DIAMOND HEAD guitarist Brian Tatler joined METALLICA on stage on June 26 at the Tons Of Rock festival in Oslo, Norway, to perform the DIAMOND HEAD classic “Am I Evil?” Professionally filmed footage of his appearance can be seen below.
In a recent interview with XS Rock, Brian Tatler, who joined SAXON in 2023, was asked to name the highlight of his career so far. He responded: “I suppose musically, [the classic DIAMOND HEAD song] ‘Am I Evil?’ because it’s such a big song and has a life of its own. A song that was written in my bedroom in 1979 has gone around the world and is on millions of records. So, the songs, really — the fact that they’re out there, people still want to hear them, they still get played on the radio. And the fact that it brings in money through royalties means I’ve got a standard of living as a musician. It’s kind of a dream when you’re a teenager, but I’ve actually done it. And yeah, I’m not the biggest star in the world, but it’s brilliant that you can have a career in music for over 40 years and not necessarily be a household name.”
DIAMOND HEAD influenced many early ’80s thrash metal bands, particularly METALLICA, which recorded “Am I Evil?” as a B-side to their 1984 “Creeping Death” single and included it on their multi-platinum 1998 covers album “Garage Inc.” METALLICA also recorded three additional DIAMOND HEAD songs: “Helpless” (“Garage Days,” 1987), “The Prince” (“One” single B-side, 1989), and “It’s Electric” (“Garage Inc.,” 1998).
In a 2022 interview with Metal Pilgrim, Tatler was asked if he thought DIAMOND HEAD could have continued as a viable entity without METALLICA covering their songs. He responded: “I think if METALLICA hadn’t covered DIAMOND HEAD — the first cover was ’84 when they did ‘Am I Evil?’ on the B-side of ‘Creeping Death’ — I may have looked elsewhere for employment. It would have been harder to keep DIAMOND HEAD going without that introduction to their fanbase. Versions of ‘Am I Evil?’ have sold millions of copies through METALLICA, and so many more people know DIAMOND HEAD thanks to Lars [Ulrich] and Co. A lot of the opportunities we get now might not be there without that METALLICA connection. So I’m eternally grateful. Obviously, myself and Sean [Harris, original DIAMOND HEAD singer] still get writers’ royalties, but even so, it’s helped DIAMOND HEAD as a name and a brand to get more opportunities, festivals, and support gigs because they link it with METALLICA; they think, ‘Okay, well, you’re potentially tapping into a huge market.'”
