Lightning to the Nations

The influence that this album has had on the metal scene is immense, especially in the thrash sub-genre. That's a particularly striking fact when you realise that this album never sold in large numbers, and that Diamond Head wouldn't be more than a footnote in most metal histories if it were not for Metallica having covered them so extensively. That's a damn shame, because this is a very good album.

The vocals have a nice mid-ranged-to-slightly-falsetto quality to them, with Harris going for something similar to Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant (sometimes with just a bit too much emulation going on, such as in the middle interlude of Sucking My Love). Overall the vocals are exactly what was needed with this music, having a nice 70's rockish, yet 89's metallic, quality. The lyrics range from good to corny, but that's not really important as most groups from the period had at least a couple-few bad lyrical endeavors.

The guitars have a crunchy and potent sound, and when songs like Am I Evil and The Prince get going, there's definitely a headbanging vibe being generated. The solos not only sound good, but they compliment the music to the last possible degree. There are no solos here for the sake of solos, but rather they all add to and enhance the song. After St. Anger came out, Kirk Hammett said that they had experimented with solos, but that they decided not to, because they didn't fit, because St. Anger was a "collaborative effort". Well, the solos on this Diamond Head record are a great example of how solos should fit into the collaberation, how one musician taking the spotlight for a moment can make the song as a whole a lot better.

Throughout the album, Diamond head flirts with both rock and metal, without really seeming like they are undecided. They are both, and they can do both equally well. They don't need to be playing over 200 bpm the whole time--but they can play fast when the song calls for it. There's a reason that this album
has had such a huge influence on metal: it's a damned good album, with great riffs, song writing, etc. Definitely one to pick up if you don't own it yet.