Date: 23rd March, 2002
Venue: Zak’s, Wolverton, Milton Keynes
Setlist: Intro: Unleash Hell / Wild On The Streets / Lightning To The Nations / It’s Electric / The Prince / Truckin’ / Calling Your Name / Vanity Blues / Such Was My Love (Acoustic) / Can’t Help Myself (Acoustic) / Heat Of The Night (Acoustic) / Borrowed Time / Run / Makin’ Music / Home / Helpless / Am I Evil? // Forever 16
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Review:
This was the first electric gig that Diamond Head have played in nearly 9 years. Whether by co-incidence or design, the last gig they played was in Milton Keynes in front of 60,000 people supporting Metallica. In the somewhat smaller settings of Zak’s, in Wolverton, the mighty Diamond Head return.
Over the past year Sean, Brian and Floyd have been playing selected acoustic dates around the country. Tonight, however, they return with bassist Eddie Moohan and drummer Karl Wilcox, both of whom played with Diamond Head on their 1991 comeback tours. This is the first of a handful of dates to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their very first gig.
The band come onto the stage to the atmospheric intro of ‘Unleash Hell’, theme music to the Gladiator soundtrack. As the intro fades, the band launch into a furious ‘Wild On The Streets’. It is immediately apparent that this has been worked on a bit and makes excellent use of the two guitars. Floyd’s almost apocalyptic sounding guitars helps bring this straight up to date.
As the show progresses, it is clear that we will get all the classics. What a treat to hear ‘The Prince’, something not played live in almost 20 years!
The first part of the set closes with Vanity Blues (a slightly reworked To The Devil His Due. Well, just some extra lyrics really.) The band then slow things down with three acoustic songs which is where significant changes have been made. ‘Sucking My Love’ becomes ‘Such Is My Love’, we even get a bit of ‘Stairway To Heaven’ thrown into ‘Can’t Help Myself’. Sounds Dodgy?. Absolutely not, it works marvellously as does ‘In The Heat Of The Night’ ensuring sales of the new acoustic EP that actually came off the press this very morning.
The sound in Zak’s is very good, and this only enhances how good they all seem. Sean’s voice is on top form and he must rate as one of Britain’s top vocalists. They just don’t make them like they used to!
The superb Eddie Moohan starts the ball rolling on the second set of full on electric numbers with the intro to Borrowed Time. Again, it’s classic after classic ending with ‘Helpless’ followed by the legendary Am I Evil?, perfectly showcasing Brian’s exemplary guitar dynamics. It’s clear that the band are enjoying themselves as much as the crowd. Hopefully, this bodes well for the future.
After the main set, the band are coaxed back on for a rendition of new song, ‘Forever 16’. However, fans who managed to catch their acoustic shows earlier in the year will already have heard the acoustic version of this. Without an album out to promote, the set demonstrates just how many timeless classic tracks Diamond Head have in their arsenal. The band are playing three more dates in England before heading off to headline the Metal Meltdown IV festival in New Jersey. All in all, a triumphant return for a classic rock band.
Photos: Matt Rogers