Diamond Head were big exponents of late 70's and early 80's New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Though some of their early songs surely are in the history of Heavy Metal, Diamond Head weren't hit by the planetary success of some of their contemporaries in the U.K., like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Motorhead. Despite this, Diamond Head have been acknowledged as a huge influence by bands like Metallica and Megadeth and it's not rare to hear these and other metal bands covering them both live and in studio. "Am I Evil" is universally recognized as one of the greatest Heavy Metal songs of all time, both by artists and fans.

Diamond Head was formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, West Midlands, U.K, as an idea of guitarist Brian Tatler. At that time, New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) was about to explode. Diamond Head ended their early music life in 1985, but, after some years of silence, they kept on re-forming from time to time until recent days; at the time of writing (2010) they're still touring U.K. and Europe with original member and mastermind Brian Tatler as lead guitarist, in their never ending will to perpetuate the old NWOBHM atmosphere.