Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations

Instruments: 3000$
Recording at studio: 1000$
Album artwork: 5$
Album of the year, all years: Priceless

The most well known underground metal act of all history. This is the history of British diamond head. A story of obvious passion for music, and writing all the riffs that exist in todays metal world. The sad part about writing every good riff, and being underground is that everybody steal your stuff, and take the praise for your work. Those who did, include large names of thrash such as Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus and Kreator.

Opening the album is the title track, The first of many riff-monsters to come. Said riffs tend to have a bluesy feel to them, such as the chorus, and the solo part. This does not say that it is boring and structured, this is full energy ahead old-school heavy metal, apart from the vocals, that get a bit melancholic in the verses.

Upping the speed, the second track, The Prince, is one where the bass makes it's presence more than known. Underneath the rhythm focused guitar riffing, (of a motörhead-ish quality) the bass spew out melodic licks, rolls and markings.
The use of keyboard in the intro is interesting, as very few bands used electric keys in 1980, and even fewer metal bands did the same.

"Sucking my love" comes of as one of the weaker tracks on the album. The first half lacks a bit in the riffing department COMPARED to the rest of the album. The second part is a calmer part with pretty good solos, and a couple having sexual intercourse in the background. This one is not the song you listen to first.

But now. Here comes the song that everybody knows, but nobody knows who wrote. The Metallica cover that people know is nothing compared to the original. The mood of the opening march, the fierceness of the solo, the raw energy of the riff. Nothing of that is carried on in the Metallica cover of "Am I Evil".  The vailing vocals that convey the feeling of an abandoned kid, who seek vengeance on the world, this can't be redone.
Not only did the guys in Diamond head manage to write one of the greatest songs of all time, but they also perform it so "right". A perfect example of how to give a song energy, even in studio. That is what makes this song so extraordinary.

Changing the focus away from the raw, energetic proto-thrash madness that is "Am I Evil", "Sweet and innocent" has more thee feel of 70's rhythm-rock, along with a catchy chorus, that has most people singing along. The choir adds to the feeling of "grandness", that the riff inspires.

"It's electric" has a riff that could easily be a commercial hair-metal band, that there would spring up so all too many of, later in the decade. The simple, catchy chorus makes this one of the songs that would act as inspiration for bands to come. the riffing in the rest of the song is decent, and it is a good track overall.

Ending the album on a high note is the intense "helpless". Energetic riffing, a prominent bass, and the best, and most interesting  vocal performance of the album. This is all that is needed to know. The song is bad-ass. listen to it!

The songs are generally very varied, and changes happen all the time. interest is never lost, and energy is high through almost all parts.
The final point i have to make, is that this album is such a pioneer of thrash, the riffs may have bluesy qualities, but the style is close to the old-school of thrash.
If you are a fan of Megadeth or Metallica, listen actively for riffs that sound familliar, you're bound to find quite a few.


Godlike riffs all the way, good bassmanship, and strong vocals, put together in great songwriting, this is a well earned 9.5/10.

Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations (mediafire)
Buy it!

The Prince


Lightning to the Nations

Raven - Rock until you Drop

A normal day at band practice, is it?

"It sounds like we're actually in hell!"
Thus starts the most energetic album in recorded history.

Ravens debut from 81' then kicks of with a powerful riff, a falsetto shout of "ALRIIIIGHT!" and a high-speed riff with both blues and thrash qualities to it. This is indicative of what the album is about. Blues riffs, with a, then,  innovative thrashing edge, that no one else had. "Hell Patroll" was probably some of the most brutal music out there at the time. It's sudden changes, barrage of riffs, and intense rasping falsetto screams leaves the listener with no way of not headbanging at maximum speed. The falsettos of Mr.Gallagher is also shown to be of highest quality when i comes to lung capacity, as near the end of the song, all the instruments pause, as the vocalist holds a high falsetto for something that seems like an eternity.

The next song is one of the best songs on the album. "don't need your money" has a catchy melodic speed/thrash riff, and some of the most sing-along friendly chorus on the album. The guitar is also hyperactive in providing little melodic licks everywhere. these little shreds are the little boost that gives the song "that little extra" to make it truly great.

The two next songs are the bluesy "over the top" and the acoustic, one minute, piece "39-40". around the 30 second mark of the song, there is a passage of chords,(Here) later directly copied by Metallica on their mega-hit "Nothing else matters". This could of course be totally random, as certain combinations of chords sound good, but the fact that Metallica was opening band for Raven around 83 (PROOF!) would suggest that it stuck, and resurfaced during the writing of the black album, almost 10 years later.
The next song also suffered a simmilar fate. The intro and chorus riff  was copied by the Humorous World of Warcraft band: L70ETC (now probably named L80ETC) on their popular song: I am Murloc (Comparisition)

Nobodies hero is another high speed song, with a catchy chorus and a bluesy bass line.

Next up is a cover of the band "Sweet", or actually, two covers in one song, namely Hellraiser/action. The songs are very fitting for raven to cover, as the style of music of these songs, clearly was a great influence on the band, and the vocals really suit the style of Gallagher, who does his best performance of the album on this track. The interweaving of the tracks are also very seamless, and if one does not know the originals, it is hard to tell where one song ends, and the next one begin.

"Lambs to the slaughter" is another high speed track, with some of the best drum markings on the album. but this one drowns slightly among the other high speed songs.

Finally, "Tyrant of the airwaves" is a relatively mid-paced song with a nice build-up, and the most impressive use of guitar licks on the album. The vocals is relatively low, and in the mid-range, except for a couple of dramatic screams. This song has a strong feel of focus and streamlining, and is rather indicative of how raven would evolve on the sub-sequent albums. This one would slip nicely into their third album: All for One.

This sums it up as one of the strongest releases of NWOBHM and a deserved 9.5/10

Raven - Rock until you drop
Buy "rock until you drop" from Amazon

Omen - Battle Cry

With the rapidly changing scene of metal in the eighties US, quite a few bands were quickly forgotten, despite being reasonably talented. One of these acts was Omen.

Omen formed in 83', and released their first and arguably best album, Battle Cry, in 84'. This album, along with the single "The Axeman" was a minor hit, albeit a quickly forgotten one.

The album however, starts of with what is an even better song than it's single, namely the high tempo "Death Rider", a song with a slight feel of melodic thrash to it, despite being classic heavy metal. It's melodic main riff and intro sounds like it could be picked out of iron maidens self titled album, with it's melody and 3/4 feel (it's in 4/4, it just has the feel of 3/4).

"The Axeman" also has a start that can be linked heavily to maiden, with a spoken intro, reminiscent quite a bit to the intro of Maidens "Number of the Beast", released the previous year. The rest of the song and album tones down this maiden-like feel, and it does the album good. The continuation of the song, has a heavier feel, with a proto-thrashing riff and more challenging vocals.

Other stand out tracks include the title track, and "in the arena". the first of which starts of with the sourest guitar scream you will ever hear, before kicking in with a technical staccato riff and then a tight galloping, with a catchy chorus. This is a great sing-along track, and for some time has been one of the fixed songs in my drinking playlist. The solo is also worth mentioning as one of the better on the album.
"In the Arena" on the other hand starts of slowly, with acoustic finger plucking, and emotional singing, before driving the song onwards, with high speed. somehow it still retain a feeling of tragedy through the vocals, lyrics about a falling gladiator, and the underlying chords on the chorus. The mix of high speed and emotion is an uncommon one and an excellent way to end the album. With songs mostly going very up-tempo, the change of feel is a pleasant one.

Variation is, despite all the songs going in the same vein of music, not much of an issue. The riffs are distinct enough to separate the songs, and the vocalist can play a few different tunes. The one major drawback of this album, is the lack of originality. While it's a good album in it's own respect, it is always reminiscent of someone else, be it Maiden, Manowar or Judas Priest. with this the only thing draving them back, the score is pretty easy.
For now, omen recives a decent 9/10
Omen - Battle Cry (mediafire)
Omen - Battle Cry (spotify)

ARIA - Hero of Asphalt (Ария - Герой асфальта)

This is a fucking Robot Viking Biker.
You do not mess with him.

Aria, or Ария as it is in Russian, is one of those bands who merely was in the wrong place at the right time. Founded in 1985 in Russia, they missed the wave that hit England roughly five years earlier. Hence they lost all chance of commercial recognition.

Their two first albums have a feeling of making it as they learn, but Their third album, Hero of Asphalt sounds quite a bit like Iron Maiden in the mid-eighties, while retaining some personal edge to their music.
The most obvious difference is the vocals. Valeriy Kipelov sings a lot like Bruce Dickinson, and his high soaring vocals can often feel "larger" than Dickinsons. Kipelov does dramatic vocals just as well, if not better than Bruce, but is not quite as varied, with calm or mellow vocals. There is no need for him to go lower, however, as the vocals suit the music at all times. He also has a knack for making catchy vocal lines, that makes you want to sing along, even if you don't know a word Russian. One good example is the song, 1100, where he carries the entire song from being mediocre.

The guitarwork is praiseworthy through all the songs with lots of riffs, galloping and otherwise, through the entire album. The solos are of high quality. While they are not the fastest shredding around, they are highly melodic and varied, always with a sense of direction, Much in the vein of their obvious Maiden idols.

The bass is prominent in the mix, and highly distinguishable at most times. It provides occasional melodic licks under the guitars, and really shines on tracks like Rose Street, where it hardly does simple following of guitars, but always catches your attention with interesting licks and markings.

The drumwork is tight, and does it job at all times, but it is nothing extrordinary. the drummer works in a way that allows the rest of the band to shine.

All in all this is a high quality album in both songwriting, composition and individual performance. It's one major drawback is how it could diversify itself more from its inspiration, the mid-eighties Maiden.

This sums it all up to a total of 8/10
  Aria – Hero of Asphalt
Hero of Asphalt (mediafire)