When Diamond Head first released Lightning To The Nations four decades ago in 1980, few could have predicted the importance it would carry with regards to heavy metal’s new wave and sound. Stacked and packed with riffs, Lightning To The Nations would be one of the prime catalysts for a movement known as the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).
Reimagined, rerecorded, and reborn in 2020, Diamond Head’s forthcoming forty-year celebration of their genre-defining debut album is a scintillating shot of fresh metal energy. With Lightning To The Nations 2020 nearing release, listeners will soon experience not only the rare phenomenon of crisp, fresh, and new sounding songs with very little of the obvious original elements altered, they will also be treated to four supreme cover tracks… And in prime position stands Metallica’s “No Remorse.”
With Diamond Head having featured so heavily in Metallica’s early career, the cover of “No Remorse” seems especially appropriate. Accompanying the release of this monumental track, Diamond Head also unveil their thought-provoking animated video, created and directed by Costin Chioreanu.
“I wanted to cover a song from Metallica’s debut album, Kill ‘Em All,” explains founding member Brian Tatler, “partly because Metallica covered songs from DIAMOND HEAD’s debut album Lightning To The Nations and it felt like things have come full-circle to me. None of the band members knew how to play any of the songs from Kill ‘Em All and I eventually decided we should all learn ‘No Remorse.’ Then when we got into the rehearsal room, we played ‘No Remorse’ and immediately it just sounded great; it was very ‘DIAMOND HEAD’ and it really suited us as a band. Of the four covers we ended up doing, ‘No Remorse’ sounded the best straight away. I’ve seen Metallica live over twenty times and they don’t play ‘No Remorse’ very often, but it’s always great when they do!”
“Of all the four covers, we almost didn’t have to work on ‘No Remorse’,” furthers singer and producer Rasmus Bom Andersen. “We all had to learn the parts, and it’s very difficult to play, but in rehearsal it did sound fantastic and we thought: ‘yeah, yeah, it’s gonna be mega.’ It was almost surreal when we did it because it just felt incredibly familiar.”
Stream “No Remorse”:
Lightning To The Nations 2020 will be released on November 27th via Silver Lining Music in CD digipak, double gatefold vinyl, and digital formats as well as special D2C bundles. For preorders, go to THIS LOCATION.
Eager to return the road, Diamond Head have also recently announced the dates for their anticipated 2021 UK Tour. Tickets are available HERE.
Diamond Head:
4/22/2021 Eleven Music Venue – Stoke On Trent, UK
4/23/2021 Madding Crowd – Bournemouth, UK *
4/24/2021 The Live Rooms – Chester, UK *
4/25/2021 Patti Pavilion – Swansea, UK
4/27/2021 The Junction – Cambridge, UK *
4/28/2021 Rescue Rooms – Nottingham, UK *
4/30/2021 Craufurd Arms – Milton Keynes, UK *
5/01/2021 Eventim Apollo – London, UK w/ Saxon
5/02/2021 Barrowlands – Glasgow, UK w/ Saxon
5/03/2021 O2 Apollo – Manchester, UK w/ Saxon
5/05/2021 The Cluny – Newcastle, UK *
5/06/2021 Bannermans Bar – Edinburgh, UK *
5/07/2021 The Waterloo Music Bar – Blackpool, UK *
5/08/2021 KK’s Steel Mill – Wolverhampton, UK *
* w/ Rock Goddess
Diamond Head:
Brian Tatler – lead, rhythm guitars
Rasmus Bom Andersen – vocals, orchestration, additional guitars
Karl Wilcox – drums
Andrew “Abbz” Abberley – rhythm, lead guitars
Dean Ashton – bass, organ
Artist photo by Nic Gaunt
Press release courtesy of Earsplit PR
