Forward To Death

I picked MoP, but any one of their first four albums could easily be my favorite.

Also, I agree that Kill 'Em All sounds British, I would say that they were always more NWOBHM-sounding than Slayer, especially on RTL. Seriously:



This is power metal.

The Batlord

I'd probably have to go with Ride the Lightning. It's just so diverse, and the atmosphere is just blacker than black. It feels like everything metal should be. It's also one of the greatest evolutions in style of any non-art rock album I've ever heard. You listen to Kill 'Em All and then listen to Ride the Lightning and it's like two different bands. One was a group of dunderheaded but passionate metalheads and then they became a mature, assured band at mastery with their sound all in the space of two years.

"Seek and Destrroy" is one of my all-time fav Metallica songs. That riff just destroys everything.

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Trollheart

Nope. The Diamond Head version has far better atmosphere. Metallica just thrash it out, whereas DH give it an almost progressive, oppressive feel, and Brian Tatler's soloing is far better imo on the song than Hammet's. Also the build up via Holst's "Mars, the bringer of war" is far better done in DH's original. Also again, what's with the production on Metallica's version? Sounds like it was recorded in a garden shed!

Nah, "Borrowed time" is a great album and Diamond Head's original version of "Am I evil" will always be number one with me.

Not that you care...

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

You're just a pansy who doesn't like Slayer.

But seriously, the production on Metallica's version is fantastic. Sure it's lo-fi, but it hits like a ten-ton hammer with a crunch like the shifting of the tectonic plates, whereas Diamond Head's version, while still atmospheric, still sounds too seventies (at least relatively) to properly bring the evil. And Hetfield's snarl is pure viciousness. Diamond Head's singer, again, too seventies to tingle the spine in the same way. This is all by comparison mind you. Diamond Head's song is also fantastic, but Metallica's is one of the finest metal songs ever recorded.

Also, Metallica's version of "Blitzkrieg" is also the superior version.

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Paul Smeenus

I'd never heard the Diamond Head version before, I'm listening to it right now, although I'm not sure I'll finish it.

Hated Hated HATED the Gustav Holst intro. Hated it.

The main body of the song is playing right now, it suuuuucks, there's no balls to it at all, I mean come on, he's singing "AM I EVIL" ferpissakes, he can't sing it with the same gutless delivery that one might hear when the order clerk at McDonald's asks me if I want fries with that, 0/10

I hate what Metallica became but the young James Hetfield emoted this song the way it should've been. 9/10

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Gentle Giant Catalog Review

The entire Ditty Bops catalog reviewed

Unknown Soldier

As Trollheart has already said the DH version has more of a progressive feel, which indicates the roots of the band and they actually play the song how it should be played, which is as a song in various dynamic stages. Whereas the Metallica version is a more one-dimensional thrash sound, that tries to mix things up here and there rather than really embracing the song like DH do. The fact of the matter is, that DH were an old school rock band that based their songs around structure and progression, rather than simply going out to blitz the audience as early Metallica would.

Also DH were one of the more melodic NWOBHM bands around and their influences ranged from Led Zeppelin to Trapeze, which kind of indicates where they were coming from and they also had a passion for AOR which can also be heard on some of their material, which of course set them a long way from what Metallica were all about. Point being, I wouldn't therefore expect any Metallica fans to be overly excited with Diamond Head's discography, whereas a melodic metalhead could easily ejaculate over it.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Trollheart

Paul, you have noticed that Metallica's version also contains the Holst intro, haven't you? I mean, it's the first time I heard their version and I was all ready to say "Oh yeah, but with the Mars intro it's crap", and yet they use it. But you hate DH's use of it? Huh?

That song encapsulates more or less what DH were, or could have been. They were travelling in a prog rock/metal direction on that album but then sadly overdid it with the next one, and then just went off into the Twilight Zone totally. But as US says, Metallica don't finesse the song the way it needs to be. I mean, listen to it: you have the big Holst intro (boo to you for hating it; I think it sets the scene perfectly plus I love everything about The Planets) then the big guitar breakdown into the chugga chugga intro on geetar, followed by Sean Harris's flawless vocal delivery (how dare you diss him!) and finally a superb, underrated guitar almost-outro by Tatler which just makes the song.

tl;dr: Metallica's version sucks, Diamond Head's rules!

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

Who needs finesse when you've got a riff the size of Jupiter?

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Forward To Death

It's the same song.

Actually, Kill 'Em All pretty much sounds like Diamond Head on steroids.

William_the_Bloody

I went with Kill em all to, a classic thrash album for my musical taste, although I recognize Master of Puppets is the true masterpiece.