"Am I evil? Yes I am!
Am I Evil? I am man, yes I am!"
Am I Evil? I am man, yes I am!"
— "Am I Evil?"
Diamond Head are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. Led by guitarist Brian Tatler, the band is recognized as one of the leading members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and is acknowledged by thrash metal bands such as Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence.
Principal Members (Founding members in bold, current members in italic.)
- Brian Tatler – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1976–1985, 1991–1994, 2000–present)
- Karl Wilcox – drums (1991–1994, 2002–present)
- Andy "Abbz" Abberley – rhythm guitar (2006–present)
- Rasmus Bom Andersen – lead vocals (2014–present)
- Dean Ashton - bass guitar, backing vocals (2016–present)
- Duncan Scott – drums (1976–1983)
- Sean Harris – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1976–1985, 1990–1994, 2000–2004)
- Colin Kimberley – bass, backing vocals (1976–1983)
- Mervyn Goldsworthy – bass (1983–1984)
- Josh Phillips – keyboard (1983–1984)
- Robbie France – drums (1983–1985; died 2012)
- Dave Williamson – bass (1984–1985)
- Pete Vuckovic – bass, backing vocals (1992–1994)
- Floyd Brennan – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2000–2002)
- Adrian Mills – rhythm guitar (2003–2006)
- Nick Tart – lead vocals (2004–2014)
- Eddie Moohan – bass, backing vocals (1991–1992, 2002–2016)
Studio Discography:
- Lightning to the Nations (1980)
- Borrowed Time (1982)
- Canterbury (1983)
- Death and Progress (1993)
- All Will Be Revealed (2005)
- What's in Your Head? (2007)
- Diamond Head (2016)
This band provides examples of:
- Cover Version: In a fitting version of History Repeats, Diamond Head covered a Metallica song, No Remorse, after Metallica covered 4 of their songs officially, with a 5th on a early demo.
- Epic Rocking: Quite a few tracks, their
Signature Song, Am I Evil?, The Prince, Sucking My Love, Helpless, To Heaven From Hell... - Intercourse with You: Their most infamous is Sucking My Love.
- New Wave of British Heavy Metal: An early pioneer, but never quite achieved the same success as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
- Questioning Title?: "Am I Evil?" Yes I am.
- Revenge Ballad: "Am I Evil?" (also covered by Metallica), about a man seeking vengeance for the burning of his mother as a witch and losing himself in the process.
- Shout-Out: The intro to "Am I Evil?" samples Gustav Holst's "Mars, Bringer of War".
- Thrash Metal: Speedy tracks like "The Prince" and "Helpless" play like the missing link between NWOBHM and Thrash. All of the "Big Four of Thrash Metal" have recorded "Am I Evil?" at one point or another, most famously Metallica on Garage Inc.
- Villain Song: Am I Evil? is their best known song, which doubles as the Villain Protagonist proudly proclaiming his evilness and going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge for the burining and death of his witch mother.
