The Coffin Train

There will always be reasons why a band fails to capture commercial appeal, and for some bands it comes down to one unfortunate, yet painfully ironic, reason. Whereas most bands fail for multiple factors, those unluckiest of all bands are doomed to lesser tiers simply by being too varied. For every eclectic Judas Priest who soar to unprecedented success right in the face of the career crippling desire for variety, there are those bands who are just as capable in being diverse but fail to find that special niche to catapult them to the professional heavens. Diamond Head are one of those bands.

Now to be sure, the lasting legacy of Diamond Head is never within question. Exactly how much influence they had might be debatable but their acclaim from fellow artists is beyond reproach. So was it just the diversity that derailed Diamond Head or was it something else? Perhaps it was the pedestrian followup to their magnum opus with Borrowed Time, the lack of any real hooks on metal return Death And Progress, or their complete venturing away from metal with What's in Your Head?. No matter the cause, Diamond Head appeared to be a true one album wonder, with no way back to relevance, especially as vocalist Sean Harris departed following Death and Progress, and his replacement Nick Tart was a tremendous step down. The two albums with him - All Will Be Revealed and the aforementioned What's in Your Head? - were not the greatest in songwriting excellence so it did him no favors. So Diamond Head split up for the third time and were destined to remain irrelevant, and then...

Enter Rasmus Bom Andersen. A man who was still a handful of years away from being born when Diamond Head was helping lay the groundwork for the thrash metal boom that would occur in their wake. So it might seem strange to single him out when the rest of the core band formed while he was just a young child, but there are few instances when someone can come in and rejuvenate an older band like here.

In 2016 the band reformed for a second time and unleashed their self-titled seventh album and while that record too has its flaws, it was a gripping and welcome return to the kind of metal the band had been known for. So with a certain amount of consistency in the lineup and direction the band wanted to take, they followed it up with what is, undeniably, the strongest album to bear the name Diamond Head.

The bands eighth album begins with a four track punch that signals not only what the band is currently striving for but is a collection of all their prior ideas. The speedy anthem Belly Of the Beast clocks in under four and a half minutes but manages to contain three distinct guitar solos, two of which are actually performed by normally rhythm guitarist Andy Abberley. It should be seen as a sign of what this album is ready to put forth, but the next three songs in the mentioned quadruple opus are nowhere near as speed driven.

All three songs feature one identifiable mark, they flow organically despite having discordant sections. The Messenger has a near minute long intro that gets quickly swallowed up by the mammoth riffage and never returns again. That is not a problem however since the band replaces it with an infectiously groove-laden tune that has one of the harshest choruses the band has ever conceived. Shades Of Black is also somewhat slow for the first half before disappearing completely in a second half that sounds like a completely different song. The title track is also one song for the first half while the second half spikes with an energetic riff of staccato articulation.

I should point out that the member with the most impact on this slab of metal is vocalist Rasmus. The prior release had already shown the mans vocal pipes but as the band grew with him as songwriters, he has a much more varied performance then his debut. Not only contributing rhythm guitar in parts and composing parts of the composition at large, his vocals matter with each syllable sung. Rather it was clear power metal styling of the first two tracks or Death By Design the sorrowful blurring of vocal lines in Shades Of Black or epic closer Until We Burn, his voice is simply immense. Even on the songs that do not work as well (yes there are three) his voice is still a highlight and positive. If the rating above pertained only to Rasmus Andersen’s contributions, it would be a perfect score.

Of the songs that do not work as well, one is the Sleeper. Despite having a creative prelude, a very memorable bass riff played under harmonizing vocals by Rasmus and founder Brian Tatler, the song underutilized the guitars huge tone. The track is structured like a doom metal song and that expected snails pace kills an otherwise decent effort and composition. It does pick up for the final minute and a half but it is the one tempo change that does not feel organically sutured. The second is Serrated Love. Once again driven by a memorable effort from new bassist Dean Ashton, it has the weakest chorus and the interlude breakdown kills any potential. Its solo offers a slight spot of brightness but it is not enough to lift the song out of the spot for the weakest moment. The Phoenix is the third track and this is only due to being slightly less memorable. It works for what it is and the ultra bright tone to the guitars, especially during its engaging minute plus lead break, is very unique on such a dark song and record.

None of those three songs are terrible, or even bad, by any means. Serrated Love might be a cement block to the overall flow and The Phoenix is the best of the three, but all three songs slightly drag down the albums overall score. The other six songs (and one prelude) are all top-notch metal that it makes this album one of the very best in all of trad metal during the latter half of the 2010’s.

Highlights: The Coffin Train, Shades Of Black, The Messenger, Belly Of the Beast
Lowlights: The Sleeper, Serrated Love

About 40 years ago the NWOBHM was the premier avenue of expression for the British rocker who was either down on his economic luck or otherwise in need of letting off some steam, yet unwilling to embrace the anarchy and scorn for virtuoso musicianship that was rampant in England’s punk rock scene. Diamond Head was among the bands that were poised to take not only their island of birth, but the whole world by storm with an onslaught of massive heavy metal anthems that arguably helped pave the way for thrash metal and also a series of glowing endorsements in print media. Alas, a combination of finicky sentiments in the music consuming population and heavy competition between numerous bands in a crowded style were among the factors that kept this from happening, yet due to renewed interest, in part, thanks to the promotion of their material by Metallica, this band has managed to weather the storms of change and returned after nearly 4 decades since the recording of their seminal debut Lightning To The Nations for another go.

Though the trials and tribulations that followed in the 90s and the new millennium saw this band meeting with varying degrees of success in the studio, the core of this band in guitarist and now lone founding member Brian Tatler has showcased a desire to continue moving forward rather than outright dwelling upon the glory days of 1980. Nevertheless, the latest incarnation of Diamond Head finds an album in The Coffin Train that lands a good bit closer to the epic, grandiose, heavy yet still hard rock-infused formula that first brought their name to prominence during heavy metal’s primordial days. A lot of this is due to Tatler’s riff work and songwriting getting a sudden shot in the arm, but one would remiss to deny the massive impact that relative newcomer in Danish-born vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen has on things. His voice matches the wide range and versatile demeanor of original front man Sean Harris, but has a more soulful and rugged quality to it that is occasionally reminiscent of Chris Cornell, particularly during more subdued moments when his voice is fully exposed.

As mentioned previously, the old school hard rock vibe that Diamond Head exhibited in their early days is still very present, albeit presented in a more raucous and massive fashion due to the exploitation of modern studio methods. The more grooving, mid-paced and quasi-psychedelic character of songs such as “The Phoenix” and “Shades Of Black” definitely point to their roots in the archaic 1970s sounds of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, while Andersen’s somewhat huskier vocal affectations give it an ever so slight grungy flavor. On the other hand, the outright Black Sabbath inspired punch of “The Sleeper” and the chunkier heavy metal stomp of “The Messenger” definitely showcase a proportional metallic element, while the outright cruiser of a speed metal anthem that kicks things off “Belly Of The Beast” stands as one of this band’s most utterly metal moments. About the only thing that doesn’t quite conform with the nuanced packaging of an early days album in a modern package is Tatler’s lead playing, which sticks a bit more closely to a blues-based rocking approach similar to Blackmore and is generally bereft of those classic Van Halen moments he’d often trot out in the early 80s.

It is doubtful that Diamond Head will ever top the magic that they created at the dawn of the 1980s when Lightning To The Nations was heralded as having more good riffs in one song than Black Sabbath did on their first four albums (a bordering on ridiculous hyperbolic statement by music journalist Geoff Barton, but not entirely without some basis), but this is about as close as they’ve gotten to matching it in recent history. It is among one of the better fits of heavy metal conservatism to grace the 2010s since Satan’s auspicious 2013 comeback album Life Sentence, while also cutting against the concurrent trend among younger bands of trying to completely recreate the studio sound of the era that this band was born in. All in all, it’s a testament of a band that has come to acknowledge their place as a pioneering heavy metal band with a specifically defined sound, but also one that isn’t afraid to showcase their continued relevancy by amping up their sound to compete with the current crop of modern heavy and power metal bands that have been paraphrasing their style for the past 20 years.

Originally written for Sonic Perspectives (www.sonicperspectives.com)

It's incredible what new vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen did to a band that seemed dead and gone and never managed to live up to its potential since its influential debut. The young Danish dynamite revitalized the old band that came back with a bang in form of the self-titled record three years ago that was followed by an energetic tour that more metal fans around the world should have attended. The Coffin Train keeps the momentum of the previous comeback and offers fresh, juvenile and powerful heavy metal with an excellent contemporary production.

The record starts with a bang in form of ''Belly of the Beast'' that doesn't have anything to do with the Anthrax song of the same title but ironically flirts with thrash metal influences in a highly energetic way. The vivid vocals really stand out and give some additional oomph to the speedy rhythm section and tight guitar play.

Title track ''The Coffin Train'' shows the band's other side with a more atmospheric and melodic touch and quite modern melodic vocals that successfully bring the band's sound to the twenty-first century. This song would be a great single to introduce the band to the next generation in my book.

Those who are rather craving for melodic traditional doom and heavy metal should be pleased with the plodding but intense ''Shades of Black''.

If you tend to like it a little bit faster you will get something to chew on with the vibrant ''Death by Design'' with its catchy guitar lines and versatile vocals that also flirt with hard rock territories.

The band also shows a more experimental side with the soothing ''Serrated Love'' that flirts with oriental folk sounds and a domineering bass guitar.

Atmospheric, epic and melodic ''Until We Burn'' is the album closer you have been waiting for without knowing it that unites all the different strengths of the band showcased in the previous tunes. This track is my personal highlight of the record and represents epic melodic heavy metal at its very best that can indeed compete with the classics of the early eighties.

In case you haven't noticed, Diamond Head are back, ladies and gentlemen, and The Coffin Train might be the band's greatest release since its debut nearly four decades earlier. The veterans are better than most young heavy metal revival bands out there and this is mostly due to excellent new vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen. Get this record and attend one of the group's energizing concerts.