Diamond Head – Borrowed Time (1982)
The folks at Metal Mind have reissued a classic NWOBHM disc that is one that metal fans will certainly need to check out.
If you haven’t heard of Diamond Head before, what you should know is this is the band that heavily influenced the likes of Metallica, Megadeth, and several more hard rock and metal acts over the years.
Metallica has covered a few of their songs over the years, including their massive anthem, Am I Evil? The amazing thing about Diamond Head, is how so many thrash acts were influenced by this group, that is grounded more in early heavy metal, than anything remotely close to thrash. Diamond Head’s style reminds me a whole lot of the American (and very under rated) band Riot, whose popularity was growing at the same time.
The guitar tone on In The Heat of the Night reminds me a great deal of early Def Leppard. This song seems to get better with every listen.
To Heaven from Hell starts off mid-tempo and seems to be a fairly average tune, then about mid way through goes through a time change that cranks the speed and the guitar solos up to ten! This song will have you breaking out the air guitar for sure.
Call Me is a balladesque tune that mains a raw but heavy feel. This is another cool tune that continues to grow on me.
Lightning to the Nations is another raw rocker that has a Def Leppard meets Iron Maiden style about it.
The title track Borrowed Time is easily my favorite song on this disc. Lots of guitar solos, and good sing along style of lyrics can be found in this classic tune.
Don’t You Ever Leave Me is probably my least favorite song on this record. This song tends to linger on, as it clocks in at close to eight minutes. The guitar work is solid. In fact, the guitar solos are the best part of the song. I think a shorter song would have worked better here. It is a nice jam session, and I can see how many acts tried to emulate the guitar tones here.
Am I Evil? needs on introduction. Metallica made this song famous. The Diamond Head is not as heavy as the Metallica version, but it is every bit as good, just a little different from that version.
The CD was previously unavailable in the United States, and this limited edition (2000 copies) reissue is certainly one worth grabbing, before they are all gone!
This reissue comes with six bonus tracks, and a 13 minute interview to close the CD. Most of the bonus tracks are live cuts. They are a nice addition, and only add to the listening experience Borrowed Time brings.
Borrowed Time is like opening up a hard rock time capsule. It is a very influential piece of music on many of the 80’s bigger metal acts. It is an interesting and very good hard record that is worth discovering again in 2008! You can get a copy of this disc here!
Rating:
Out of 10
Track Listing:
1. In the Heat of the Night
2. To Heaven from Hell
3. Call Me
4. Lightning to the Nations
5. Borrowed Time
6. Don’t You Ever Leave Me
7. Am I Evil?
8. Trick or Treat
9. Dead Reckoning
10. Shoot out the Lights
11. In the Heat of the Night
12. Play It Loud [Live]
13. Sweet and Innocent [Live]
14. Interwiev with Sean Harris and Colin Kimberley by Tommy Vance Recorded
Diamond Head is:
Sean Harris – Voice, Backing Vocals, Percussion, Vocoder
Brian Tatler – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Colin Kimberley – Bass, Tarus Bass Pedals, Backing Vocals
Duncan Scott – Drums, Percussion
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Hard Rock Hideout 
Nice to see another British band get attention here Rob. Amazing how much influence Diamond Head had given that they only managed one independent release and this and Canterbury. As somebody said when I looked at this album last year, this stuff is good but a few of the tracks are watered down, more polished versions of songs from the original independent release.
The current incarnation of the band released the decent “What’s In Your Head” album last year and start a UK tour end of April so I might finally get to see them live!
You always seem to come up with great yet obscure bands Rob.
This is one of the better ones.
They have a bunch of stuff on youtube and it’s all good.