Lightning to the Nations: White Album

Despite being at the forefront of the burgeoning "New Wave Of British Heavy Metal" scene (or NWOBHM) in 1979, alongside Iron Maiden, Def Leppard and Saxon, and spearheaded by Geoff Barton and the Sounds weekly music paper, Diamond Head were unable to secure a major label contract. Seeing their heavy metal and hard rock peers reap rewards and chart success, Diamond Head eventually released their debut LP independently on their own Happy Face Records in 1980, available for the princely sum of £3. 50, sold via an advert in Sounds and at gigs. Without a title or track list, the now highly collectable "The White Album" LP was issued in a plain white LP jacket, with merely a band signature to identify it. In many respects, the songs and music on this highly influential LP are better known than the album itself, as Metallica would include no less than four cover versions from this seven track album on their "Garage Inc. " album; 'It's Electric', 'Helpless', 'The Prince' plus the band's most famous and enduring track, 'Am I Evil?'. This would in turn introduce the band to a younger and larger audience. Although there had subsequently been a number of inferior versions of this album reissued over the years, either based on remixes or audio dubbed from vinyl, this version, originally assembled in 2011, was the first time that the original master tapes were used for a CD reissue. Before signing to MCA records for 1982's "Borrowed Time" LP, they also released a number of rare singles and EPs, which make up the tracks on disc two.