''Death and Progress'' is the fourth
studio album by the British
heavy metal band
Diamond Head, released in 1993 through
Castle Music Ltd.
This was Diamond Head's first album since ''
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
'', released 10 years earlier. It was co-produced, engineered and mixed by Andrew Scarth, who had previously worked for bands such as
Bad Company and
Foreigner. The album had a much cleaner and more polished sound than their previous three albums and featured two special guests,
Tony Iommi, of
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped de ...
, and
Dave Mustaine, of
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wi ...
, the latter also enlisting the help of his own producer
Max Norman.
National Bowl incident
The reunion of Diamond Head did not last. One major contributor to the second fall of the band was during the Death and Progress tour, when Diamond Head opened for
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...
and
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wi ...
at the
National Bowl in
Milton Keynes on 5 June 1993;
The Almighty was also on the bill.
During the show, Sean Harris came out dressed as the Grim Reaper, which Brian Tatler reported in the British rock magazine ''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
'' was Harris' way of saying that
NWOBHM was over. They opened with their flagship song, "Am I Evil" and ended with "Helpless", both off their debut ''
Lightning to the Nations'', as they thought this would go down well with the Metallica fan base. However, Diamond Head had not been around for the majority of the previous decade and Metallica had covered both of these songs ("Am I Evil" was the B-side to "
Creeping Death" and "Helpless" appeared on ''
The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited
''The $5.98 E.P. – Garage Days Re-Revisited'' (released on CD as ''The $9.98 CD – Garage Days Re-Revisited'') is the first extended play by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on August 21, 1987, by Elektra Records. It consists ...
''), meaning much of the crowd believed that Diamond Head were covering Metallica songs.
In addition, their performance was considered abysmal, due to the pressure of playing live on
MTV, and the fact Tatler had shingles at the time
and that Diamond Head had almost no rehearsal time prior to the gig.
Following this disastrous show, the band split up again and would not reform until 2000.
Track listing
Notes
*The tracks ''Wild on the Streets'' and ''I Can't Help Myself'' were previously released on the EP ''
Rising Up
''Rising Up'' is an EP by British heavy metal band Diamond Head released in 1992. The recording stems following Brian Tatler and Sean Harris partnering back again, now with Karl Wilcox on drums and Eddie Chaos on Bass, following a jam session ...
'', although it was only sold at gigs and specialist music stores.
Personnel
Diamond Head
* Sean Harris – vocals
* Brian Tatler – guitar
*
Pete Vuckovic – bass, backing vocals
* Karl Wilcox – drums
Additional personnel
*
Tony Iommi – guitar on track 1
*
Dave Mustaine – guitar, producer and mixing on track 2
* Eddie Moohan – bass on tracks 4 and 8
Production
*Andrew Scarth – producer, engineer, mixing
*Brad Davis – engineer on tracks 1 and 9
*
Max Norman – producer and engineer on track 2
*Mark Dearnley,
Simon Efemey – engineers on tracks 4 and 8
*Rafe McKenna – mixing on tracks 1 and 5
References
External sites
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Diamond Head (band) albums
1993 albums
Albums produced by Max Norman
Castle Communications albums