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Diamond Head is undoubtedly one of the most important names in the history of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Put next to giants like Iron Maiden and Saxon, the band's music is a constant inspiration to various modern acts - Megadeth's Dave Mustaine along with Metallica's James Hetfield and Lars Urlich often mentioned Diamond Head as one of their most important influences in the entire music business. The group's albums to this day impress NWOBHM enthusiasts and gather new fans, delivering all the best features of ambitious heavy metal music one could desire.
And today Metal Mind Productions presents re-issues of two Diamond Head's albums: "Borrowed Time" from 1982 - one of Diamond Head's most intense productions, taking the listener on a journey through fascinating arrangements and enchanting melodies - and "Canterbury" from 1983 - the album featuring a drastic style-change, as the band decided not to limit themselves to the heavy metal genre and incorporated many hard rock ideas into the record. Diamond Head to this day remains a living legend of the NWOBHM genre. Now, with these reissues, heavy metal enthusiasts can once again witness the power of the classic compositions that forever changed the concept of metal music. Both titles will be released on the 15th October 2007 via Metal Mind Productions.
Diamond Head
"Borrowed Time" (+bonus tracks)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1078 DG
Barcode: 5907785030947
Format: CD Digipak (limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: heavy metal/NWOBHM
Release date: 15.10.2007 Europe
Tracklist:
1. In The Heat of the Night
2. To Heaven from Hell
3. Call Me
4. Lightning To the Nations
5. Borrowed Time
6. Don't You Ever Leave Me
7. Am I Evil
Bonus tracks:
8. Trick or Treat
9. Dead Reckoning
10. Shoot Out The Lights
11. In The Heat Of The Night
12. Play It Loud (live)
13. Sweet And Innocent (live)
14. Interview with Sean Harris and Colin Kimberley by Tommy Vance recorded in June'82
Diamond Head
"Canterbury" (+bonus tracks)
Label: Metal Mind Records
Cat. No.: MASS CD 1079 DG
Barcode: 5907785030954
Format: CD Digipak
(limited edition of 2000 numerated copies)
Genre: heavy metal/NWOBHM
Release date: 15.10.2007 Europe
Tracklist:
1. Makin' Music
2. Out of Phase
3. The Kingmaker
4. One More Night
5. To the Devil His Due
6. Knight of the Swords
7. Ishmael
8. I Need Your Love
9. Canterbury
Bonus tracks:
10. Makin' Music (extended)
11. Sucking My Love (live)
12. Andy Peebles Interview incl. "To The Devil His Due"
Bio
The beginnings of Diamond Head reach all the way back to 1976, when guitarist Brian Tatler and drummer Duncan Scott first thought of starting a metal band together. Taking their name from a Phil Manzanera album from 1985, the duo begun auditioning for singers, eventually to come across Sean Harris, who was invited into the band just after singing one tune. The line-up was soon completed by bassist Colin Kimberley, who was Tatler's friend from junior school. Diamond Head's first demo recording emerged in 1978 and soon caught the attention of Geoff Barton from Sounds, who put the group on his play list and arranged their first interview. After several live gigs Diamond Head finally gained an opportunity to present itself to a wider audience by supporting top acts such as AC/DC and Iron Maiden. At the beginning of 1980 the band formed their own label - Diamond Head Music - in order to release their self-financed material, which at that time was the "Shoot Out The Lights" single, put out concurrently with "Helpless" on Happy Face Music. Diamond Head's next release was their debut full-length album, referred to as "Lightning To The Nations" or the "White Album", due to the plain white cover and the lack of an official title. The 7-track LP to this day remains one of the band's most successful releases, containing the classic hits "The Prince", "Sucking My Love" and the all-time favorite "Am I Evil?". What is interesting, the album was at first available only in 1000 copies, sold at gigs for L3.50, only to be re-released several times in the future. In 1981, after releasing a couple of singles, Diamond Head finally signed a deal with a major record label - MCA Records - and put out an EP called "Four Cuts", which was a taste of the upcoming LP. Released in September 1982, "Borrowed Time" was by some considered Diamond Head's official debut, mostly because it contained two songs from "Lightning To The Nations" (both re-recorded). Overall containing seven tracks, the album was a milestone for the band's career, making it widely recognizable on the NWOBHM scene and scoring top notes from critics and reviewers worldwide. "Borrowed Time" brought along some of Diamond Head's best songs to date, such as the intense "In the Heat of the Night" and the Zeppelin-influenced "Don't You Ever Leave Me". The band's guitarist and founder, Brian Tatler, remembers the recording of the album as a very pleasurable experience: "We signed to MCA in 1982, so 'Borrowed Time' was the first album on that label and more money was spent on it than the White Label album, and we spent more time on it as well. We had a producer in Mike Hedges who had produced some name bands and he had a reputation to uphold. We liked the recording studio and wanted to make a great record. I have always been obsessed with music so I am in my element when I am in the studio. It was brilliant when the album was released and went straight into the British charts at number 24. It was a good feeling of accomplishment. 1982 was one of my favorite years!". Today album became a Diamond Head classic, along with the debut considered heir best effort. The follow-up to "Borrowed Time", "Canterbury", was released in 1983. The album featured a drastic style-change, as Diamond Head decided not to limit themselves to the heavy metal genre and incorporated many hard rock ideas into the record. Before the release, both Duncan Scott and Colin Kimberley left the group, soon to be replaced by Robbie France on drums and Merv Goldsworthy on bass. With this line-up, enriched by keyboard player Josh Phillips-Gorse, Diamond Head prepared to record their fourth LP, "Flight East", in 1984, however they were eventually dropped by their label and split later that year. The band's reunion took place in 1993 during a jam session with Metallica, who on one of their shows played cover versions of "Helpless" and "Am I Evil?" (these two songs, along with "The Prince" and "It's Electric" were released on Metallica's "Garage Inc" cover album, pretty much making Diamond Head popular again). After a successful performance the band decided to record some new songs, what eventually resulted in releasing a brand new album entitled "Death and Progress" (featuring celebrities such as Megadeth's Dave Mustaine and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi). The album release was crowned with an electrifying performance at Milton Keynes Bowl on 5th June 1993, where Diamond Head opened for Megadeth and Metallica. This was their last show for the next seven years. In late 2000, Tatler and Harris returned with an acoustic project involving their old songs and performed at several gigs accompanied by a new member - Floyd Brennan. It wasn't until 2004, however, that Diamond Head officially returned with a new album. By that time Harris has left the band, leaving Tatler as the last remaining original member. With new vocalist Nick Tart, backed by Adrian Mills (guitar), Eddie Moohan (bass) and Karl Wilcox (drums), Diamond Head released "All Will Be Revealed". Further releases involved a live album - "It's Electric" and a DVD entitled "To The Devil His Due" in 2006, followed by the recent LP from 2007 - "What's In Your Head".
All the best,
Agnieszka Kulpińska
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Metal Mind Productions - Promo Dept.
e-mail: agnieszka.kulpinska@metalmind.com.pl
MMP website: www.metalmind.com.pl
MMP www.myspace.com/metalmindproductions
Metalmania Festival: www.myspace.com/metalmaniafestival
Metal Hammer: www.myspace.com/metalhammerpolska
tel.++48 32 205 25 00 fax: ++48 32 205 36 65
ul. Czajek 31, 40-534 Katowice
POLAND
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