Diamond Head

I just acquired a copy of "Canterbury" this weekend - until now, the only DH I really knew was "Living On Borrowed Time", the stuff I've seen them do live in a drunken haze, and the stuff Metallica covered, and I've always considered DH to be at least a proto prog metal band.

"Canterbury" contains moments of what to my ears at least is bona fide Prog Metal - years, if not decades ahead of its time, albeit with lousy production and no sweep-picking or other vituosic smoke and mirrors.

Please comment on tracks like "Kingmaker", "To The Devil", "Night of the Swords" and "Ishmael".

All but one of those songs were on that anthology, and there were a few others from 'Canterbury' on it, and I have to say that I found them pretty dull affairs. The spark that made them so great for me has almost entirely gone with this later material...

You are right, the production is weak and timid, and the songs are nothing special to these ears. I think their classics like 'Am I Evil' are proggier than the 'Canterbury' tracks, imo.

However, in referring to your thread question, they definitely played a part in the founding of 'prog metal' and as such belong here, yet their category confuses me at the mo...

Certif1ed wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ BTW: Am I Evil when I say that? I don't know - do you actually know the tracks?

I listened to Diamond Head ages ago ...

I'm willing to give the tracks you mention another listen Certif1ed- my anthology had 'Ishmael' (which was about the best song imo), 'To The Devil His Due' and 'Night Of The Swords'. I didn't like the more commercial songs like 'Makin Magic' and 'Out Of Phase' much really though, and on first listen the sound isn't very full.

Glad to see you love the Angel Witch album though- I've read some pretty disparaging reviews of them, but to me their debut was one of the better ones of the NWOBHM boom. The track 'Baphomet' from 'Metal For Muthas' sounds just like classic Rush to me with a Sabbath esque edge.

I recently got a box set of the NWOBHM that Sanctuary put out- called 'Lightning To The Nations', which was full of terrific songs- I'm currently listening to Vardis' 'If I Were King' and that has an element of prog about it too, but I had one of their albums- 'The World's Insane'- and that was quite drab in comparison to 'If I Were King'.

Even a classic that I was aware of already like 'Name Rank and Serial Number' by Fist has some prog influences, showing that prog infiltrated the genre a great deal...

horza wrote: Diamond Head flirted with success - they never quite made it - Metallica liked them though

Quite - and Metallica definitely sowed a large percentage of the seeds for the style that is now established as Prog Metal - their riffs and particularly riffing styles are omnipresent in that genre. The first time I heard Dream Theater, I couldn't get over how many Metallica riffs I recognised, and the underlying style, of "sophisticated" thrash mixed with slower interludes has not changed in 20-odd years.

Metallica's 1st 5 albums are utterly Progressive in the literal sense, as well as having many prog pretensions - despite the fact that the 5th progressed in the wrong direction, ie, mainstream/Nu Metal.

I digress... Back to Diamond Head, I've uploaded the 4 tracks (mp3'd from my precious vinyl) to Megaupload (<-click the link) - for evaluation only, of course.

Note particularly the use of "chanting", timpani and keyboards at the beginning of "Kingmaker", in an almost successful attempt to create the grandiose "symphonic" type sound - and note also the inventive rhythms and distorted harmonies in the riffs and Middle Eastern flavours, with the bass decidedly not following the guitar slavishly. Note also the constant changes and avoidance of heavy metal guitar solos in favour of building the texture - if only they'd had an orchestra!

"To The Devil" has a different flavour altogether, and goes through unexpected changes - yet is surprisingly accessible. Sean Harris free approach to melody soars above the shifting riffs, which themselves are overlaid with subtle, cross-rhythmic keyboard and guitar ambience - I find the chorus very haunting, but it's the musical development from 3:32 I like most, especially the sung "Ahhhs" - very demonic, in a chilling, understated way.

"Knight of the Swords" starts a bit like an Iron Maiden song - the same kind of chugging riff - but Harris again lets his voice fly free, and we reach the end of the chorus only after another 3 (count 'em) infectious riffs. After the standard A-B-A-B (although you could legitimately pick me up on the technicality that it's really A-B-C-D-A-B-C-D, we reach the expected bridge - but I'd bet you wouldn't predict the drop to gentle guitar and voice that follows! This feels truly free-form to me, even though it's fairly obvious that it's a simple development of a two-tone shift. The guitar solo is a pleasant surprise - nothing stunning by today's standards, but I'm very keen on Brian Tatler's feel for strangely angular melodies - and those riffs!!! Dr Who on acid?

The interesting bits of "Ishmael" are, well, just about all of it really. From the Middle Eastern market style opening, to the backbeat entry, Harris' free-style melody, the wonderful harmonies in the chorus, the pounding toms and shifting rhythms - this has a flavour almost divorced from the metal roots - a whole new world of possibility in rock. My biggest complaint is that the musical development after the second chorus is too short - I'd have loved to hear DH make something really sinister out of that.

Yes, I like it - but I like Angelwitch, Raven and Iron Maiden too - and I wouldn't support the inclusion of any of those bands, even though I do recognise the progressive edges of all 3.

...but don't let me influence you in any way

Oh, and the Iron Maiden option was a joke... Duh!!!

A Joke?

Damn... I fell for that one

Certif1ed wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: Certif1ed wrote: MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ BTW: Am I Evil when I say that? I don't know - do you actually know the tracks? I listened to Diamond Head ages ago ... Pathetic.

Oh sorry, I forgot that you make the rules.