Unknown Soldier

Overview
When I started gaining my musical knowledge back in the early 1980s, metal was often not on my radar as it was just too loud and not really my thing, I was more of a new-wave, prog and AOR man. Naturally though it was only a matter of time before I flirted with the genre and got into the Scorpions, Def Leppard and Van Halen (due to their accessible tracks) and from there I backtracked to bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and all of a sudden I loved heavy music as well as long as it was melodic. My love of extreme metal would come much later and that was largely thanks to Megadeth (but that’s a story for another day) It wasn’t until sometime in the 90s that I discovered who Diamond Head actually were, largely thanks to Metallica and Megadeth constantly namechecking them. I then heard some songs and read they were like Led Zeppelin and thought they were just ok. I never really followed up on them again until I became a metal nut in the 00’s which meant I needed to hear everything and I mean everything connected with the genre and digest what was on offer. It was only then when I was absorbing the NWOBHM that I really discovered who Diamond Head were and what they actually represented to the genre. I soon realised that my interpretation of the band sounding like Led Zeppelin was actually incorrect and quickly realised that the comparisons to Led Zeppelin were actually based on the band’s amazing ability both musically and in the songwriting department, which made them probably the most innovative and most talented British heavy band since Led Zeppelin. They were formed in one of the hotbeads of the NWOBHM that of course being the West Midlands and like a number of NWOBHM bands they had built up a strong following due to their electric live shows. These shows were built around the band’s pivotal double act of vocalist Sean Harris and sublime guitarist Brian Tatler (who were the sole composers of the band’s material) Much like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leppard and the band most like them Angel Witch, they were amongst the early leaders of the NWOBHM and a deal with a major label seemed inevitable for them, but then struck the curse of Diamond Head! The band’s misfortune and road to stardom was soon scuppered for the following reasons 1) The band refused initially to play the London scene as they felt they didn’t need to, which was commercial suicide as this was where all the major labels were based 2) Instead of having a savvy manager like say Rod Smallwood who was great at getting things done, they had Sean Harris’ mother and producer Reg Fellows, a duo who seemed very good at turning down potential lucurative offers for the band! 3) As often mentioned album covers were a band’s key to success, just think Iron Maiden for impact and even Saxon for getting noticed when it came to album covers. All Diamond Head could muster was a cheaply produced plain white cardboard cover, the above cover is one of the later editions of the album. 4) Like the punk and new-wave scenes, the NWOBHM scene was extremely fast moving and unless a savvy band kept with the pace they were quickly left behind and when DH finally decided to get their act together it was all too late! Finally in hindsight the metal world owes a debt to both Metallica and Megadeth in keeping the spirit of Diamond Head alive for so long.

Verdict
Lightning to the Nations is number one on this year’s list quite simply because it’s the most accomplished and most exhilarating album of the year and given the quality of competition that is some achievement! So what actually makes Lightning to the Nations a masterstroke of metal? Firstly most metal bands were taking their influences and blending them into their own sound just think Def Leppard and a band like Iron Maiden even took it a step further and created something quite different. Diamond Head on the other hand did neither of these two aspects and instead captured the essence of everything 1970’s hard rock and heavy metal and turned it into a newer living and breathing animal. Secondly despite being on a paltry budget, they were able to produce an electrifying studio album that could shame many a band. Thirdly they were one of the few bands along with Angel Witch, that were able to combine melody with sinister musings and the only difference between the two bands in that department, was that Angel Witch looked towards punk and new-wave for their inspiration, whereas Diamond Head looked towards traditional rock and metal. Finally Japanese metal mag Burrn! rated Lightning to the Nations as the third best riff album of all time behind Black Sabbath’s Paranoia and Slayer’s Reign in Blood and we all know just how majestic those two albums are! Lightning to the Nations consists of just seven tracks that last around 40 minutes and fuck me most of these tracks were well beyond what other bands could ever hope to achieve in terms of creativity and maturity on a debut! The seven tracks start with the title track and album opener “Lightning to the Nations” which displays a unique combo of speedy anthemic metal against a backdrop of lazy & sleazy sounding 70’s hard rock. “The Prince” continues this with both manic speed and guitar histrionics, before slipping into what sounds like an already trademark band sound. “Sucking My Love” is one of the showpiece tracks on the album, a 9 minute plus ode to everything friggin cool about metal and for 9 minutes the song sways between giving a blowjob and sounding downright menacing and features that masterful Diamond Head essence. The other showpiece track is the all out sinister sounding “Am I Evil?” which skilfully borrows the intro from Gustav Holst’s “Mars, The Bringer of War” before Brian Tatler’s dishes out one of the meanest sounding riffs ever laid down on record and a riff that laid the basis for the Metallica sound. The band could also do ‘simple’ as well on a track like “It’s Electric” with its delicious riff and it’s another much covered DH track, before the album finishes off with the speed of “Helpless” a perfect final track. The band also had commercialism covered on songs like “Sweet and Innocent” and non-album track “Shoot Out the Lights”. Overall the pure brilliance of Lightning to the Nations surely comes in its subtle approach to metal and instead of bludgeoning and shaking its fist at its audience, it prefers to suggest and evoke everything great about metal to that audience instead. Along with the previous number one albums of Judas Priest’s Stained Class 1978 and Scorpions’ Lovedrive 1979, Lightning to the Nations completes a trilogy of masterful metal albums from this period and it’s an album not just guaranteed to make you orgasm once, but several times in a row, but the fit is not going to be for everybody!

Sean Harris- Vocals
Brian Tatler- Guitar
Colin Kimberley- Bass
Duncan Scott- Drums

Production- Reg Fellows

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