Am I Evil?

For the album, see Am I Evil (album).

"Am I Evil?"
Song by Diamond Head from the album Lightning to the Nations
Released	1980
Recorded	1980
Genre	Heavy metal, speed metal
Length	7:43
Label	Happy Face
Writer	Sean Harris and Brian Tatler
Producer	Diamond Head
Lightning to the Nations track listing
"Sucking My Love" (3) "Am I Evil?" (4) "Sweet and Innocent" (5)

"Am I Evil?" is a song by British heavy metal band Diamond Head released on their 1980 debut album Lightning to the Nations. The song was written by Sean Harris (singer) and Brian Tatler (guitarist) and released on Happy Face Records (the band's own label).

Lyrics and structure

The lyrics tell the tale of a young male who becomes mentally deranged after the death of his mother and goes on a killing spree. In interviews guitarist Brian Tatler has explained that the song started off with him trying to beat Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe" and just evolved over eighteen months and incorporating an introduction based on "Mars" from Gustav Holst's The Planets., although the intro bears great similarities to Black Sabbath's self-titled track from their 1970 debut album. The lyrics were then laid down by front man Harris trying to match the "evilness" of the riff. Metallica's Lars Ulrich has gone on to say that this song is "the heaviest song that's ever been recorded."^{[citation needed]}

Release and reception

The song was originally released on their 1980 debut, Lightning to the Nations but then also re-recorded for their second album Borrowed Time. The song also remains a live favourite and still remains in the band's setlist to this day. However, Sean Harris did get fed up with continually playing "Am I Evil?", one of the reasons he took the stage dressed as the Grim Reaper during their performance at the National Bowl.

In December 2004, "Am I Evil?" was voted the fifth best heavy metal riff.

Cover versions

"Am I Evil?"
Song by Metallica from the album "Creeping Death" (single), Kill 'Em All (re-release) and Garage Inc.
Released	1984
Recorded	February 20 - March 14, 1984 at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
Genre	Thrash metal
Length	7:50
Label	Megaforce, Elektra
Writer	Sean Harris, Brian Tatler
Producer	Metallica, Flemming Rasmussen
Music sample "Am i Evil"

The song was made most famous by Metallica's cover of the song, found on the 1988 re-release and the Japanese version of its debut album Kill 'Em All (the original version of the album lacks the inclusion of the cover), though the cover was originally released as a b-side to the "Creeping Death" single in 1984, and was later released on Garage Inc. in 1998. The song has also been featured in its live set throughout its career. The song was made as a faster and heavier version. Hetfield also changed the final chorus from "Am I evil? Yes, I am." to "Am I evil? Yes, I fucking am!" Diamond Head has stated that the band's members are flattered by the cover, and that the royalties from it have enabled the band to continue. Faith No More has also covered the song.

The original Diamond Head version of the song is included in the video games Guitar Hero: Metallica and Brütal Legend. A cover of the Metallica version is included in the game Rock Revolution as a playable track.

Recently, in an extended homage to the song, the united members of the "Big Four of Thrash"—Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth—performed the song together in Sofia, Bulgaria. With the exclusion of Slayer's Tom Araya, Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, the combined members of these bands performed the first half of the song. The recording was released later on the The Big 4 Live from Sofia, Bulgaria DVD.

At the U.K part of the Sonisphere Festival, Bill Bailey used the song as an intro to his set. Diamond Head themselves were also performing at the festival.

In the game The Neverhood, there is a cutscene in which Klaymen pulls a pin that keeps 2 halfs of the Neverhood separated, when the sides are coming together, an altered version of the Metallica cover is played.

Usage in popular culture

The Diamond Head version was featured in the 2009 video games Guitar Hero: Metallica and Brütal Legend, and in the 2009 film Halloween II.