Search - Diamond Head :: Am I Evil

A Little Disappointed

Streetcleaner | Midwest, United States | 01/14/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'll actually give it 3.5 stars for including some tracks from "Lightning to the Nations", but this album ultimately disappointed me. I already owned "Behold the Beginning" when I bought this, so I was familiar with Diamond Head's music. I read in a guitar magazine that their second album, "Borrowed Time", was a classic, so I decided to buy this. Well, I guess this is what I get for placing my trust in a guitar mag covering old metal.Tracks 2-5 are pulled "Borrowed Time", 1,7,8 come from the "Lightning.." debut, and I'm guessing "Dead Reckoning" was a single or song taken from the "Canterbury" album. Nevertheless, the early work is what holds the weight here, as it's clear Diamond Head's move to MCA records dictated a change in sound. "Heat of the Night" and "Don't You Ever Leave Me" have a Zeppelin/early Whitesnake feel to them, much tamer than the expansive riffs and tempo changes abundant in Diamond Head's early songs. And while the "Borrowed Time" material is generally fairly good, it lacks the power and originality of, say, "Am I Evil?" and "The Prince", among others. Metallica fans will probably want to stick to "Behold the Beginning" or try hunting down (no exaggeration) a version of the classic "Lightning" album."