| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Bones Shout At The Devil Set My Soul On Fire See You Rise All The Reasons You Live Wizard Sleeve Our Time Is Now Speed Blood On My Hands Diamonds Silence Release Date: June 24, 2016 (North America) Label: Dissonance Productions Website: www.diamond-head.net www.facebook.com/DiamondHeadOfficial |  |
DIAMOND HEAD IS:
Brian Tatler - Guitars & backing vocals Eddie Moohan - Bass Karl Wilcox - Drums Andy Aberley - Guitars
Rasmus Bom Andersen - Vocals
Brian Tatler - Guitars & backing vocals Eddie Moohan - Bass Karl Wilcox - Drums Andy Aberley - Guitars
Rasmus Bom Andersen - Vocals
It's been a long nine years since we've heard new music from Diamond Head. Often pigeon-holed as the "Am I Evil?" band and mostly known for their legendary debut Lightning To The Nations, they have a slew of other great songs in their catalog and now we have some great new music from the British metal legends with the new album simply titled Diamond Head. 2016 also marks a milestone for the band as they have reached 40 years of existence on the planet. WOW! After spending the last nine years playing many of the classics, the recent addition of new vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen sparked fire in the band to write a new album. After listening to the album, all I can say is that this is one of those albums that may take a few listens for it to start hooking you. Sonically, it seems that the band's focus was to create a nostalgic sounding album with a real heavy 70s classic rock sound in the vein of Led Zeppelin and early Judas Priest, and they definitely succeeded.
Diamond Head mastermind Brian Tatler and fellow axeman Andy Abberley provide some solid riffs of blues and speed metal influence. "Bones" opens the record strongly with vintage sounding riffs and Andersen introduces himself with some solid vocal lines. While "Shout At The Devil" isn't a Motley Crue cover, this track, along with "See You Rise", "Wizard Sleeve" and "Speed" will take longtime fans back to the early days of Diamond Head with the up-tempo, adrenalized riffage. It's also worth mentioning that "Speed" sounds very similar to "Helpless". If you prefer the more mid-tempo straightforward rockers, songs like "All The Reasons You Live", "Blood On My Hands" and the slightly slower chugger "Set My Soul On Fire" will live up to your satisfaction.
I'm always attracted to great vocals and great vocal melodies. While Andersen is a fantastic vocalist, several of his melodies will be unsuccessful at sticking in the heads of the listener, but some of his best vocal moments include "See You Rise", "All The Reasons You Live", "Diamonds" and the album's closer "Silence". I also think the production could have used a little bit of enhancement because while the album does have that great 70s classic heavy rock sound, the guitars sounds pretty dull in some areas, but at the same time, the songwriting is really solid. Whether you're a fan of Diamond Head since the beginning or a newbie, Diamond Head will provide you of everything that you love about classic hard rock and metal.
Highs: "Set My Soul On Fire", "See You Rise" and "All The Reasons You Live"
Lows: Rasmus Andersen is a great vocalist, but some of his melodies lack memorability. The guitars could have been brought up more.
Final Rating: 6.5/10
Diamond Head mastermind Brian Tatler and fellow axeman Andy Abberley provide some solid riffs of blues and speed metal influence. "Bones" opens the record strongly with vintage sounding riffs and Andersen introduces himself with some solid vocal lines. While "Shout At The Devil" isn't a Motley Crue cover, this track, along with "See You Rise", "Wizard Sleeve" and "Speed" will take longtime fans back to the early days of Diamond Head with the up-tempo, adrenalized riffage. It's also worth mentioning that "Speed" sounds very similar to "Helpless". If you prefer the more mid-tempo straightforward rockers, songs like "All The Reasons You Live", "Blood On My Hands" and the slightly slower chugger "Set My Soul On Fire" will live up to your satisfaction.
I'm always attracted to great vocals and great vocal melodies. While Andersen is a fantastic vocalist, several of his melodies will be unsuccessful at sticking in the heads of the listener, but some of his best vocal moments include "See You Rise", "All The Reasons You Live", "Diamonds" and the album's closer "Silence". I also think the production could have used a little bit of enhancement because while the album does have that great 70s classic heavy rock sound, the guitars sounds pretty dull in some areas, but at the same time, the songwriting is really solid. Whether you're a fan of Diamond Head since the beginning or a newbie, Diamond Head will provide you of everything that you love about classic hard rock and metal.
Highs: "Set My Soul On Fire", "See You Rise" and "All The Reasons You Live"
Lows: Rasmus Andersen is a great vocalist, but some of his melodies lack memorability. The guitars could have been brought up more.
Final Rating: 6.5/10
RSS Feed
