2016 Dissonance
DIAMOND HEAD are guitarist Brian Tatler, vocalist Rasmus Bom
Andersen, drummer Karl Wilcox, bassist Eddie Moohan, and guitarist Abbz.
Diamond Head are back! The new, self titled album is their
first first full length release of new music since 2007's “What's In Your Head” and
their first record with Danish singer Rasmus Bom Andersen.
The album blasts out
with “Bones” with a signature Brian Tatler riff and the mid song tempo changes
we've come to expect and love from Diamond Head.
“Shout At The Devil” thankfully has nothing to do with any
hair bands from Los Angeles
and features a rumbling bass line from Eddie Moohan.
The pace slows down a bit with “Set My Soul On Fire” and we
get to hear Ras's voice really shine. Of course, being DH the tempo shifts at
the guitar solo where Tatler and Andy
'Abbz' Abberley burn up the fret-boards
“See You Rise” kicks off with a nice drum pattern by Karl
Wilcox and another killer riff by
Maestro Tatler.
“All The Reasons You Live” begins with a nice acoustic intro
(hankering back to the bands NWOBHM days) before becoming a good mid paced song
with a keyboard laden chorus.
OK, being a demure, innocent lady I'm not going to explain
what “Wizard Sleeve” is slang for! But
with lyrics like “can I come inside your wizard sleeve” - it's pretty self
explanatory! This is a fun song and
shows the band doesn't feel they have to be all serious all the time! Killer
solo by Brian too!
“Our Time is Now” - nice interplay between the rhythm
section of Moohan and Wilcox. I can just
picture Diamond Head playing a huge
outdoor festival somewhere in Europe and the
whole crowd chanting “Call to arms strengthen the legions! Dismantle the walls
for the sake of the children!!” Nice touch throwing in a few seconds of the
iconic “Am I Evil” riff at the end!
“Speed” next . I really love the dual guitar leads. This
song so reminds me of “Helpless” but with a 2016 spin. I can just picture Ras's throat bleeding at
the end of the track when he belts out “I need Speed”. Love it!
“Blood On My Hands” another slightly slower track with a
great riff that's already stuck in my head.
“Diamonds” is another strong track – actually there are no
weak tracks on the album.
The final track is “Silence” and closes the album in epic
fashion. Arabic style guitar swells,
acoustic passages, lyrics about “recall the days where you dug children's
graves and regret”.
All in all a very solid “comeback” release from Diamond Head who with a few nods to their legendary past,
have their feet firmly in 2016. Looking
forward to seeing them tour the states this fall!!
Thanks to Paula Hogan and Brian Tatler for all their
help.
-Rys
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