New Wave Of British Heavy Metal pioneers DIAMOND HEAD have explained the end of their working relationship with MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine. It was announced in December 2017 that DIAMOND HEAD had inked a management deal with Thrashville Management, the company founded by Dave and his son Justis Mustaine. Several months later, the affiliation came to a sudden and unexpected end, with DIAMOND HEAD switching over to Siren Artist Management, which also handles SAXON, EUROPE, URIAH HEEP and THIN LIZZY. In a recent interview with Bruce Pegg, DIAMOND HEAD bassist Dean Ashton stated about Mustaine: "It was an awesome experience getting to work with Dave. I was a big MEGADETH fan as a kid, so getting to meet him a couple of times was cool. He and his band were very hospitable to me and Ras [DIAMOND HEAD vocalist Rasmus Bom Anderson] when they played the O2 in London." Added Rasmus: "It was a big blow to all of us, as there was so much great stuff happening in the wings, and it all fell to pieces. I have nothing but great respect to Dave Mustaine and Justis Mustaine. They were super friendly and supportive, and I believe [they] wanted this to work out as much as we did, but sadly it didn't." Mustaine has been very vocal about what a "massive influence" DIAMOND HEAD and guitarist Brian Tatler were on him and the music he wrote for both MEGADETH and METALLICA. Tatler, for his part, has repeatedly expressed his gratitude over the years to METALLICA, who have covered four DIAMOND HEAD songs and kept the band in the spotlight. He said in a 2011 interview: "Without METALLICA, we wouldn't be going now. We split in 1985 when everything dried up, and we wouldn't have reformed without them. They're like DIAMOND HEAD's support system — they breathed new life into the band by namechecking us hundreds of times and covering our songs." The publishing royalties generated from METALLICA's versions of DIAMOND HEAD tracks like "Am I Evil" have kept Tatler afloat. "I don't know what I would have done without that," he said. "We never made money in the early days. I was on the dole after we finished — I had nothing left and I was living at home with my parents. I probably wouldn't have my own house now." DIAMOND HEAD's latest album, "The Coffin Train", was released on May 24 via Silver Lining Music.
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