soldier’s clothes as well as people in heavy metal bands, for example ‘Motley Crew’.
The hero is also wearing a large animal pelt connoting that he is rugged and strong if he was The lyrics of the song has been debated by many people as to what they actually mean, for example ‘ Ride the Tiger You can see his stripes but you know he’s clean’ this sentence is constantly argued on whether it is about heroin or is it linked to religion.
This is not the first time that the band has had controversy when dealing with religion as the cover art of the album that the song ‘Holy Diver’ was released on shows a priest in the sea that has been tied up in chains by a demon. This album cover offended a lot of Christians; however the band retaliated by saying that “it could be in fact a priest killing the demon and that people should not be so quick to judge.”
In terms of a Heavy Metal song this is a typical example of one. Heavy Metal Music is generally associated with Masculinity, which is represented through the videos use of warriors and fighting. Themes which are commonly related to males. The music itself is also typical of Heavy Metal as the main instrument used is the electric guitar, and its loud and energetic, something which gets the audience pumped and excited. The song is also conventional of a Heavy Metal theme as there are many Heavy Metal songs that have a fantasy theme for example Black Sabbaths ‘The Wizard’, Mega deaths ‘The Conjuring’ and Judas Priest's "Dreamer Deceiver. However Heavy Metal has faced many problems in recent years, getting a lot of bad publicity in the media for example In 1990, Judas Priest was sued in American court by the parents of two young men who had shot themselves five years earlier, allegedly after hearing the subliminal statement "do it" in a Priest song. There was also the case of the columbine massacre where the Heavy Metal artist Marilyn Manson was blamed for the killing as the two boys had listened to his songs before they went on to the incident.
The opening of Holy Diver by Dio starts off with a close up pan across the top of some trees, fading out into more shots of treetops with the ambient sound of the wind blowing through. This connotes that the video is set some kind of woods and the sound of the wind also connotes that you are all alone and there is no other forms of life in the area. The camera then fades into a panning shot
of bare branches connoting that something has come and to the land and has killed everything, leaving not even the trees.The scene then fades to a close up shot of a wooden structure and the camera slowly zooms out to reveal the remains of an old structure. We then see the shadow of a demon super-imposed into the shot suggesting that the demon is the one responsible for the destruction of the land and building. The music then starts with a cut to a long shot of the roof of which pans down to reveal a big room with lots of broken pews, connoting that this use to be a church. We also see at the far end a red light coming from behind one of the windows indicating that some kind of evil and satanic force is waiting. A sword then swings into shot close to the camera, so it gets focused on connoting that a hero had come to fight the evil force.
The camera then cuts to a close up shot of the tip of the blade and slowly pans across the blade and then cranes up to reveal the hero to connote that he has power and is manly. We also see that the hero wears a leather outfit, a common material used for both soldier’s clothes as well as people in heavy metal bands, for example ‘Motley Crew’.
able to kill a huge beast. Here we see that the main character is played by the lead singer of the band Ronnie James Dio, he is famous for having one of the most powerful voices in the Heavy Metal music genre. He is seen as one of the most influential Heavy Metal artists of modern times and has been voted of the greatest rock vocalists of all time in various online polls and lists. He is also famous for making the Heavy Metal Devil horn sign popular.The shot cuts to a close up shot of a man wearing rags that also cover half of his face indicating that he is horribly disfigured. This also suggests that he could be a villain as many disfigured people are, e.g. ‘Phantom of the Opera’. We then see a shot reverse shot between the villain and the hero connoting that they are sizing each other up for a confrontation. The camera then cuts a close up of the hero’s sword as he runs his finger across the blade connoting that he is trying to intimidate the villain. While the camera cuts to a close up of the villains axe, the camera cranes up to reveal the length of the axe connoting that the hero is outmatched in terms of weapons.
We then cut to another close up shot reverse shot in which we see that the Hero is smirking representing that he is confident in his victory and that he enjoys fighting. While the villain is shown to have a worried expression, expressing that he knows that he is out classed. The shot then cuts to a mid shot of the hero swinging his sword down onto the villain and then there’s three consecutive quick close up shots of the hero swinging his sword, connoting the power and finesse of the hero’s strike.
The next scene is a close up shot of the villain as he starts to descend and eventually fall off screen underlining that he has been killed. The shot then fades out to reveal a group of rats, which can rather connotate that the villain had turned into the rat, or another representation is that the rats symbolize the death of the villain. The shot then fades to a shot of a volcano erupting with the demon super-imposed into the shot. This suggests that the demon has become angry about the actions of the hero and that the demon is very powerful. The scene then cuts to a close up of the floor which tilts up to reveal the hero walk towards the camera and as he gets closer we gets bathed in a red light and we see quick flashes of the demon cut in as the hero is walking. This connotes that the hero is getting closer and closer to the demon and that a confrontation is soon. This is matched with the song as it gets louder and says, “Something is coming for you!”
The next shot is a mid-shot of the hero walking through a doorway which had a white light coming from it and lots of smoke, connotating that the hero is about to walk into the unknown and that it is shrouded in mystery. We then cut to a close up of the lead vocalist singing the next part of the song in front of a green screen that’s showing flames, connoting that the song is about hell or the devil. The scene then cuts to a low angle shot of a man wearing a black leather mask and hammering a sword on an anvil. This connotes that the man is a blacksmith. The camera then cuts to a mid-shot of the hero as he throws away the sword he had, the camera then cuts a close up of the blacksmith who quenches the sword into a bucket of water connoting that it has been finished and he then throws it to the hero, connoting that the blacksmith is also good and wants the demon killed.
The scene then cuts to a long shot of an old hallway made of stone and wood connoting that it is in a castle. We also see that the hero has his sword up connoting that he is on edge and that he can be attacked at anytime. The camera then cuts to a low angle shot that tracts along the ground to reveal three figures in red robes with the one in the middle with a pointy top. This connotes that he is the one in charge. The robes that the figures are wearing are also similar looking to the robes which monks wear connotating that they belong to some kind of religion and the red connotes that they are in league with the devil and from pervious things seen in the video it can be connoted that they worship the demon. The video ends with a long shot of the outside of the ruins and the hero walking towards the camera, we then see as he gets closer he is bathed in a red light and the demon is super-imposed into the background representing that the hero has become possessed by the demon.
The ideology behind the song, though may not be clear is about peoples addiction to religion and getting so deep into it that you can’t get out. In particular Christianity, which can be seen through the lyrics “Holy Diver”, which is about how people just dive into a religion without thinking it through, and then they find it hard to get out. The video consists mainly of eye level camera angles following the warrior walking through the castle which helps to immerse the audience into the video, giving them a perspective as if they were there. However establishing shots are used to show the castle ruins and help set the theme of the music video in a medieval castle. There is also many close up shots of the weapons which helps to give the video some intensity and make the video more exciting and giving adding in drama as life and death are now in the balance.
The music video follows narrative structure which is linear set in a fantasy world; it is based on medieval times, a theme seen commonly in heavy metal music, so much that there is now a dedicated sub genre called Medieval Metal which is a blend of Heavy Metal and traditional folk songs. The Hero was played by the lead singer Ronnie James Dio suggesting that he thinks of himself as rugged and strong and that he is a good representation of the entire band.
The song had a very fantasy like theme, of slaying an evil demon. However it is actually based on a passage from the Bible about Satan’s descent to Hell. The song uses a lot of symbolism to represent different issues. The video is set in the ruins of a castle that still have smoke coming from it connoting that there was just a big battle. The theme of medieval fantasy is further symbolized through the sword the warrior has and the axe the villain has. As well as the animal pelts and rags that they wear which is a convention of medieval times. The blacksmith costume also looks like an executioners outfit, another convention of medieval times. A lot of natural and candle light is used for lighting which helps to set the video the medieval times where there was no electricity and that was their only light source.The video consisted of a lot of green screen, adding in flames behind the singer and adding in the shadow of the demon, which helps to establish a fantasy setting.
The video had continuity editing; it followed a clear journey through a castle. There were also a lot of fades used to transition to the next scene, however most of the shots transitioned with just a cut.
The preferred reading of this video is that a popular heavy metal artist is starring in a typical fantasy styled video where he is a warrior slaying the bad guys. The oppositional reading would be that Ronnie James is advocating violence towards other religions and he believes they should be killed.
