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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Metal Wars

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Unknown Soldier

This is the section where I discuss what I think is a contentious album that came out in the year and will fall under one of the following highlighted. 1) An album that a large section of musical followers (critics and fans) rate highly and despite not seeing the album as bad, I still don’t really get the attraction. 2) A hugely significant album that was highly commercial but not really good enough for the main list, but still worth a mention. 3) Basically an album that’s a pile of crap and the artist really shouldn’t have released it.

A marriage made in purgatory.

Verdict
Year after year I would give certain albums in the Ozzy solo discography a twirl, in the hope that I’d finally agree with all the positive views that his early solo discography actually has (especially his first two with Randy Rhoads) So once again for my 1980 year listings, I gave his debut another serious listen but yet again it was business as usual as the album did nothing for me! Previously I could never quite put my finger on why the album did nothing for me, but this time around it became crystal clear and had been staring me straight in the face for years! Firstly Ozzy Osbourne has always been a very distinctive sounding vocalist and his voice very much an acquired taste. Vocally he was always limited and never had the vocal prowess of artists like Ian Gillan, Dio and Klaus Meine for example or even the sexy allure of a Robert Plant to woo listeners with, but what he did have much like Alice Cooper was a malevolent voice that had the ability to come across as both blatantly evil or very ‘tongue in cheek’ and usually with a dash of twisted humour! Now in Black Sabbath Ozzy Osbourne was a legend and his voice was the perfect dirige as he followed the guitar riffs of Tony Iommi, and he always did the business in Black Sabbath even when the quality of the band went drastically downhill with albums like Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die. After this of course he got divorced from Black Sabbath and went solo, and soon found a new partner in crime Randy Rhoads (already a guitarist extraordinaire) and he in turn would form a completely different kind of marriage with Ozzy than Tony Iommi had. Randy Rhoads had been in the shockingly bad Quiet Riot (before they got better and became famous a few years later) and he was also an artist that had styled himself on the neo-classical guitar lines laid down by the likes of Ritchie Blackmore and played at an amazing efficiency. Now neo-classical in its purest form was always a grandiose affair that tested the skill, speed and mettle of a guitarist and was played in a serious manner, therefore it certainly deserved a serious sounding vocalist to complement it. Now this is the problem that I have between Ozzy and Randy, as Ozzy wasn’t that serious sounding at all but instead came across as the lecherous husband who didn’t know how to treat his supermodel wife Randy Rhoads! Sure they had a great working relationship right up until Randy’s sad demise, but it’s in the execution of the songs where the problem lies. Ozzy’s lecherous style was always in my mind at complete loggerheads with the playing of Randy Rhoads, as instead of following the guitar of Randy Rhoads as he had done with Tony Iommi, he now sings with more freedom and versatily, but his limited vocal ability has him sounding like a fish out of water on several of the album’s songs! He sounds extremely clichéd and one dimensional on “Suicide Solution” distinctly dull on the album’s genuine ballad “Goodbye to Romance” all wrong on “Revelation (Mother Earth)” and he doesn’t do justice to the potential brilliance laid down by Randy Rhoads on “Crazy Train”. In fact his best performance is on the album’s best track “Mr.Cowley” and he’s not too bad on the party sounding “No Bone Movers” either. I guess another reason why I don’t dig the Blizzard of Ozz is that I’m not much of a neo-classical man (unless it touches power metal of course) so the glowing acclaim that Randy Rhoads has on the album doesn’t do much for me, despite having some genuine moments of real brilliance! But the overall problem is Ozzy’s attempt to dominate proceedings with a melodic and jovial style approach, to what is sometimes a dark subject matter and this has always left me distinctly disappointed, as Ozzy’s vocals don't go with Randy’s guitar or even vice-versa. But then again most would disagree with this viewpoint, as the Blizzard of Ozz is considered a genuine cornerstone of 1980s guitar metal and even helped to inspire bands like Europe!

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

The Batlord

Don't get me wrong, sometimes I quite enjoy Ozzy, but in general I view him like I view Rob Zombie when he went solo. He just kind of dumbed himself down and became a rather boring self-parody. Maybe when I was twelve the whole "Prince of Darkness" schtick was cool, but now I really don't care (especially after the train wreck that has been his pop culture career of the past decade or so) and so I'm left with actually listening to his music. He certainly has his moments, but I really don't see why people hold him on such a pedestal.

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Urban Hat€monger ?

Sean

Colin

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Unknown Soldier

When I first ever listened to something by Ozzy which was around 1983 it was the song "Bark at the Moon" a popular single here with a video from his third album and even then I noticed how corny it all was, ever since then I guess I've always thought of him as a being an almost self-parody as well. Also the Rob Zombie comparison is a good one.

I frequently get christian names mixed up and usually spot it on the editing of the post. At least I got the other two right though.

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Metal Wars

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Trollheart

"Diary of a madman" is an ok album but it's fair to say that if Ozzy hadn't been who he was then it's likely it would have got much less attention. There's no real evidence of Sabbath in his solo work that I've seen; he might as well have come up as a new artiste for all the recognisable music there is there. Also as Batlord says, the "Prince of Darkness"/biting the head off a dove, bat, whatever thing, all made him into more of a parody of himself than he could ever have imagined. And then there was "The Osbournes", which eclipsed in **** and destroyed for me any cred he ever had and made him worse than Alice Cooper on the golf course.

But he did have one redeeming feature: Randy Rhoads, god rest his soul...

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

I rather like Alice Cooper's goofiness these days. He obviously doesn't take himself too seriously, but is self aware enough that it doesn't seem sad. Just funny.

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Unknown Soldier

When I chose this album to dissect I thought any comments that I would get would be from people sticking up for Ozzy and possibly saying how wrong I was, but it seems most agree with me so far and have even been heavier on him that I had

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Metal Wars

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Moss

I absolutely love the first 2 ozzy solo albums, and actually like Diary better than Blizzard. Randy Rhoads was just a monster. So many good songs. I mean, listen to them again!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zr1Z-_pjhk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thtu40Ve6Qk

Every time Over the mountain comes on I have to pull the car over just to air guitar that amazing guitar solo. Anyways, count me squarely in the Ozzy camp for Diary and Blizzard. And actually the Jake E. Lee years have their moments as well.

Unknown Soldier

I've already listened to them like half a million times over the last decade or so, I don't think another listen will sway me

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History