Review by Rob Broom for MPM
A barnstorming live release from the influential New Wave Of British Heavy Metal stalwarts.
The Diamond Head story is well documented, particularly their influence on a young Lars Ulrich back in the early 1980s and what became Metallica, so I won’t dwell on it in detail here. Suffice to say that having delivered – in this writers opinion – one of the finest debuts ever (usually known either as the ‘White Label’ or Lightning To The Nations’ album), Diamond Head – due to some questionable management decisions and a rapidly changing music scene – lost momentum and never quite caught up despite releasing several excellent albums.
After a period of inactivity, following the original lineup splitting up, eventually lead guitarist (and one of the founder band members) Brian Tatler kept Diamond Head going through a variety of lineup changes and in recent years the band has managed to deliver a number of top notch albums including 2019s ‘Coffin Train’.
The band have also been on the road and back in 2022, Diamond Head had a guest slot on a UK tour with Saxon. I was lucky enough to see them at the Bath Forum show during the tour and both bands were absolutely on fire that night.
This ‘Live And Electric’ release captures live recordings from that tour and whilst there are none from Bath, what it does confirm is that Diamond Head were putting in blistering performances across multiple dates. So if you were at Aberdeen, Cardiff, Bexhill, Blackburn, York or Cambridge your cheering may be captured here for posterity!
I had already ordered my copy on announcement so am looking forward to it arriving (release date is Friday 9th July 2025). This review is from an advance record company stream. Indeed it’s worth noting at this point that this recording is so hot you best watch out if you handle a physical copy as you might burn yourself!!
Proceedings open with ‘The Prince’ from that original Diamond Head ‘white label’ debut and then is swiftly followed by more ‘recent’ compositions (in comparison to the first couple of Diamond Head albums) ‘Bones’ and ‘The Messenger’. What is immediately apparent (and confirmed as the set continues) is how comfortably the ‘newer’ material sits alongside the older and much more well known classics. That is testament to the abilities of the songwriters and musicians in the more recent lineups of the band. There is no no lack of furious guitar riffs and passionate vocals in these opening three songs!
After the brutal pounding of the opening one, two, three, the fourth and knockout punch is the smouldering and magnificent ‘In The Heat Of The Night’. This song is absolutely blistering and wonderfully performed. It is actually difficult to find words to sum up how masterful this live version of the song is! One of the multiple classic standout moments on this album.
After the slower pace of ‘Set My Soul On Fire’ the band return to the debut album and ‘Its Electric’. This does sound like the band have reworked it from the original, but definitely not to the song’s detriment. That is all partly down to Andy ‘Abbz’ Adderley on rhythm and lead guitar. He is the secret weapon that enables Brian Tatler to really explore and unleash the riffs to their full potential as Diamond Head were originally a four piece.
Vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen does not sound like a carbon copy of original vocalist Sean Harris and if you have seen this lineup of Diamond Head live you will already know he is an unstoppable force of nature, full of energy and enthusiasm (particularly with his calls of ‘Horns Up! Diamond Head Army!’, he is as much a fan as the rest of us!)
Rasmus has the capacity to handle the all the classic Diamond Head songs and really stamps his authority – as well as some originality – on them.
I was fortunate enough to see the original lineup of Diamond Head many times in Bristol and the surrounding area (and was so committed to the band that according to them apparently I was the first to embroider the Diamond Head logo on the back of my denim jacket! – although not the first to inscribe it, that credit goes to the enigmatically nicknamed ‘Doris’ (and no I don’t recall his real name sorry!). I can still remember the look of surprise on the bands faces when they saw my handiwork!) so I can confirm that this incarnation of the band can certainly keep pace with that ‘younger’ original lineup that was such a big part of my early gig going life (and of course on Lars from Metallica – we were probably at some of the same shows!).
Therefore, ‘Dead Reckoning’ is an excellent case in point of this bands abilities, not just of Rasmus’s vocals, but of the whole band working together and laying down their own identity on an older song. This version is brimming with power and force. The beat just grabs you out of the speakers and makes you want to rock!!
Credit to creating that compulsion to rock is – in part – down to the rhythm section of Paul Gaskin on bass and Karl Wilcox on drums who are absolutely locked together in synchronicity across the entire album. The band is absolute dynamite!
All that explosive combustion is unleashed on the more recent ‘Death By Design’ which is a storming powerhouse of a song. This is really going to give your speakers and neck a serious workout so for goodness sake don’t hold back!
Following that, it is back to those early recordings for a grooving ‘Sweet and Innocent’ and then a frantic ‘Helpless’ that canters along at a breathless speed. One of Diamond Heads great early songs to shake your head to (although they have a lot of them!), pump your fist on the air to and generally completely rock out to!!
Penultimate track ‘Belly Of The Beast’ is even more manic. How the band all manage to keep pace is beyond me and its place in the set is completely justified, sandwiched as it is between two of Diamond Heads finest.
The closing track is – of course – the awesome jaw dropping ‘Am I Evil’. Full of gargantuan riffs, neck breaking time changes and therefore a headbangers delight, this is a stone cold metal classic. While the crowd singalong to the chorus, the band drive it all home with power and conviction, a fitting end to a superb live album.
While Diamond Head might be on a break while guitarist Brian Tatler works with Saxon, this album confirms not just what an incredible talent he is, but what a legacy and dominating place the entire band (past and present) has in the history of metal. With the more recent material standing proud alongside the old classics, there is plenty of life left in this band.
Let us all hope Diamond Head get back on the road again at some point and reap the rewards and credit they deserve.
In the meantime, pause whatever you are doing, go buy this album and – as the Diamond Head song says – play it loud!
Live and Electric is out on July 11th and is available as a double vinyl, CD, and on digital formats. Order can be placed here.
Diamond Head are:
BRIAN TATLER: Lead, Rhythm Guitars
RASMUS BOM ANDERSEN: Vocals
KARL WILCOX: Drums
ANDREW “ABBZ” ABBERLEY: Rhythm, Lead Guitars
PAUL GASKIN: Bass
Follow Diamond Head on:
www.facebook.com/DiamondHeadOfficial/
