"Shoot Out the Lights" is an single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 by heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band 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...

 released in 1980 by Happy Face Records, the band's own label. It was a single A-side with "Shoot Out the Lights" and "Helpless" as the B-side, and was only available on 7", without a picture sleeve in order to reduce production costs. The latter song was covered by thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 band Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

 on their 1987 $5.98 EP: Garage Days Re-revisited EP. An extended version of "Helpless" appeared on Diamond Head's 1980 debut Lightning to the Nations

Lightning to the Nations

Lightning to the Nations is the debut album by heavy metal band Diamond Head. The album was recorded in 1979 and released in 1980 through their own label Happy Face Records, due to lack of interest from major labels and the band feeling that they needed to get the ball rolling as other bands from...

, and "Shoot Out the Lights" eventually appeared on an expanded version of the debut album released in 2001 by Sanctuary Records

Sanctuary Records

Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...

. The EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 received much criticism from heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 fans claiming that "it wasn't metal enough." The band, though scoffing at these comments, was seen in live concerts playing more hardcore

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 versions of beloved songs.

Line up

• Brian Tatler
  Brian Tatler
  Brian Tatler is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and co-founder of the Stourbridge based heavy metal band, Diamond Head.-Formation:...
  
  
• Sean Harris
• Duncan Scott
• Colin Kimberley