Diamond Head : The Academy, Birmingham 15/07/2005



Set list: Am I Evil (intro) / Its Electric / Give It To Me / The Prince / Mine All Mine / I Can't Help Myself / Fallen Angel / Lightning To The Nations / To The Devil His Due / Alimony / Sucking My Love / Streets Of Gold / Helpless / Am I Evil.
Encore: In The Heat Of The Night

This was the first time that I had seen you since the Metallica Milton Keynes gig in ' 93. Sean Harris is in my top 5 vocalists of all time, but Nick showed that he is more than capable of filling his shoes in a modern day Diamond Head with a performance that had power and most importantly range. Whilst giving a definite nod to the original performances, he certainly made the 'classics' his own. 'Helpless' and 'Streets of Gold' were brilliant. As far as the new songs go, 'Alimony' sounded great. Karl and Eddie are a top notch rhythm section and Adrian proved an excellent foil for the legend that is Brian Tatler. Just a thought, but why did you cut 'Sucking My Love' so short? No intro. No breakdown section. Still, it's got a killer riff, so no complaints !!!!!

- Review by Rich

"Have we faith in you? For good and bad we're due. Makin' music, makin' music, rock and roll. "
These are the words that Sean Harris and Brian Tatler wrote in 1980. So imagine this: You love every riff, every word, and every song, and you don't question your faith in the music you love. Then, out of the blue, the faith you had in that band is suddenly called into question.
It might sound a little drastic to someone on the outside, but Sean Harris' departure from Diamond Head tested the faith of many old school fans, leaving us with a choice; do we leave Diamond Head in the past with the vinyl, or move with the times? As it turned out, their support slot on the recent Megadeth tour made that decision for me.
My initial reaction and final verdict on that performance may have seemed a tad brutal, because although Brian, Eddie and Karl were playing on top-form with their usual flare and new guitarist, Mills, seemed to be fitting in really well, Nick Tart was just not cutting it. A Diamond Head without the Tatler/Harris tandem seemed to belong in some parallel universe.
So, having said all that, you maybe wondering why I was even catching their show in Birmingham, and why the review you're about to read is not the one you are expecting. Well, it's really quite simple. Nick Tart is making me eat my words.
Flanked by the best friend I'd been trying to drag to a Diamond Head gig for years, and my Pro-Nick cheering sister, it became apparent that in the space of 5 months, Tart had gone from nothing more than "ok" to nothing less than superb.
Never mind, It's Electric, Nick Tart was electric!

Looking so much more confident in his role as front man, there were no pale imitations to be heard during classics such as The Prince and Lightning to the Nations; the band were on fire and Tart had stamped his own singing style on the material, particularly in the almost unrecognisable To The Devil His Due. There is no doubt in my mind that he was putting every ounce of effort into his performance, both vocally and in his stage presence. But, what struck me most was his abundance of energy which was completely infectious and not to mention very refreshing after seeing this band on 8 other occasions!
The new material was excellent; the sinister and possessive lyrics of new number Mine All Mine make it work brilliantly live, though Fallen Angel, which is quickly becoming a new favourite of mine, Give It To Me and Alimony were all scorching. Streets of Gold was an interesting addition to the set, and a wise one in that I've never seen the band perform that particular number. Add all that to the unbelievable, head-banging rendition of Am I Evil and great encore choice, Heat Of The Night, and I had a huge piece of Humble Pie to munch on.

For once, I have absolutely nothing to complain about, which is probably why I have been battling with this review for the last 3 hours. So alright, I'm always going to be partial to the old line-up, but I can no longer deny that Nick Tart has brought life back into a band which desperately needed direction if it were to survive. Afterwards, I couldn't help but think what a nice touch it was for their new singer, who now has very little to prove to those who questioned his ability, to come out, shake the fans' hands and thank them for coming. However, I felt like thanking him. That night, Diamond Head restored my faith :) Lauren Potts

Fans at Birmingham Academy.



Photographs courtesy of Mick Payton