Diamond Head are an iconic band wouldn’t you agree? Whether it was first time around on their own merit as one of the highlights of the NWOBHM scene or from the recommendations of one little band called Metallica, they are an institution. The funniest thing I heard about this band was whilst watching them supporting Megadeth a good few years ago, a young fan in front went “wow, they’re playing a Metallica cover”… it’s good to laugh! But I digress… The focus of the press material revolves around new vocalist Rasmus Born Andersen, a Danish born singer now residing in London. Having joined the band as a live singer when their previous frontman upped sticks and went to the Southern Hemisphere, Rasmus is a very good singer and this album perfectly highlights the full vocal range and captivating presence and delivery of melody.
Through Andersen’s influence, main man, founding guitarist Brian Tatler was convinced to write some new material. The spirit of old maybe there but the music, mainly due to the production, is very refined and lacks a raw edge many may look for. However, the songs themselves, are killer, but it took 2 or 3 listens to fully immerse one’s self into this self-titled album, so don’t expect a full album of retrospective NWOBHM like their early material, but do expect material of a much higher class than their last couple of releases.
‘Bones’ immediately starts out with a speedier pace, you may find the guitar sound notable right away, I did, that took the time I think to get into this album. But then when the band come out with total curve balls like ‘All the Reasons to Live’ there is certainly elegant song writing here. Emotive and a bit Chris Cornell/Audioslave for me, this tracks balances the lightness of the music and the vocal delivery that unexpectedly embraces you and wraps your head around this track. ‘Shout at the Devil’ is a heavier track, again the vocal phrasing is spectacular once the track kicks in. On a few of the songs, its takes while for them to get their mojo on and get moving, but rest assured, wait a bit and the songs become rewarding, avoid the skip button! I did say don’t expect retrospective stuff, well that wasn’t the whole truth…taking you into their classic material is ‘Wizard Sleeve’ that is a one for the lovers of guitar riffs, this is the metal track, but is more than that in reality when it slows down and the solo plays, this is your money shot, the art of cool song writing personified in a simple short 3 minutes plus.
This is an expanded hard rock release with a few wide ranging influences, as I have said before, it’s not totally like their classic material and maybe under another band name the music would be lost, but this is a good hard rock release and Rasmus is a great find and deserves credit for having such talent. Live this material will stack up just fine, so check out the tour dates for their upcoming shows.
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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