Dio — Holy Diver (2022 Joe Barresi Remix)
Qobuz reissue review, July 2022
More and more rock albums are finding themselves remixed for modern ears and the results can range from tasteful and exciting to negligible and barely noticeable. (Sometimes the results are firmly in the “why on earth did they do that to my favorite album?” category.) Thankfully, the work that Joe Barresi did on Dio’s iconic debut solo album falls firmly into the first category. Fans who may be rightfully concerned that the man behind the boards of classic works by the Melvins, Queens of the Stone Age, and Tool — and whose studio is dubbed “Joe’s House of Compression” — may try to turn Holy Diver into something that it’s not can rest easily. After all, not only is Barresi’s studio anchored by a vintage early ’80s mixing desk (the classic SSL 4000), but we’re talking about Holy Diver here — the creative and performance pinnacle of one of metal’s Mount Rushmore figures. It is a (slightly demonic) sacred text of the genre, so it would be a fool’s errand for a remix to do anything but make its strengths even more evident. And Barresi does exactly that. His new mix is brighter and a little busier, but there’s much more clarity, with the ’80s reverb sheen replaced by a drier and grittier approach that gives an already aggressive album even more power. Throughout the remix, the changes are largely subtle and holistic (some newly unearthed counted-off intros add to the more “live” feel), but a few tracks really stand out. The title track feels completely refreshed with a previously unheard cold ending instead of a fade out, while “Gypsy” leans hard into its Rainbow-on-reds vibe, turning fully into a soaring, swinging beast. Oddly, the one song that gets the biggest jolt from Barresi is the late-on-side-2 track “Invisible,” a cut that didn’t make it onto many hesher mixtapes back in the day, but here, a substantial mix upgrade makes it feel like a brand new song and among Holy Diver’s best and most vibrant tracks.
