Guitarist Brian Tatler keeps the Diamond Head moniker alive with this new album. Worth the wait? Well, largely yes. For it is a great album, but not classic Diamond Head.

Back in the heyday of the NWoBHM there were comparisons to Led Zeppelin. Here, some elements are even closer, especially at times the vocals. If Robert Plant had been born in the heavy metal age you could easily imagine something like this.

But it's a very strong influence, not the soundalike of Kingdom Come who were just pants in comparison to this.

The riffs are solid metal, mixing trad metal with a more modern and aggressive sound. The guitar layers on 'I Feel No Pain' complement each other well.

In other songs there's a nod of early Metallica; well Ulrich did once run the Diamond Head fanclub so similarities are inevitable.

There are flashes of disjointedness where Tatler tries to be either too clever or too 'modern metal', but in the main a catchy and thoroughly enjoyable album.

****

Review by Joe Geesin