Canterbury (album)

Canterbury
Studio album by
Diamond Head
ReleasedSeptember 1983[1]
Recorded1983
GenreProgressive rock, art rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Length40:34
LabelMCA
ProducerMike Shipley & Diamond Head
Diamond Head chronology
Borrowed Time
(1982) 		Canterbury
(1983) 		Behold the Beginning
(1986)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Classic Rock[4]
The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[3]

Canterbury is the third studio album by British heavy metal band Diamond Head. It was recorded and released in 1983, reaching number 32 on the UK Albums Chart. The progressive rock sound, which was only hinted at on Borrowed Time, is much more prominent here.

Background

This album was originally entitled Making Music (after the first track on the album) but later became Canterbury. The success of this album was initially stalled by the fact that the first 20,000 copies suffered vinyl-pressing problems, causing the LP to jump. In addition, this album was an attempt by the band to show that they could write more than just heavy metal songs. However, many fans wanted a heavier follow up to the previous record, Borrowed Time and did not like the progressive direction.

There were two singles to be released from this album, which were "Makin' Music" (that had an extended version and an interview with Andy Peebles, now available on the released version of the album) and "Out of Phase", which had "The Kingmaker" as its B-side. "Out of Phase" was also released as a B-side for a live version of "Sucking My Love".

The song "Knight of the Swords" is about the god Arioch in Michael Moorcock's Elric stories.

This album was only released on CD in Japan making it a highly collectible item. On 15 October 2007 it was released by Metal Mind Productions on CD format, with bonus tracks. However, this was limited to 2000 copies. The album was made widely available in 2009, along with Borrowed Time, as part of the boxset The MCA Years.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sean Harris and Brian Tatler

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Makin' Music"3:51
2."Out of Phase"3:32
3."The Kingmaker"4:12
4."One More Night"4:11
5."To the Devil His Due"6:02
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Knight of the Swords"6:53
7."Ishmael"4:01
8."I Need Your Love"3:03
9."Canterbury"4:58
2007 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
10."Makin' Music" (extended 12" version)6:08
11."Sucking My Love" (live)9:08
12."Andy Peebles interview" (including To the Devil His Due)15:58
The MCA Years bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
10."Makin' Music" (extended 12" version)6:08
11."Can't Take No More" (previously unreleased demo)3:29
12."Time's on My Side" (previously unreleased demo)3:59
13."Come to Hear You Play" (previously unreleased demo)4:07

Personnel

Diamond Head

  • Sean Harris – vocals
  • Brian Tatler – guitars
  • Colin Kimberley, Mervyn Goldsworthy – bass
  • Duncan Scott, Robbie France – drums

Additional musicians

  • Jamie Lane – drums
  • Chris Heaton – keyboards and fairlight
  • The Jolly Slaves – backing vocals

Production

  • Mike Shipley – producer, engineer
  • Bryan 'Chuck' New – assistant engineer

Charts

Chart (1983) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[5] 32

References

  1. ^ Great Rock Discography. p. 221.
  2. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Diamond Head - Canterbury review". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  3. ^ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 97. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  4. ^ Classic, Rock (22 October 2019). "Diamond Head: Canterbury - Album Of The Week Club review". Loudersound. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 1, 2024.