866. Diamond Head / Borrowed Time. 1982. 2/5

When all is said and done, despite arguments to the contrary, while this may be Diamond Head's first album with a major record label, it will always be regarded as their second album, after the "this is a demo" "no it is not" release of Lightning to the Nations. As such, taking that album as the debut, and comparing it to this album, dutifully the follow up, makes it a tough task for Borrowed Time in regards to any review or rating.

I cannot claim to know what the band or the label decided upon when it came to releasing this album. Two songs have been 're-recorded' from the 'first' album and placed here. Around those two songs come five other new tracks, all of which are lengthy and of a different style than the first album took. In fact, there is quite a difference between the heavy and fast pace of the debut album, to the toning back of the riffs and more progressive nature of the songs on this album. it is a quite dramatic change if you listen to the two albums back to back, and one which is somewhat startling.
The album starts off with "In the Heat of the Night", a song that takes a little time to get going, but progresses through the basic drum beat and bass line to a reasonable lyrical performance from Sean Harris and decent middle solo section from Brian Tatler which stretches out to the end of the song. To be honest it took me a while to warm to this song, as it was totally unexpected as to its style, but once I moved past this and had a number of listens I was able to enjoy it for what it was. This moves into "To Heaven From Hell", which is held in check by the stagnant drum beat that tubs its way through the first half of the song, without any change in the guitar riff and the vocal range. When we get past the halfway mark the drums break out to a different pounding, and the guitar solo break picks the song up from the everyday hammering that had come before. The first half of the song is most definitely missing the breeze of metal guitar and freedom that the second half of the song shows off. It could have been a much better song if it had changed that way. "Call Me" comes across as wanting to be a commercial rock song, but without wanting to alienate their core fans, which in the end probably means it does neither. The crooning vocals and back up support don't go far enough if they really wanted that commercial success, while the base of the song also doesn't show anything like what would be needed. Yet by attempting this, they seem to leave their original fans out in the cold, wondering how exactly this song fits into their catalogue. "Lightning to the Nations" completes side one of the album, and only confuses the issue as to the sound this album is going for with an example of the sound from the previous album.
Side two presents two seven-minute-plus plodding tracks to start off with. something that again reveals the developing style of the band. Both songs are progressive in nature, stretching out beyond a typical length song, and incorporating the typical drawn out middle sections where the vocalist will croon over the top of a sullied rhythm section and a slow and stifled blues guitar riff. Certainly when done well these kind of songs are good to listen to, but did Diamond Head need to go in this direction? To me it seemed to go against everything they had done in their initial song writing and recording. I feel as though "Borrowed Time" is what the band is on listening through it once again, while "Don't You Ever Leave Me" is somewhat the worse for wear, slower and even more painful to sift through. The terrible lack of energy or intensity or anything to do with this song is even further exposed by the final track, the amazing "Am I Evil". Sure, it may be unfair to compare a track that has its own place in heavy metal history, but it shows up the stark difference between the inspiration of the track that were first written and performed by the band on the 'previous' album to what they came up with for this album, and especially the two songs which proceed it.
Brian Tatler's guitar breaks are the highlight of the album. Even when the songs themselves aren't able to draw much enthusiasm, his guitaring still elicits a smile and some passion in their slots. Sean Harris' vocals are again serviceable, but unfortunately have little to work with from the way these songs are put together. Colin Kimberley on bass and Duncan Scott on drums are similarly solid if uninspiring.

While this album still often receives praise for its place in history, it really suffers greatly from the raw energy and uncompromising attitude of the collection of songs from the first album, something this album has none of (apart from the two songs here that came from that era).

Rating:  Through delirium of a tortured mind, her face gave me strength to this day.  2/5