Am I Evil?

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"Am I Evil?" is a song by British heavy metal band Diamond Head and first appeared on their Lightning to the Nations album. The intro to the song is based on the Mars theme of Gustav Holst's The Planets. The lyrics tell of a kid whose mother is burned alive because she is believed to be a witch. When he grows up he decides to take revenge on the people who killed his mother and goes on a killing spree.

The song is widely regarded as one of the best recorded by a NWOBHM band,^{[citation needed]} but is probably best known among metal fans today for having been recorded and played live many times by the younger band Metallica, who cite Diamond Head as a major influence. The song was part of Metallica's Am I Evil? / Blitzkrieg cassette single and on some pressings of the Kill 'Em All album. The song appeared again in 1998 on Metallica's Garage Inc. anthology of covers.