Canterbury is the third album by Diamond Head

Diamond Head (band)

Diamond Head are an English heavy metal band formed in 1976 in Stourbridge, England. The band is recognised as one of the leading members of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and is acknowledged by later bands like Metallica and Megadeth as an important early influence.-Early history:Formed by...

. The album was recorded and released in 1983, reaching Number 32 on the UK Album Chart.

Canterbury

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.

This was also the first album not to feature Duncan Scott and Colin Kimberly, due to pressure from MCA to have them removed from the band. Mervyn Goldsworthy and Robbie France

Robbie France

Robbie France is an English drummer, producer, arranger, journalist, music educator, and broadcaster.-Early life and career: Australia:...

 came in on bass and drums respectively.

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

Andy Peebles

-Early life:The son of a head postmaster, Peebles attended Bishop's Stortford College, Hertfordshire before training in hotel management.After DJing at a college dance he was offered a job at Samanthas in Bournemouth.He worked at Chelsea Village,The Scotch of St James in London and at the Hardrock...

, 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

Arioch

Arioch is a Hebrew name that means "fierce lion". It originally appears in the Book of Genesis chapter 14 as the name of the "King of Ellasar", part of the confederation of kings who did battle with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and with Abraham in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim...

 in Michael Moorcock's Elric stories.

This album was only released on CD in Japan making it a highly collectible item. Although on October 15, 2007 it was released by Metal Mind Productions

Metal Mind Productions

Metal Mind Productions is a Polish record label founded in 1987. Currently it is one of the lead independent labels in Poland with over 1000 of licences and over 10 million of data mediums sold. The label focuses mainly on rock and heavy metal genres...

 on CD format, with bonus tracks. However, this was limited to 2000 copies.

Track listing

(all songs written by Sean Harris and Brian Tatler)

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
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

10. "Makin' Music" [extended version] - 6:08
11. "Sucking My Love (Live)" - 9:08
12. Andy Peebles
    Andy Peebles
    -Early life:The son of a head postmaster, Peebles attended Bishop's Stortford College, Hertfordshire before training in hotel management.After DJing at a college dance he was offered a job at Samanthas in Bournemouth.He worked at Chelsea Village,The Scotch of St James in London and at the Hardrock...
    
    interview [including "To the Devil His Due"] - 15:58

Lineup

• Vocals - Sean Harris
• Guitar - Brian Tatler
• Bass - Colin Kimberley
• Drums - Duncan Scott