Diamond Head (2) – The White Album

I’m really happy to have this on vinyl and will not discourage anyone from grabbing a copy for their collection. However, if you are familiar with this material, you will notice a bloated bottom end in this remaster. They rolled off the highs, which feels a little boxy to me - compared to earlier mastering. I haven’t heard an original pressing in good condition, but (to me) the early UK pressing sounded a bit more open, but too bright and thin. As squidbrand said, the CD releases from the last decade or so do more justice to the material than this release, which is still entirely listenable and enjoyable.

I’ve only listened to the original album so far but I think it sounds great. I don’t have an original to compare it to but it is well mastered and very well balanced. You can crank this record and it keeps sounding better. Fairly certain this is a digital cut (that doesn’t matter to me), but there is a picture of the master tape on one of the record sleeves. I saw an interview with Brian Tatler and he said that Lars Ulrich helped him locate the tapes, so at least they had a good source.

The record weighs exactly 180 gr and the sound is simply awesome, remastered from the original tapes! The cover is made of high quality material, I couldn't ask for anything better. One of the best vinyls I have in my collection, buy it without hesitation!

I have the original 1980 self released record with all of the band names on it. The best album of all time by the best band of all time!

Having listened to the HNE Recordings CD reissue, I decided to try out this classic NWOBHM album on vinyl, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed! I'm not sure if this release used the original master tapes or not, but judging by how good the tracks sound, I'm going to say "yes". I was surprised that everything sounded so good for this being colored vinyl, too. Like the HNE Recordings CD reissue, this one includes seven bonus tracks originally released as singles, but you even get some additional surprises in the form of a booklet that tells the history of the early days of Diamond Head plus a replica for their 1981 tour. Let me tell you, this entire album is a winner from start to finish, though some tracks are clear standouts. On the original album, for me, those would be "Lightning to the Nations", "The Prince", "Am I Evil" (natch) and "It's Electric", and among the bonus tracks, they are "Shoot Out the Lights", "Play It Loud", "Diamond Lights" and "We Won't Be Back". Overall, if you are a huge NWOBHM fan - or even just a fan of heavy metal in general - this is an essential addition to your collection, and High Roller Records has not only done this issue justice, but to me, they're one of the most - if not THE most - trustworthy labels for heavy metal reissues on vinyl. Just a word of warning, though: be prepared to pay a rather obscene price for this...or hell, for any vinyl issue of this album.

After the misstep that was the 1993 Metal Blade reissue, HNE Recordings makes things all right with this superb reissue that not only utilizes the original master tapes, but includes seven bonus tracks originally released as singles. Let me tell you, this entire album is a winner from start to finish, though some tracks are clear standouts. On the original album, for me, those would be "Lightning to the Nations", "The Prince", "Am I Evil" (natch) and "It's Electric", and among the bonus tracks, they are "Shoot Out the Lights", "Play It Loud", "Diamond Lights" and "We Won't Be Back". Overall, if you are a huge NWOBHM fan - or even just a fan of heavy metal in general - this is an essential addition to your collection.

Don't bother with this reissue. The songs are great, but they sound like crap on this one. You're better off with the HNE Recordings CD reissue or the High Roller Records vinyl reissue.

My copy has a plain unsigned sleeve, and completely blank labels. Bought it new at time of release via mail.

I have to assume the other reviewers here praising the sound did NOT hear the 2011 and 2016 CD releases of this. Those versions, mastered tastefully by Andy Pearce (from newly discovered tapes), sound far, far better than this. This one may come from those same source tapes, but the mastering work here (which was apparently done not by an actual mastering engineer, but by the singer of the band's current zombie cash-in incarnation that has only one original member) is a ham-fisted attempt to force this to sound like a modern metal recording. The bass and highs are boosted, the mids are buried, and the dynamic range is squashed. Sean Harris's vocals sound thin and grating, the guitar is pushed back in the soundstage and has no growl, and there are momentary craters in the songs' volume level whenever the kick drum hits, as if it has a dubstep style sidechain compressor on it.

I've compared both the vinyl and digital copies of this Silver Lining issue (which have similar tonality and the same problems) with the 2011 version, and switching to the 2011 version feels like sweet relief... kind of like when your ears pops on an airplane descent and your hearing suddenly gets way better.

I'll put it this way: look at the cover art on this thing. Consider that the people who decided this reissue should have that cover are the same people who decided how it should sound.

Absolutely agree with other reviews about the sound. Brilliant. Shame about the cover art but overall the quality is great. Essential NWOBHM