Exhibit #3:
Diamond Head—Lightning to the Nations (1980)
Unlike my previous two reviews, I'm pretty unfamiliar with this band. I know the name and I know Metallica's cover of "Am I Evil?", but that's really it. After reading up on Diamond Head a bit, it's hard not to want to root for these guys. This album, their debut, was self-released because they couldn't find a label who was interested. Their manager was the singer's mom. They really didn't receive much notoriety until the likes of Metallica started namedropping them. I mean, seriously, they're the quintessential underdogs.
One of the things that's immediately apparent about this album, even if I had known nothing about its background, is that it's a far more low budget affair than either of the last two albums I have reviewed. The production is certainly not horrible but it isn't exactly doing any of these songs any favors either. One thing that's
not immediately apparent is that, also unlike the previous two albums I reviewed, there is only one guitarist at work here. I think it's quite a testament to skills of both guitarist Brian Tatler and bassist Colin Kimberley that the album never feels like it's lacking something that most of their NWOBHM peers had. The riffs come fast and furious and the bass seems to do double duty with tough low end burbling and quasi-rhythm guitar underscoring. Duncan Scott's drums fare less well. I'm not sure if it's mostly a case of poor production or if he's just a boring drummer, but I suspect it's a little bit of both. Likewise Sean Harris' vocals. They're a little flat and they have kind of generic 70s hard rock singer vibe, but at the same time I don't feel like they detract too much from the music either.
Overall, this isn't a bad album by any means, and it's interesting to hear the very noticeable influence it had on Metallica, but it's let down a lot by its circumstances. The weak production and what was probably a lack of studio time undermine songs which may very well have been great under different conditions, but here instead they add up to an album that's somewhat hit-or-miss, though a few diamonds in the rough ("Sucking My Love", "Am I Evil?", "Helpless") stand out. Because of this, it's not an album I see myself revisiting much in the future, but I am quite curious to hear what their subsequent albums sound like. I've heard that their second one has more of a progressive influence to it, and considering the fact that this album's most complex moments are also its highlights, I'd love to hear that.