Holy Diver: is the demon drowning the priest, or the other way round?
A horned demon swings a broken chain over a stormy sea, and at the other end a priest is going under. Ronnie James Dio always said you should not be so sure who the bad guy is.
A purple and orange storm sky, black rocks like broken teeth, and on top of them a horned figure in red, swinging a long chain over his head. Follow the chain down into the white foam and you find a priest, wrapped in the same chain, mouth open, going under. It is not a quiet picture. It is not meant to be.
Meet Murray
The demon is Murray, and this was his first appearance. He went on to show up on several more Dio records, and Ronnie compared him to Iron Maiden's Eddie, a mascot the fans could hang on to. One rule applied from day one: Murray was never shown below the waist. Dio felt that would give away too much.
A family idea
The concept came from Wendy Dio, Ronnie's wife at the time, and the two of them worked it out together. The first rough version was drawn by Gene Hunter, a musician friend who could draw. The final painting, the one on the record, is by Randy Berrett.
The first idea was even darker. Dio later recalled that the priest was originally hanging upside down underwater, chained to a cross. They dropped the cross in the end, deciding it was a little too much.
Who is the real villain?
The record company was nervous and asked whether he really wanted to put this on the cover. He did. Dio liked to turn the question around: how do you know it is not a priest drowning a monster? Appearances can lie, he said, and you should not judge a record by its cover. Years later, after the scandals in the Catholic Church, he joked that they had put the right man in the water.
Built across a parking lot
Holy Diver was recorded in early 1983 at Sound City in Los Angeles. The band rehearsed in the same complex, wrote a few songs at a time and carried their gear across the car park to record them. The line-up was Dio on vocals, a 20-year-old Vivian Campbell on guitar, Jimmy Bain on bass and Vinny Appice on drums. The album came out on 25 May 1983 and later went platinum in the US.
About the poster
This is the Holy Diver sleeve printed as a large 75 × 55 cm (30 × 22 in) landscape poster, from 2014. It is an original magazine insert, never hung, with no staple holes, folded three times as issued. The sheet is double-sided, with Amon Amarth on the back.
Browse all original Ronnie James Dio posters.
Quick answers
Who is the demon on the Holy Diver cover?
Murray, Dio's mascot. Holy Diver was his first appearance, and he returned on later Dio albums.
Who painted the Holy Diver cover?
Randy Berrett painted the final cover. The concept came from Wendy and Ronnie James Dio, and Gene Hunter made the first rough drawing.
Is the Holy Diver cover satanic?
Dio said no. He liked to ask how you know it is not a priest drowning a monster, and said you should not judge a record by its cover.
How big is the poster?
75 × 55 cm (about 30 × 22 inches), landscape. It is a separate insert, so it has no staple holes, and it is folded three times as issued.
What is on the other side?
An Amon Amarth poster. The sheet is double-sided, so you choose which side goes on the wall.