In a new interview with Rustyn Rose of MetalNation.com, guitarist Brian Tatler of British metal veterans DIAMOND HEAD was asked to name his favorite METALLICA album of all time. He said (see video below): “I’ll probably say the ‘black’ album is my favorite, because — partly, the production is incredible, and it’s chock-full of good songs. I saw them quite a few times on that tour as well — the ‘black’ album tour in ’91 and ’92 — so I’d get to hear things like ‘Wherever I May Roam’ or ‘Through The Never’. I think they did ‘Through The Never’ live. I like ‘Through The Never’. And, obviously, they played ‘[Enter] Sandman’ and ‘Sad But True’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’. I’ve seen them do the ‘black’ album live as well, where they do it in reverse order, which was great.”

As for the “most underrated” METALLICA album, Tatler said: “I don’t know. ‘…And Justice For All’ gets a bit of bad press, doesn’t it, because of the sound. There’s no bass. It’s a strange album to get used to. I think the songs are great. And my favorite METALLICA song is ‘One’, which is on that album. But even me, when I put it on, [I go,] ‘Turn the bass up or something.’ People have been talking about this for 20-odd years, and I agree that it sounds bass-light; they mixed poor old Jason [Newsted] down for some reason. Maybe that one. ‘Load’‘s good as well; it’s got some good tunes.”

DIAMOND HEAD influenced a slew of early ’80s thrash metal bands, in particular METALLICA, which recorded the band’s “Am I Evil” as a B-side to their 1984 “Creeping Death” single and again included on the band’s multi-platinum 1998 covers album “Garage Inc.” METALLICA would record three additional DIAMOND HEAD songs: “Helpless” (“Garage Days”, 1987), “The Prince” (“One” single B-side, 1989) and “It’s Electric” (“Garage Inc.” , 1998).

According to Brian, the royalties that he receives from the DIAMOND HEAD back catalog, including the METALLICA recordings of his songs, are enough for him to live on. “It’s my biggest source of income,” he revealed in a 2019 interview. “It’s great and I don’t know what I would do without it. It gives me the freedom to do what I like. I’m very grateful.”

DIAMOND HEAD‘s latest album, “The Coffin Train”, was released in May 2019 via Silver Lining Music. The album was recorded at Vigo Studios in Walsall, Circle Studios in Birmingham and Raw Sound Studio in London.