Diamond Head-lightning To The Nations -1980- __link__ Link

The opening track, “Lightning to the Nations,” begins with a galloping, muted-picked riff that would later become thrash metal’s signature. “Am I Evil?” is the prime example:

Metallica’s cover of this song (on Creeping Death B-side and later Garage Inc. ) is legendary, but the original has a desperation the cover lacks. Listen to the bridge: "My sweetness hangs from a tree." The guitar solo is not a shred-fest; it’s a howling, melodic lament. When the band kicks back in after the acoustic interlude, it sounds like the sky falling. Diamond Head-Lightning To The Nations -1980-

Closing the original six-track album (the 1980 version had no bonus tracks), "Helpless" is the most straightforward riff-rocker of the lot. It’s simple, fast, and built entirely around a two-chord groove. Again, Metallica would cover this for The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987). The song fades out with Harris ad-libbing over a syncopated riff, leaving the listener breathless and hungry for more. The opening track, “Lightning to the Nations,” begins

Lightning to the Nations is the Velvet Underground & Nico of heavy metal — sold almost nothing at first, but everyone who bought it started a band. It’s messy, ambitious, and absolutely essential for understanding how thrash metal evolved from NWOBHM. Listen to the bridge: "My sweetness hangs from a tree

Unlike Sabbath’s occult or Priest’s sci-fi, Brian Tatler (guitar) and Sean Harris (vocals) wrote about paranoid medieval violence:

: A sprawling, groove-heavy track that nods to the blues-rock influence of Led Zeppelin.

The title track is a mission statement. Brian Tatler’s guitar tuning is slightly off—giving the riff a queasy, desperate lurch. Sean Harris’s vocals are unique: he doesn’t growl or scream like later thrash vocalists; he croons with a theatrical, almost medieval vibrato. The song speaks of "steel horsemen" and "shining legions," establishing the fantasy-laced aggression that would define power metal. The break at 1:45, where the drums drop out for a single-note guitar line, is proto-thrash perfection.