Lightning to the Nations

Album information

Diamond Head had gained enough attention to tour as support with AC/DC and Iron Maiden. Although a clutch of record companies fought to sign the band, none were willing to fully commit. The fact that the band was at the time managed by Sean Harris' mother (Linda Harris) did not help the band's commercial momentum. So, while other new wave of British heavy metal bands were signed to major labels and were headlining their own tours, Diamond Head were growing increasingly impatient and decided that they would release their material through their own label, Happy Face Records.

The album was recorded within seven days at The Old Smythy Studio in Worcester, which the band described as 'dead'. This album came in a plain sleeve with no title, having on it only a signature of one of the band members and no track listings. The reason for this was that the band's manager, Reg Fellows, owned a cardboard factory and could produce blank sleeves at a low cost. Also, the reason for recording this album was an attempt to lay down some tracks so they could send it to a record company who would be more willing to release it, as the recording costs had already been covered; this idea came from Fellows and Linda Harris (Sean's mother and tour manager). There were originally only 1000 copies pressed of the album, which were only available at their concerts or through mail-order at a price of £3.50. In fact the only mail-order advertisement appeared in British music magazine 'Sounds' and ran for four weeks. However, the band did not pay for the ad and ended up being sued.

This album has become one of the most sought-after items from the time for record collectors. Later, there was a second pressing of 1000 copies that included track listings. The only original one-and-a-quarter-inch master tapes were lost for years after the band sent them to the German record company Woolfe Records, who did release the album (theirs having a front cover with a map of the world burning).

In 1993, Metal Blade Records released the first official CD version of the entire album. They did not attempt to find the master tapes or create a professional transfer from the original vinyl version and used a remix instead (made in 1986). Additionally, the track "It's Electric" has a major mastering error: the intro of the song is missing and it skips in shortly before the vocals start. High Vaultage Records released another version of the album in 1997, this time sourced from the German Woolfe Records LP. As a bonus, most of the 7" single tracks from that era were included. In 2001, a Sanctuary Records release came out. It includes the same mastering as the High Vaultage CD, which had since gone out of print. The 2011 Deluxe Edition, remastered by Andy Pearce, includes the original album sourced from the rediscovered master tape. This is the only CD release made from a remaster of the original tapes; all other CD versions include either the 1986 remix or the High Vaultage vinyl dubs.

Legacy and influence

The album catapulted Diamond Head to the forefront of the NWOBHM scene and was a big influence to many later metal bands, including Metallica and Megadeth. The former have covered songs such as "The Prince," "Sucking My Love," "Am I Evil?," "It's Electric," and "Helpless" all throughout their career and recorded most of them. Versions from various periods were compiled on Metallica's album Garage Inc.. As a result, Diamond Head became relatively well-known to Metallica fans and enjoyed exposure to a broader public than similar NWOBHM bands from the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 2008, the Japanese metal magazine Burrn! rated this album as the third best riff album of all time, behind Black Sabbath's Master of Reality and Slayer's Reign in Blood. Also, the Guitarists' Book of Heavy Metal ranked the track "Am I Evil?" at #5 on its list of the best metal riffs behind Iron Maiden's "The Number of the Beast".

Track listing

All tracks written by Sean Harris and Brian Tatler.

Personnel