Lightning To The Nations
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''Lightning to the Nations'' is the debut album by British heavy metal band Diamond Head. The album was recorded in 1979 (after the 1977 and 1979 demos) and released in 1980 through Happy Face Records, a label owned by the producer Muff Murfin of The Old Smithy studio of Worcester, due to lack of interest from major labels and the band feeling that they needed to get the ball rolling as other bands from the same era, such as
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
and
Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...
, were already becoming big names. It was originally released in a plain white sleeve with no title or track listing, and was subsequently named after the first track on the album.
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...
re-released it on CD in 1992. In 2001, it was re-issued in its original "White Album" form by
Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...
, featuring seven bonus tracks that were featured on singles and EPs from this era.


Album information

Diamond Head had gained enough attention to tour as support with
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
and
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
. 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 The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
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 original 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 new manager, Reg Fellows, owned a cardboard factory and could produce blank sleeves at 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 (by then tour manager). There were originally only 1,000 copies pressed of the album, which were only available at the band's concerts or through mail-order at a price of £3.50. The only mail-order advertisement appeared in British music magazine '
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
' and ran for four weeks. However, the band did not pay for any advertisements 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 and the 2016 HNE Recordings Ltd CD release are the only CD releases 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 brought Diamond Head to the forefront of the
new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...
scene and was a big influence on many later metal bands, including
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and
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. The former have covered songs such as "The Prince", "Sucking My Love", "
Am I Evil? "Am I Evil?" is a song by British heavy metal band Diamond Head. Released on the band's 1980 debut album ''Lightning to the Nations'', it remains the band's signature song''.'' The song was written by lead vocalist Sean Harris and guitarist ...
", "It's Electric", and "Helpless" throughout their career and recorded most of them. Versions from various periods were compiled on Metallica's album ''
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''. 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! is a monthly Japanese magazine for fans of heavy metal music, published since September 1984. It is the major publication on heavy metal music in the country. As of 2013, it is published by Shinko Music Entertainment in Tokyo. The magazine's c ...
'' rated this album as the third-best "
riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
album" of all time, behind
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's ''
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'' and
Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
's ''
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''. The ''Guitarists' Book of Heavy Metal'' ranked the track "Am I Evil?" at on its list of the best metal riffs behind
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
's "The Number of the Beast". In 2017, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' ranked ''Lightning to the Nations'' 42nd on their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".


Track listing


Personnel

;Diamond Head *Sean Harris – vocals, rhythm guitar on "Am I Evil?" *Brian Tatler – lead guitar *Colin Kimberley – bass *Duncan Scott – drums ;Production *Produced by Reg Fellows and Diamond Head, except: :*"Streets of Gold" produced by Robin George and Diamond Head :*"Waited Too Long" and "Play It Loud" produced by Tony Wilson :*"Diamond Lights", "We Won't Be Back" and "I Don't Got" produced by Diamond Head and engineered by Leslie Penning


''Lightning to the Nations 2020''

''Lightning to the Nations 2020'' is a re-recorded version of the original album, featuring a new line-up with vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen. The album also has additional cover songs.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightning To The Nations 1980 debut albums Diamond Head (band) albums