BRIAN TATLER Says DIAMOND HEAD Will Play 'Lightning To The Nations' 40th-Anniversary Shows In 2020

Guitarist Brian Tatler of British metal legends DIAMOND HEAD says the band will commemorate the 40th anniversary of their seminal "Lightning To The Nations" debut in 2020 with shows where they will perform the album in full. One of the foundational albums of the NWOBHM movement, several songs from "Lightning To The Nations" were covered and later popularized by METALLICA, including "Am I Evil?" and "Helpless". And while DIAMOND HEAD was never able to capitalize upon the original success of "Lightning To The Nations", the band is still active with an entirely different lineup save for Tatler, who is the only original member remaining.

In a recent interview with Corey Gorechrist of the "Fantasm" podcast, Tatler spoke of the continued satisfaction he gets out of releasing new material, including this year's "The Coffin Train", the band's eighth studio album overall and second with vocalist Rasmus Bom Andersen.

"It's spread out over a long period, but it's good to have new material that we can play live, and the creative process is still there, that we can still write and make good music," he said (hear audio below). "I do enjoy it, the creative spark and the writing. I do enjoy that part of being in a band. It does become harder as you get older. I try not to repeat myself. I feel like I've done so many things that it's hard to find the fire somehow, but it must be still there because we seem to be able to do it. The people reacting, they are saying they like the album. We must have got it right. You sort of do an album that you like, then you just hope others like it, too. That's all I can do."

Tatler was then asked whether DIAMOND HEAD had any plans to celebrate the forthcoming 40th anniversary of "Lightning To The Nations", which originally saw the light of day in October 1980.

"We're probably going to be doing some shows based around that where we'll do the whole album in its entirety, like a 40-minute section, then you probably do some new songs as well," he said. "But, yeah, we'll definitely be doing that next year. It'd be daft not do. It's a hell of a milestone, isn't it to have a 40-year career from your first album and you're still going, you're still making new records."

"The Coffin Train" was released May 24 via Silver Lining Music. The album was recorded at Vigo Studios in Walsall, Circle Studios in Birmingham and Raw Sound Studio in London.