Throwback Thursday: "Lightning to the Nations", by Diamond Head

In 1980 there was a huge renaissance happening in the world of heavy metal. With the rising of the punk movement in the mid-late 70's metal had taken a massive downturn. However, it wasn't long before heavy metal struck back in an energetic, dark, and powerful way in the form of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (or NWOBHM for short). Many great new bands came out of this movement, including one that has heavily influenced a great many famous bands by the name of Diamond Head. In 1980 they independently recorded and released their debut album Lightning to the Nations in order to keep up with other bands from the movement that were already making it big. The album blasted them into the stratosphere.

Like many NWOBHM albums of the time period, Lightning to the Nations is balls to the wall heavy metal. It has everything you want: crunchy riffs, lightning quick guitar solos, wailing vocals, and a rhythm section that will blow the siding off your house. Metal heads will more than likely recognize tunes like Am I Evil?, It's Electric, The Prince, and more due to them having been covered by Metallica at different points in time. Without Diamond Head, bands like Metallica and Megadeth wouldn't exist.

It's Electric is one of the most fun tracks on the record. It's got an uptempo feel and gives you that pedal to the metal feeling. It is definitely a great track to represent what Diamond Head is about, although admittedly it does have the most generic lyrics of all the songs on the album even for the time. It doesn't really matter though considering Brian Tatler's guitar work, the sound of Sean Harris's singing, and the pounding rhythms are more than enough to distract you. It's not meant to be taken too seriously and if you keep that in mind, you'll enjoy it.

Am I Evil? in my opinion is the crown jewel of Lightning to the Nations. It features so many change-ups in rhythm, tempo, melody, etc. It also has the absolute best guitar work on the album. That solo at the beginning will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you'll shiver in pure delight. The bulk of the song is pretty balls to the wall. The riffs feel like they will demolish your house and the lyrics are just splendidly dark. They too sound a bit generic, but considering the time at which this was written and the legacy they left behind I excuse it.

I don't know if I would consider Lightning  to the Nations an album that would appeal to the mainstream, but if one is looking to delve deeper into the world of heavy metal after having only heard a few of the iconic bands on the radio then this isn't too bad of a place to start. It takes what rock and metal did in the early 70's and speeds it up, makes it darker, and gives it a fresh coat of paint. Listen to Kill 'em All, by Metallica after listening to this. You'll see exactly where their early influence came from.

Lightning to the Nations, by Diamond Head receives 3.2 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Lightning to the Nations
2. The Prince
3. Sucking My Love
4. Am I Evil?
5. Sweet and Innocent
6. It's Electric
7. Helpless

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Lightning-Nations-White-DIAMOND-HEAD/dp/B01LZKMT7C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510301183&sr=8-1&keywords=lightning+to+the+nations