Picture - Diamond Dreamer (1982)^{Release ID: 6475}

The unusually named Picture formed as a four-piece in Rozenberg in 1979 & released their debut self-titled album the following year. It suffered from poor production & was more of a straight up hard rock record so it slipped by the metal media without much fanfare. 1981’s follow-up record “Heavy Metal Ears” was more of a legitimate heavy metal release; probably the very first to come from the Netherlands in fact. The music was a step up in quality from the debut however Picture still hadn’t got the production right & once again the album failed to have the impact that the band & their management were hoping for (despite being a generally pretty enjoyable listen in my opinion). During this time Picture were building a strong following through their solid live performances with several high quality support slots across Europe but it wasn’t until they recruited Israeli vocalist Shmoulik Avigal that things really started to come together for the band with Picture’s third album “Diamond Dreamer” being the record that would see Picture finally managing to achieve the studio production they deserved & fulfillling the promise they’d shown since their early days. 

Musically, Picture keep things pretty simple on "Diamond Dreamer". They stay predominantly within their comfort zones by laying down tight, high-quality 70’s-inspired hard rock & heavy metal grooves. The metal outweighs the rock considerably on this occasion however if I had to guess as to Picture’s influences I’d probably point at more hard rock-driven 70’s outfits like Deep Purple, Whitesnake or Rainbow. But the band presents those influences in a more modern 80’s metal package that should appeal to fans of Accept, Saxon, Dio & late 70’s Judas Priest.

There’s nothing flashy on display here. It’s a workman-like performance from a band that had paid their dues over the previous three years but Picture’s real strength comes in the remarkable vocal abilities of their front man. Avigal’s performance is nothing short of brilliant in my opinion. His voice is so strong that he’s able to lift some of the less impressive vocal hooks to much higher levels. Think the hard rock power of Whitesnake’s David Coverdale meets the soaring operatics of Ronnie James Dio & you won’t be far off the mark. I just love his sound. Some of the lyrics do tend to be a bit basic & cheesy but I can easily look past that as the vocal hooks are infectious. I’m genuinely amazed that “Diamond Dreamer” didn’t make any sort of dent on the early 80’s metal scene & it’s really unfortunate that this would be Avigal’s only release for Picture as he was unceremoniously axed from the band after a petty argument with Picture’s manager a short time afterwards. Out of interest, he would later go on to record an album with US heavy metallers The Rods.

I consider “Diamond Dreamer” to be somewhat of an undiscovered gem. In fact, I actually rate it more highly than many of the more widely celebrated metal albums of 1982 so if the influences listed above mean anything to you at all then I'd strongly urge you to give "Diamond Dreamer" a good few spins to give it a chance to fully dig its teeth in. You won't regret it.