Solas - The Answer

No Halloween themed post this year. Instead, another album review from the band that I believe I've reviewed more than any other on this blog; The Answer. If I'm honest, I'm still sort of coming to terms with this album's content and whether or not I support it so my final verdict may be in flux for a while. Until then, here's what I thought of the band's sixth studio album in ten years, Solas.

If you cast your mind back to my Raise A Little Hell review, you may recall me commenting that every odd numbered album from The Answer is great, implying the even numbered ones are lacking something. Whilst this will always be open to debate, I believe no album simultaneously supports and destroys my claim better than this one. Solas is not your typical Hard Rock revival album by The Answer. In fact, it's the complete opposite of their last release which, regardless of personal taste, is admirable from a creative point of view. However, on a less positive note, Solas could well be The Answer going through their experimental phase, which is never a good sign.
Unlike the majority of tracks by the band, Solas lacks the powerful riffs and well-crafted solos that you'd expect a Rock band to produce. Instead, it sways more towards the Alternative side, populating the album with softer acoustic material that have swapped out the screeching fenders for delicate mandolins. The heaviest track on the album is the album opener, lead single and title track "Solas" but even that's not your typical upbeat tune from The Answer. It's darker, smokier, more ambitious and fundamentally different.
If you judge an album by its title track (which you're supposed to), it telegraphs the change in direction straight away and kills any hope of safe and tepid familiarity that bands can find themselves in danger of welcoming after four or five albums. If the rest of the album carried on with the mystical sound, I'd be in love with it. Unfortunately, things go from Alternative to Folk within about three tracks and once the first one's out of the way, they just keep on coming. I was afraid that "Beautiful World" signalled The Answer's transition into self-inflated, pretentious Muse territory. Turns out it's much worse.

The softer sound and instrumental choices result in music that resembles Mumford & Sons or some other name-droppable Indie barnyard shite peddlers ("Battle Cry", "In This Land"). It's too flimsy for a band of this calibre and whilst I can accept a band changing and adapting their sound over the years, this isn't the right way to go about it. The best songs on this album are the acoustic ones that have a bit of an edge to them, whether it's a Southern twist that gives fans something new but still rocks ("Demon Driven Man") or more of the aforementioned gritty Blues ("Tunnel").
On the other side of this are the odd filler tracks with a few watts pumped into them designed to remind listeners of what Hard Rock sounds like. Sadly, these sound as artificial as your average chart-based tween Rock outfits ("Left Me Standing", "Untrue Colour"), only providing brief moments of levity in this slog of an album. Again, my opinion on these tracks my improve over time but for now, I don't feel like they gel well with the album The Answer are clearly going for.
However, my personal favourite that I believe I'll still enjoy listening to years from now is "Light In Darkness", a bonus track and a demo version of a tune that may or may not be featured as a B-side or song on an upcoming album. Either way, it sounds like a perfect blend of soulful Folk-Rock that the album often misses the mark on and riff-based melodies that The Answer first hooked me with when I started to get into them about five or so years ago. As far as demos go, it's good enough to be a completed track in my eyes and it's nice to hear that Rory Gallagher's touch hasn't completely vanished from their sound just yet.

Solas is a good quality album if you're listening to it without any context about The Answer; in fact, it's a pretty great one if you're just listening to it as an album. However, as far as Rock albums go, it's a risk. The band are possibly trying to redefine themselves or maybe Cormac Neeson is just going through a rocky patch in his life right now. Either way, they took a chance in writing something noticeably different from what we're used to and I'm inclined to say it paid off.
Sure, it's not perfect and hopefully the next album will develop the tracks that do work whilst shitcanning the ones that belong on quirky American TV comedies. For now, I'm giving them a 7/10 as an act of generosity. Again, that rating could change as I rounded up a 6.5 to get that score but at least the album has some really strong tunes, unlike New Horizon. If any of you have heard the first three songs on this album and aren't sure if you should continue both with Solas and the band's career, my recommendation is to stick out both of them. The best songs are on the second half of the record and musically speaking, there's still a need for The Answer.

Shout Out: 70s Studio Albums - Bad Company

Last week, I saw Bad Company on their Swan Song tour and bloody loved it. I loved it so much that I decided to revisit the first five studio albums by the band (all the albums released in the 1970s) and do a quick shout out to each of them, as they're all worth listening to.
I haven't listened to Rough Diamonds, released in 1982 as the last album with the band's original line-up, but I'm sure that's got some great tunes on it too like "Electricland". Anyway, time to start with the band's self-titled debut.

Bad Company is one of two albums responsible for giving us iconic Classic Rock hits by the band, starting off with album opener "Can't Get Enough", an upbeat rewrite of Mick Ralph's "One Of The Boys" chord sequence from his time with Mott The Hoople ("Ready For Love" is also a Mott The Hoople cover that's often attributed to being a Bad Company original). However, the album doesn't peak there. It also contains "Movin' On", "Rock Steady", "Seagull" and of course "Bad Company", all hits among the Classic Rock community but none more so than the title track.
It's a great listen from start to finish with a healthy variety of music and some fantastic production values for its time (it was released two years before Boston's debut!). If you like any of the songs off this album, you'd be wise to give the rest a listen as well. An incredibly strong debut from this Classic Rock supergroup!

1. Can't Get Enough

2. Rock Steady

3. Ready For Love

4. Don't Let Me Down

5. Bad Company

6. The Way I Choose

7. Movin' On

8. Seagull

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

Of course the only problem now is how to top this with the follow up album.

The solution? Straight Shooter.

I would say on average, Straight Shooter is just what the band needed to survive. It may not contain as many iconic Classic Rock staples but the few tracks that were released as singles are, in my opinion, superior to the ones on the debut. Album opener "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" shows listeners that Paul Rodgers and (bad) co still know how to deliver good old fashioned Rock but it's the next track that pulls out all the stops. "Feel Like Makin' Love" combines soft acoustic guitar melodies and romantic lyrics with heavy power chord riffs and a chorus about shagging; two opposing ends of the Rock songwriting spectrum that come together absolutely fucking perfectly.

The album also contains "Shooting Star", a beautiful tribute to what would become known as the 27 Club, "Weep No More", a Bluesy number for fans of material from Paul Rodgers' other well known band Free, and "Wild Fire Woman", a sturdy Classic Rocker with an "OHHHHHH THAT song!!" chorus. Whilst Bad Company was firmly in the Classic Rock category, Straight Shooter delves into Hard Rock territories meaning the album is better suited for fans of both genres rather than one or the other. Fortunately, it's still a well written collection of great material regardless of personal taste.

1. Good Lovin' Gone Bad

2. Feel Like Makin' Love

3. Weep No More

4. Shooting Star

5. Deal With The Preacher

6. Wild Fire Woman

7. Anna

8. Call On Me

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

To me, Bad Company and Straight Shooter are the band at their peak but even if you're not a Bad Company fan, I'd still recommend the first three albums if you can enjoy Classic Rock...well, the first half of the third album anyway. It may not have created as many hits as the first two albums but Run With The Pack is still, at its heart, a Bad Company album.

Much like the debut, this album contains a modest number of great tracks that are fairly well known but nothing quite as awesome or iconic as any off Straight Shooter (although that's just my opinion). Among the great tunes are riff-based album opener "Live For The Music", Folk Rock number with strong Neil Young vibes "Simple Man", Classic Rock single "Honey Child" and piano heavy title track "Run With The Pack". The album has a grander sound with the increased use of strings and piano as an accompaniment to the Rock, as well as an increased number of slower songs. This probably attributed to the diminished acclaim but make no mistake, it's still a solid record.
Other than that though, it's probable that the singles off this album didn't receive the same attention that tracks like "Bad Company" and "Feel Like Makin' Love" got due to the more common lyrical nature of those songs in comparison. Despite this, Run With The Pack is a good listen if you haven't heard many of the tracks but if you prefer the band when they're rocking out, you may be disappointed with the softer sound of this album.

1. Live For The Music

2. Simple Man

3. Honey Child

4. Love Me Somebody

5. Run With The Pack

6. Silver, Blue & Gold

7. Young Blood

8. Do Right By Your Woman

9. Sweet Lil' Sister

10. Fade Away

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

The next album in the band's career is somewhat of a buried treasure, as none of the songs on it are Classic Rock hits but several of them are great Rock songs. Swaying more towards the Hard Rock side, Burnin' Sky is the band slowly clawing back some of the energy they lost in the last album...but did they claw back enough?

Clearly realising that their last album was a little too delicate, Bad Company decided to turn it back up to whatever it was on during their debut album's recording sessions. Album opener and title track "Burnin' Sky" may be a slow burner (so to speak) but the heavy organ and strong riffs, along with the lyrical themes, create a suitable introduction to what should've been a Hard Rock album. However, even though the tracks sound heavier on the surface, they're lacking the same energy and power that tunes off the first two albums boasted with pride.

There's something about the filler tracks that feel formulaic. The guitar riffs sound like lesser versions of earlier songs and tracks that deviate from this head in the wrong direction, such as pointless interlude "Knapsack" and seven-minute Steve Miller Band wannabe "Master Of Ceremony". What the band needed was to go even further with the heavier riffs, as Heavy Metal was becoming more popular with the rise of bands like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath and Scorpions whilst Classic/Hard Rock bands such as Queen, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin retained their power.

1. Burnin' Sky

2. Morning Sun

3. Leaving You

4. Like Water

5. Knapsack

6. Everything I Need

7. Heartbeat

8. Peace Of Mind

9. Passing Time

10. Too Bad

11. Man Needs Woman

12. Master Of Ceremony

ALBUM RATING - 6/10

OK, this may have started off well but by now you're probably wondering why I like this band so much considering their last two albums were disappointing. We're at the last album of this blog post now and if you listen to Rock radio, you'll probably recognise a few of these tunes as Bad Company slowly started to get back on track with Desolation Angels...no really, I mean it this time.

If you like at Rock bands that start off well, building up a solid fan base before trying something new and losing some of those fans (which is pretty much any band that's released more than three or four albums), they always end up "going back to their roots". Or, in layman's terms, "releasing music that fans actually want" which is often the first few albums of theirs. Desolation Angels is no exception as Bad Company scrapped the idea of being fully Hard Rock and instead went back to feel-good Classic Rock, albeit retaining some of the ideas they adopted along the way.

Album opener and lead single "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" showcases this mix of old and new pretty well, blending guitar melodies and soulful vocals with use of synthesisers and heavier drumming. The album features a good variety of songs too, ranging from upbeat Classic Rock with a modern twist ("Evil Wind", "Rhythm Machine") to softer tracks with less frills and needless accompaniments than tunes off Run With The Pack ("Early In The Morning", "Crazy Circles"). All in all, it's still not quite as great as their first two efforts but it was a good imitation.

1. Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy

2. Crazy Circles

3. Gone, Gone, Gone

4. Evil Wind

5. Early In The Morning

6. Lonely For Your Love

7. Oh, Atlanta

8. Take The Time

9. Rhythm Machine

10. She Brings Me Love

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

I'll have to give Rough Diamonds a listen at some point but I'm definitely glad I listened to these five, even if I didn't love every minute of it. Overall, Bad Company might be a band that were more reliant on their hit singles than album quality but at least there's hidden gold to be found in the river of their first five albums. You won't waste all your time listening to them but at the same time they're no Queen, even if Paul Rodgers did try to join their band for a bit (remember Queen + Paul Rodgers? Come on, at least they tried to do something awesome).

Bad Company - Swan Song Tour

I wouldn't call myself a massive Bad Company fan but I've listened to quite a few of their albums and generally enjoyed most of the tracks. Last night, I saw them at the First Direct Arena in Leeds (same place I saw Slash November before last) and had a fucking blast, even if the first half of the evening was a bit of a wash out.

It started off with a naff pre-warm up warm up from Paul Rogers' daughter. About half an hour later, once Richie Sambora had finished his Colombian Red Bull, he sent his backing band (featuring Orianthi, guitarist extraordinaire) out before joining them for what has to be the most awkward pissing contest I've ever sat through. I'm aware I tweeted that line already but it's so fucking accurate, it needs saying twice. The band started with a cover of "When Love Came To Town" - U2 and finished with a cover of "Wanted Dead Or Alive" - Bon Jovi, filling the space in between with a variety of Richie Sambora/Bon Jovi and Orianthi covers.
First, I should probably start with the things these guys got right. The backing band were great. Bassist, drummer, keyboardist, all top notch and giving it their all. Second, I now have a lot more respect for Orianthi as a musician. I'd previously written her off for being a peddler of generic tween Rock punctuated with the occasional bout of soulless shredding but now I've seen her play some of her other tracks live without pulling a Randy Rhoads on her six-string, I happily admit I was wrong about her. Finally, the setlist choice was suitable. Some decent tracks from both artists and solid cover choices. If each member of the band was on point, it would've been a great show.
Now for the negative aspects which, I'm afraid to say, dwarfed each of the positives. The backing band may have been carrying the show but they were hindered by a poor technical set-up by their sound crew. Amps appeared to be on the fritz throughout the show judging by the amount of time the band and their roadies spent around one particular section of the stage and the dynamics weren't quite right for each instrument, particularly with drums and keys. My guess is Sambora and Orianthi wanted the attention to be on them which brings me to the next point; the frontman and frontwoman.

Richie Sambora and Orianthi are both successful solo artists who are capable of lead vocals and lead guitar. However, when you put two strong musical leaders in the same spotlight, nothing good can come of it. It was painfully apparent from the first song that this line-up wasn't going to work as Samborianthi both began their own separate solos, clashing and forming a horrific wall of noise that nobody paid to hear. Not only that but as lead vocalists, they couldn't harmonise for shit. I'm willing to place most of the blame for their poor performance as a duo on Richie Sambora.
He seemed to be more interested in stroking his throbbing ego than entertaining the audience and by the fifth or sixth song, you could actually hear the audience collectively muttering amongst each other underneath the music. However, credit goes to Orianthi for knowing when to take a step back. Even though she looked bored shiteless playing rhythm guitar on a Richie Sambora track, at least she didn't try to make it about her like he did during one of her songs. The performances where there was one clear lead were the best in the show, although that's not saying much.
As a frontman, Richie Sambora seems too full of himself to make them worth seeing again. Clearly Jon Bon Jovi kept the man in line and now he's out of the picture, Richie's free to show everyone how "awesome" he is. If you find yourself in a position where you can see these guys play, I'd recommend avoiding it until Richie sorts himself out, or at least until Orianthi and the band kick him out and tour as a four-piece outfit as they probably would've been better off without him. Fortunately, Bad Company were getting ready to salvage this absolute 9/11 of an evening.

I honestly didn't expect these guys to be so amazing but from start to finish, they brought the thunder. Kicking things off with "Live For The Music" and finishing with "Rock & Roll Fantasy", these guys played a healthy number of greatest hits along with a few top quality deep cuts (I nearly squealed when I realised they were about to play "Crazy Circles") and just one new track that could've been plucked straight out of the 70s with its riff-heavy Hard Rock sound.
The setlist was definitely one of the highlights but the superb show didn't end there. You'll be pleased to know that Paul Rogers is still exceptional on vocals, effortlessly belting out each line without any noticeable mileage on his vocal chords at all. He also made the concert all about the music, only stopping occasionally to give us a bit of trivia about the songs or respond to a heckler/dumb shithead who wanted them to perform "All Right Now" (I clapped when Paul corrected the man and I hope that chap felt like a right tosser for the rest of the show).
I've seen plenty of 70s bands playing live within the last decade (Deep Purple, Cheap Trick and Slade to name a few) but out of all of them, this show felt like the closest thing to a proper 70s stadium gig I might ever get to see in person. The music was as good as the studio recordings, the stage effects weren't too excessive (no lasers but a modest amount of dry ice) and the videos played on the screens behind the stage looked like black and white footage of the band during one of those old BBC shows like Old Grey Whistle Test. However, since the footage was of them playing live, it didn't feel like the band were trying to make us feel nostalgic; it felt like they wanted to recreate the experience for fresh fans.

Compared to the warm up gig, the sound was a lot clearer, the band members had better chemistry and awareness of each other, the audience were more invested in the music (which absolutely affects the band's performance) and the music was simply better. The only downside to the gig was that after they finished, they left the stage to do a one-song encore of "Bad Company"...only to leave and come back to do a second one-song encore of "Rock Steady". It would've been wiser for them to come out and play a single encore with two songs, "Rock Steady" and "Bad Company" in that order.
I'm not sure if Bad Company will be touring again, as this is their Swan Song tour. However, if they do another circuit or add another date, you'd be wise to get tickets. Go and see Bad Company if a) you like their music, b) you like Classic Rock and c) you've heard and like a couple of their well known tracks ("Feel Like Makin' Love", "Can't Get Enough" and "Bad Company" being the main three). They have a back catalogue full of brilliant Rock tracks that you'll probably enjoy if you like their signature songs and the atmosphere at the gig was generally a lot warmer than modern concerts.
I intend to write two blog posts in the future covering topics mentioned here; the first will be about a selection of Bad Company albums that I've had the pleasure of listening to, the second will be about the utter joy that is the modern gig experience. I'm not sure which I'll write first but you can expect at least one of them before the month is up.

Rapid Fire: Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Megadeth

Have you worked out the theme of this month's Rapid Fire post? Don't feel bad if you haven't, it's not the most obvious one. Aside from all being heavy rocking bands around the 70s/80s, they're all bands that have released new albums I've reviewed on this blog. Rather than talk about more great/shit albums by the band, I've decided to reverse the polarity and choose great albums by bands I slammed and not-so-great albums by bands I praised.

As well as discussing the highs and lows of the three "classic" albums, I'll also be writing a short comparison of those albums and the ones I previously reviewed. If you want to read my reviews of 13 - Black Sabbath, Rock Or Bust - AC/DC and Dystopia - Megadeth, follow the links provided. If you want to read my short reviews of three different albums by those bands...well, keep scrolling. Be warned that I will be spoiling my verdicts on each of those linked albums in the new album write-ups so I'd recommend reading those full reviews first, unless you don't really care and just want to know what I think about these albums.

1. Heaven And Hell - Black Sabbath

The first album I reviewed on this blog featured the closest thing to the classic Black Sabbath line-up since the actual classic Black Sabbath line-up, so I decided to choose an album featuring an even better line-up than both albums combined. If you listen to Black Sabbath tracks with Ozzy on vocals, the guitar sounds very restrained due to Tony Iommi playing most of his riffs on the lower frets (yes, I know about the factory incident and his fingertips). It also sounds a lot sludgier, arguably boasting the heaviest Metal riffs in all of the genre. Aside from the change in vocalists, the biggest difference between 70s-era Sabbath and early 80s-era Sabbath is the evolution of Tony's guitarwork.

Straight away, album opener "Neon Knights" bolts from the starting line with a much welcomed mix of old and new, something that remains the album's strongest factor from start to finish. Gone are the sluggish drumbeats from Paranoid and Master Of Reality and gone are Ozzy's oozing vocals, dripping off each line and more often than not blending with the guitar. In their places are faster rhythms courtesy of troubled drummer Bill Ward and new vocal melodies separate from the music carrying lyrics about mythology by Ronnie James Dio, apparently the driving force behind the band's improvements.

Whilst there are slower tracks on the album, they were complimented by more exciting music from Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler on guitar and bass, respectively. Tony would play his most complex riffs that he'd ever produced up until that point whilst Geezer would do what he does best and lay the bassline down thick and juicy, giving Metal fans something to sink their teeth into even if they preferred the faster tracks that were beginning to gain popularity due to the rise of Hard Rock. Overall, this album is well worth a listen to fans of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, especially those who like classic Black Sabbath and Rainbow.

After listening to Heaven And Hell, you'll understand why I consider Dio the best thing that could've happened to the band and why I would call 13 a massive step backwards for Black Sabbath in terms of quality Metal.

1. Neon Knights

2. Children Of The Sea

3. Lady Evil

4. Heaven And Hell

5. Wishing Well

6. Die Young

7. Walk Away

8. Lonely Is The Word

ALBUM RATING - 8/10

2. Highway To Hell - AC/DC

An absolute classic and definitely my favourite AC/DC album with Bon Scott on vocals...hell, it's my favourite AC/DC album period! Much like Queen and The Beatles, AC/DC are a band that have been blessed and cursed with the ability to create several iconic hits. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, knows the album opener/title track "Highway To Hell" for its simple yet epic riff and anthematic chorus. However, even though it's worthy of the fame it's accrued over almost 40 years, I wouldn't place it anywhere near the top ranking of tracks on the album.

There's a steady variety of slower rockers that the band are best known for and a couple of faster tracks thrown in too for good measure. However, the main difference between an album like this and an album like Rock Or Bust is the energy put into each track. Each song packs a punch and, in my eyes (or should that be ears?), "rocks". Rock Or Bust had a lot of mediocre material that felt tired and uninspired and whilst I'll admit that a couple of songs have grown on me over time, I still wouldn't rate it highly. Also, Angus Young was the riff-master. Even on Black Ice, he was pumping out riffs as strong as ones on this album.

The only track that lacks the same energy the rest of the album harnessed is "Night Prowler" but even that isn't a total flatline. Fans of the band's Bluesy material will probably enjoy it and if only one out of ten solid Rock tracks is a dud, I would call that a decent album. However, when the majority of those nine tracks are awesome, I would call that a great album. If there's one AC/DC album you feel like listening to, make it this one.

1. Highway To Hell

2. Girls Got Rhythm

3. Walk All Over You

4. Touch Too Much

5. Beatin' Around The Bush

6. Shot Down In Flames

7. Get It Hot

8. If You Want Blood (You've Got It)

9. Love Hungry Man

10. Night Prowler

ALBUM RATING - 7/10

3. Super Collider - Megadeth

OK, maybe this isn't the best album I could've picked to discuss a "bad" Megadeth album but it's definitely not the worst or even a choice that many fans would dispute. It was critically panned for sounding too generic and more like a Hard Rock album than a Thrash Metal one. Not only that but loyal fans took a virtual dump on it too with the usual accusations of selling out by going too commercial, only this time their arguments had a bit of weight to them. First though, before I delve into those murky waters some more, let's look at the positives as there definitely are some.

Megadeth have a history of absolutely nailing their album openers and whilst "Kingmaker" maybe paints the album to be something it isn't, it's a hell of a track! They could've rewritten and rereleased that song ten more times and the album probably would've been better received. However, critics would then pick on the absolute lack of variety the album would contain, something that you can't do with Super Collider. "The Blackest Crow" provides a bit of respite from the slog of Hard Rock/Soft Metal presented so far, opting for a welcomed Southern-fuelled twang instead.

Unfortunately, even though the tracks are sturdy and technically there's nothing wrong with them, bland Rock isn't what you expect to hear when you listen to a Megadeth album. Thank Christ Dave Mustaine realised this and remedied his mistake with Dystopia, creating an album that is well and truly Metal at its finest. Not only that but it's Metal clearly inspired by the band's back catalogue, whereas Super Collider sounds more inspired by American Hard Rock bands from the 00s. I would recommend this album if you like bands like Nickelback, Audioslave and Stone Sour. If you want (Thrash) Metal, listen to Dystopia...or Rust In Peace, that album is a timeless Metal masterpiece.

1. Kingmaker

2. Super Collider

3. Burn!

4. Built For War

5. Off The Edge

6. Dance In The Rain

7. Beginning Of Sorrow

8. The Blackest Crow

9. Forget To Remember

10. Don't Turn Your Back...

11. Cold Sweat

ALBUM RATING - 5/10

If you have any requests for albums/bands/genres/decades/anything else to cover in Rapid Fire posts, let me know in the comment section or via Twitter. I'll also take general feedback and opinions about any albums/bands I cover.

Coming soon (probably): a video games post.

Diamond Head - Diamond Head

I should've reviewed this months ago when it first came out. Then again, I only listened to it a couple of weeks ago (again, should've given it a try back in March) but anyway, let's look at the latest album from NWOBHM icons and hugely underrated Hard Rock/Metal outfit, Diamond Head.

Most people who have heard of this band will recognise them for tracks off their first album like "It's Electric", "Helpless" and "Am I Evil?", basically the ones that Metallica covered. They had a rocky career after an amazing first album and even though subsequent releases had some fantastic tracks ("Trick Or Treat" is my personal favourite), they sort of faded away as the bands they inspired became more and more popular...until about six months ago when they dropped this self titled album out of the blue with an almost entirely new line-up (Brian Tatler on guitars being the only original member).
The change in musicians also carries a small change in musical style, as the album is a lot heavier than previous efforts. If you compare Diamond Head's early material to Led Zeppelin (particularly vocals and drums), this album is easily more Black Sabbath (guitar and bass). However, one thing needs to be made clear. Despite the music gaining a bit of weight with old age, this is still fundamentally a Diamond Head album. From start to finish, the band deliver top quality Metal built around epic riffs and powerful vocals, both demonstrated excellently in album opener "Bones".
If you need convincing that Diamond Head still have the fire, this is a perfect track to start on. It's still got the raw power that you first heard in their debut album but it's not just a shallow rerecording of their signature songs. The biggest connection to "classic" Diamond Head has to be the vocal work of Rasmus Bom Anderson, whose pipes are as close to original vocalist Sean Harris' as you could hope for. In fact, I had to double check to make sure Sean hadn't returned after listening to a couple of tracks.

His voice is perfectly suited for each track but particularly stands out during the faster Speed Metal ones that require higher pitched wails ("Shout At The Devil", "Speed"). It might be slightly rougher than Sean Harris' youthful vocals but this adds to the aged maturity of the album, which you would expect from a band with almost 40 years on the clock. Whilst the vocals may have aged gracefully, the rest of the band still play as if they're in their salad days.
As I mentioned earlier, the guitar and bass combo reminds me of both Ozzy and Dio era Black Sabbath with just a hint of Motorhead ("Set My Soul On Fire", "Wizard Sleeve", "Our Time Is Now"). The tracks are built around a strong guitar melody and whilst the songs may lack the same instantly recognisable hooks as the Metal hits from the early 70s that clearly inspire this band, it doesn't affect the album's quality too much. This is one of those great albums that can be enjoyed when sampling individual songs or cannonballing the entire thing, making it arguably one of the most versatile Metal albums I've reviewed recently.
If I had to pick out some flaws, it'd probably be with the slower tracks that try to be epic with the use of string accompaniments ("All The Reasons You Live", "Silence"). They're not bad songs by any stretch but I would call them the weakest ones on the album, if only because 70s Rock/Metal is best when it's not trying to be too grand. However, even though their faster tracks are more noteworthy, this band deserves points for at least trying something new without dedicating too much space on the album towards it.

If Diamond Head continue releasing albums then maybe grander, more progressive material would be better received later down the line. For now, this is meant to be their comeback and nothing kicks down the door and proudly announces "Guess who's back, motherfuckers?" than some good old fashioned Metal. Consequently, the album could've done with at least one shorter, more focused track under the three minute mark. Perhaps the closest this album came was "Diamonds", second shortest song on the album but one that packs a similar feeling punch to "Die Young" - Black Sabbath.
Diamond Head (album) was a real treat for me. It signified the return of a great band and even though their Lightning To The Nations days may be behind them, I'm excited to see what the future may hold for these guys. They've been given another chance; hopefully they won't fuck this one up as bad as they did the first time. They used to be kings of the NWOBHM subgenre and now it's looking like they're gunning for the NWOTHM throne too. For this reason, I recommend this album to fans of classic Heavy Metal over those who prefer the modern kind.
Oh yeah, I rate it 8/10. Diamond indeed!