Diamond Head

by Ed Rivadavia
Diamond Heads history is certainly among the most peculiar in all of rock. One of the most remarkable talents to arise out of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the bands career never fulfilled its early promise, yet their legacy still ranks among the most influential of the genre. Sounds metal editor Geoff Barton (the man who coined the phrase N.W.O.B.H.M. in the first place) once remarked that there are more good riffs in your average single Diamond Head song than there are in the first four Black Sabbath albums; and Iron Maiden leader Steve Harris weighed in that Diamond Head looked like they were going to be the next Led Zeppelin for a while. Such lavish praise had been sparked by the bands unassuming, independently recorded first album, which by all rights should have been just the first step on the road to a legendary career. But this was not to be...heres the story why.
Diamond Head formed in Stourbridge, England, in 1976 by schoolmates Brian Tatler (guitar) and Duncan Scott (drums). They soon recruited Sean Harris (vocals) and a few months later, Colin Kimberley (bass) joined their ranks. Barely out of school and vehemently opposed to joining the cover band pub circuit, the fledgling young band also had the heyday of punk rock to contend with and were forced to develop their sound in relative seclusion through endless rehearsal and songwriting sessions. Still unable to attract any record company attention three years later, despite occasional gigs in and around the English Midlands, the group decided to take matters into their own hands, issuing a couple of self-financed singles, Shoot out the Lights and Sweet and Innocent. These were soon followed by a self-produced full-length album, which they recorded between February and April 1980 and made available via mail order through their own Happy Face Records. By naïve inexperience or artful design, the LP was packaged in a conspicuously anonymous white sleeve, lacking so much as song titles, and sent to members of the British music press. As it turned out, a copy of the nameless LP (later commonly referred to as the White Album or Lightning to the Nations, after its first song) soon found its way into the hands of Sounds metal editor Barton, who was so floored by its contents he quickly proceeded to interview the band for the respected music weekly. Soon being heralded by most everyone in-the-know as an undeniable masterpiece, the album quickly passed into legend as one of the New Wave of British Heavy Metals most seminal documents. Indeed, between Tatlers towering power chords and Harris delicate yet muscular voice, Diamond Head had stumbled upon the perfect synthesis of un-godly, Sabbath-sized riffing and Zeppelins epic musicality.
If only the rest of the story was as remarkable. Encouraged by such a euphoric response, Diamond Head quickly signed with MCA, issued the Four Cuts EP, then set out on a relentless touring schedule that included a legendary appearance at the 1982 Reading Festival. But the dream began to shatter as soon as they entered the studio to begin recording a follow-up album. MCAs and producer Mike Hedges excessive tampering and the bands inability to just say no transformed Borrowed Time into a disappointing, vague reminder of their glorious first album (the fact that Sean Harris mum acted as their manager didnt help matters any). For their part, as brilliant as they were at composing complex heavy metal anthems, Tatler and Harris proved incapable (or subconsciously unwilling) to pen radio-friendly singles. Re-recorded versions of first album standouts Am I Evil? and Lightning to the Nations also paled in comparison to the genuine article, and though it entered the British charts at a very respectable number 24, Borrowed Time quickly fulfilled the prophecy in its title and tumbled from sight. As initial expectations gave way to disappointment and pressure began to mount, the band started work on their third album. But they would splinter in half during the sessions for 1983s erratic Canterbury, with the rhythm section of Kimberley and Scott both fired and/or quitting. Another commercial failure, the LPs chances were further curtailed by a pressing error that resulted in 20,000 faulty copies. A slot in that years massive Castle Donington Monsters of Rock Festival couldnt staunch the bleeding, and a frazzled Tatler (by now standing on the brink of a nervous breakdown) finally pulled the plug. Diamond Head effectively ceased to exist.
Heres where things get interesting, however, for among the bands early worshipers was a young Danish drummer named Lars Ulrich, who had been so deeply affected by Diamond Heads early material that he proceeded to pattern his own brand new group (future metal gods Metallica) on their idiosyncratic style. Not only did Metallica base the bulk of their early live set on Diamond Heads songs, they also covered the first albums Am I Evil? for the B-side to their Creeping Death single in 1984, and later repeated the gesture with Helpless in 1987. This unexpected exposure began to slowly resurrect Diamond Heads music among fans, and when Tatler and Ulrich finished compiling a greatest-hits disc, released later that year as Behold the Beginning, unsuspecting American audiences were also, finally given their first glimpse of Diamond Head. But, Tatler remained wary of attempting a complete comeback and it wasnt until 1993 that he again teamed up with Harris, bassist Pete Vuckovic, and drummer Karl Wilcox for a set of club dates under the name Dead Reckoning. The full-fledged reunion was made official by a new album, entitled Death & Progress (featuring guest performances and songwriting contributions from Black Sabbaths Tony Iommi and Megadeths Dave Mustaine), which nevertheless failed to ignite serious interest in the band. Following a number of high-profile concert appearances in the U.K. that summer, Diamond Head once again disbanded, but not before releasing the Evil Live album, recorded at their Milton Keyes performance where they supported Metallica, ironically enough.
A slew of unsatisfactory greatest-hits sets has been released in the years since, but it wasnt until 2001 that fans were finally treated to a fully restored re-issue of Diamond Heads legendary debut by Sanctuary/Castle. Their desire to promote the long-lost classic led to another reunion, which included Diamond Heads first-ever performance on U.S. soil at the New Jersey Metal Fest on April 5, 2002.