Diamond Head

***Long Review - Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it***

Having poured a large dram... OK, three fingers of Highland Park, and filled a long glass with ice-chilled spring water, I made my way to the living room, dimmed the lights and approached the record rack with steely resolve.

D. Davis, Miles, Death, Def Leppard, Deep Purple... here we are. Almost nervously, I slide the thick gatefold cover fromthe shelf and spend a moment or two admiring the Rodney Matthews artwork. I contemplate the gleaming Diamond Head logo, then remove the vinyl from its packaging and place it tenderly on the platter. I fire up the trusty 2x150Watt Akai and wait a few seconds for the familar click of the relay, which lets me know the valves have warmed up sufficiently.

Gently I cue up the tone arm, and allow the damped system to lower the stylus onto the playing groove. Instantly there is atmosphere. A couple of very light static "ticks", then inky black silence.

CRUNCH!! That opening chord ALWAYS takes me by surprise - and it doesn't matter what the volume level is, it's always a very loud "CRUNCH!!". Tonight, the volume is at 11. Oh yes it is - mine goes up to 40!

Brian Tatler's awesome riffs follow the multiple crunches of the intro - or are they riffs? They seem somehow organic, a cross between single-line Jimmy Page style Riffs and power chords. Anyhow, they're backed by Colin Kimberley's magnificent toned rolling basslines and Duncan Scott's solid (if slightly boring) drums. All too quickly, we're at the chorus; Sean Harris' expressive vocals soaring starkly above the sparse canvas washed with the instrumental "backing". Now it's time for the first of Brian Tatler's frankly awesome solos - a nice degree of technicality and precision underpinning a fatastic feel for melody and a sense of drama, with Tatler's trademark hammer-ons. OK, he probably nicked the idea from van Halen, but he uses them well and in an unshowy, almost genteel manner. After the next verse and chorus, the structure becomes less predictable, as Tatler treats us to another solo in a completely different style - somehow keeping the feel of the piece in the process - this is progressive genius!

Next up is "To Heaven from Hell", which starts out a little ploddy - but then there's an AWESOME riff, with Sean Harris' vocal lines dancing around in perfect counterpoint. This is progressive, fist-pumping, head-banging music - how DID they do that? Somehow I'm reminded of Marillion - although we had to wait another 3-4 years for "Script...". Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, a riff that is later reworked in "Am I Evil" - this album has such a beautiful cohesiveness to it, that it's hard not to listen to the lot in one sitting - it's a concept album without trying to be one! This thrashy style, of course, had to wait 4 years for Metallica to pick it up, and a further 3-4 years to become mainstream Metal. Sean Harris' vocals, meanwhile, take on a harder edge, and Tatler throws riffs at us with no mercy - riff after riff, with gorgeous time changes!.

"Call Me" carries on the onslaught - although at a more relaxed pace. However, onslaught is not quite the word for it - there is something quite chilled behind the surface tension. On the surface, a pop metal song. Underneath, it's much more sophisticated. The attention to detail in the production here has me thinking of the Beatles somehow - every detail crisp and perfect.

Extraordinarily experimental riffs - bordering on continuous solos interspersed with chords and rhythms from hell! Somehow very loose, but tight and co-ordinated. The synchronised bass/guitar runs just send shivers down my spine!

Side 2 is much to incredible for me to sit and analyse, but I'll leave these few words; The grinding bass in the title track (Living on Borrowed Time) is mind-blowing (and woofer-blowing...). The jewel in the crown of prog metal lies at the centre of this side. Don't You Ever Leave Me is ASTOUNDING - with a capital ASTOUNDING!!!

Lastly, "Am I Evil". Total prog metal classic, without which there would surely be no prog metal.

These guys blew Queensryche and all the other prog metal pretenders out of the water - and they were first. They deserve a place here - even if only for this album! (Canterbury wasn't very prog, and there were no others).

...need more scothc

I don't see why Diamond Head would be prog... If Diamond Head is prog, then Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin etc... are also prog. Diamond Head is not prog IMO

Quote:>I don't see why Diamond Head would be prog... If Diamond Head is prog, then Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin etc... are also prog. Diamond Head is not prog IMO

But you forget Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were originally pigeonholed as prog when they first appeared - that is progressive music! The category heavy or metal rock coming slightly later.

Dick Heath wrote: Quote:>I don't see why Diamond Head would be prog... If Diamond Head is prog, then Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin etc... are also prog. Diamond Head is not prog IMO But you forget Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath were originally pigeonholed as prog when they first appeared - that is progressive music! The category heavy or metal rock coming slightly later.

However, none of those bands were consistently "prog" (as opposed to simply progressive). The Beatles were progressive, without a doubt, and wrote a few tracks that could be considered "prog", e.g. Revolution #9, Tomorrow Never Knows, A Day In The Life, or even the two medleys on side 2 of Abbey Road, to stretch the term "prog" as it's used here!

"Prog" has a kind of "X" factor - which even some "prog" bands don't adhere to (later Genesis as a prime, if general, example).

I truly believe that "Living On Borrowed Time" has that "X" factor. It's not symphonic or jazzy or anything outside of the rock arena, but the wonderful sounds, constructions and sheer variety of form make this "prog" for me. At the time (I remember it well...) they were the FIRST "prog-metal" band. Marillion were total unknowns, a small band called "Silmarillion" playing the pubs and clubs of Aylesbury. You may legitimately argue that Marillion are in no way metal, but they played alongside metal bands at the time and sat fairly comfortably in that category at the extreme edge.

If it hadn't been for Diamond Head, there may have been no Metallica (progressive metal by definition until their 5th album!) - and they were certainly a huge influence on a great number of bands who suddenly realised that you didn't have to play 3 chords to appeal to heavy metal fans, including Queensryche.

I'm going to charge my whiskey glass and attempt to review side 2 of LOBT to see if that assists me in my quest to get DH added to progarchives - but that'll have to wait until the weekend. In the meantime, I'll also try to track down a copy of "Canterbury" and "Lightning to the Nations" (the White Album...).

So far there have only been comparisons to bands who are very different (with the possible exception of Led Zeppelin...), and nothing that objectively counters my claim - certainly nothing that discusses DH's music. Keep 'em coming