Diamond Head
Canterbury

This is naturally a review, but it is also a recommendation, a gentle listening suggestion for an album that did not find the success it deserved and has, in my opinion, unjustly fallen into oblivion.

Diamond Head was part of the "revival" of British heavy metal in the 80s, but they were not at all comparable to Iron Maiden or Saxon. Their sound traveled, if you can say, on tracks close but parallel to the "metal" that was popular at the time (we're in 1983). This was evident from both the "Diamond Lights" EP and the debut album "Borrowed Time", in which this band, despite the usual demonstrations of "energy," preferred less distorted sounds, demonstrating uncommon compositional elegance. Many have heard of D.H. thanks to Metallica's cover of their classic "Am I evil", from the first album; now I will try to encourage the search for this precious but abandoned jewel.

In "Canterbury," D.H. accentuate the refined and unconventional aspect already noticeable in "Borrowed Time", and the result is an album of crystalline rock, never banal, even in the more American-sounding episodes ("I need your love" not far from Def Leppard of "Pyromania") and with recurring quasi-medieval atmospheres, as in the extraordinary "The King maker" and "Canterbury"; the former has a progression comparable to "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin, with original guitar parts, and a solemn synth and choruses of grave tones almost underscoring a ceremonial rite; the latter starts with a piano and voice intro (by the way, what a great singer Sean Harris was!) that gives way to a pulsating second part with a highly impactful refrain, enhanced by the background of "Gregorian" choirs and rising riffs contributing to the dramatic pathos of the piece.

Another standout track from the album is "To the devil his due", a complex song, opened by a highly atmospheric introduction, between acoustic arpeggios and an intricate voice-guitar that anticipates the piece's leitmotif; the track then evolves into another zeppelinesque mid-tempo (at one point Sean Harris says, among other things, the phrase "Good times bad times") but absolutely personalized by an exciting arrangement, with interventions of "orchestral" synths and choirs, superpositions of electric and acoustic guitars, and spine-tingling vocal parts by Sean Harris: memorable! The rest, although more immediate, is no less; from the opener "Making music", a sort of "light" AC/DC with pop nuances (said like this it seems absurd, but listen to the result), to the sophisticated hard of "Knight of the swords", ending with another piece to frame, namely "Ishmael", characterized once again by classy arrangements, based on a captivating guitar motif and oriental phrases, accompanied by another stunning vocal performance by the singer.

What else to say? "Canterbury" was a kind of protected and unspoiled oasis in the English heavy metal scene of the time. Although times have almost completely changed, the beauty of this music remains, which unfortunately, when the album was released, few understood and appreciated. Try to discover it, and... let me know if you agree.