What's in Your Head

One of the more underrated guitarists to emerge from the early-'80s New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement was undoubtedly Diamond Head's Brian Tatler. After all, you could make a valid argument that it was Tatler's sledgehammer riff style that would prove to be a crucial element in subsequent thrash bands' sonic assault -- namely, Metallica and Megadeth. And as evidenced by the group's 2007 release, What's in Your Head, Tatler still wields a pretty heavy axe. Their second studio effort with singer Nick Tart (who replaced original screamer, Sean Harris, on 2005's All Will Be Revealed), What's in Your Head includes a few tracks that would have fit comfortably on such classic Diamond Head releases as Lightning to the Nations. This is especially true on the album opening and closing tunes "Skin on Skin" -- which features some downright nasty riffage from Tatler, and Tart does his best Harris impersonation -- and "Victim," respectively. And because it sounds similar to the Diamond Head of yore, What's in Your Head is certainly an improvement over All Will Be Revealed. ~ Greg Prato