King Diamond - C or D?

Is "Evil" not one of the best metal t00ns of all time?

i don't agree at all that it hasn't aged well. i sometimes wish that the production on those 80's albums would've been less paper-thin, but hey who cares. there's nobody else out there sounding remotely like either king diamond or mercyful fate. i'm just so grateful that those albums even exist. and they keep putting out pure quality. this year's 'give me your soul... please' is nothing short of awesome.

Nothing says classic more than "I was born on the cemetary - under the sign of the MOOOOOOOOOOOOOUHN!"
"9" was actually surprisingly good too, but overall I mostly care for those first two Mercyful Fate albums. Even though King Diamond (the band) has been quite good for the most part, I never get into the albums nearly as much. Too little rocking, and too much 80s metal (which I realize is a completely silly argument). It's usually fun to hear a few tracks here and there, however. I was tempted to buy the last album after someone sent me a couple of really fun songs off it.

i thought those last couple of mercyful fate albums were very bland, and not at all on par with the best 90's/00's king diamond albums. but i should give them another try. i recently saw '9' rather high up on someone's 'best of black metal' list, which had me raise an eyebrow.

i mean, i have no problem acknowledging that early mercyful fate were seen as a black metal act, and that indeed they had an influence on what eventually turned into the second wave of black metal. but to regard their 90's output as black metal (and '9' at that!) just seems a bit off somehow.

Imagery wise MF inspired black metal, but sonically they are merely heavy metal to these ears.

Great heavy metal at that.

Yeah, I wouldn't put '9' on any sort of best off list. It's mostly a better album than you'd expect, rather than a great album. I think that whole MF is Black Metal thing is more an argument about history and/or lyrics, rather than genre-properties; as I recall, the anus.com fellows were big on these arguments.
Anyways, I'm convinced that "Gypsy" could so easily have been one of the biggest pop singles of 80s heavy metal. Was there any Wilhelm Tell Overture-metal prior to that song?

Anyhoo, my favorite KD-related album is Melissa (which I always preferred to Don't Break the Oath. It may have to do with it being the one I heard first)
"I'm kneeling, in front of the altar... Satan's cross upon the wall."
Best power ballad ever, obv.

jamming Melissa tonight

fucking perfect album

I've been blasting Don't Break the Oath all day. I honestly can't decide whether this one or Melissa is better, but I haven't heard these albums since I was a kid so they sound new to me. With ten or so listens I hope to be able to tell because it's bugging me for some reason; people are so split down the middle on those two and I just want to know whose side I'm on.

I'm busting out Conspiracy right now.

I'm listening to Mercyful Fate's 9 now, and it's pretty bad ass. I think it was panned when it came out, but there is some seriously freaking cool metal on here.

damn old Fate/KD vinyl is fucking insanely expensive

a 1981 Brats rehearsal tape just got pressed that apparently sounds a lot like Fate but doesn't have the eeeeeevilness yet...can't decide whether to get it or not

King Diamond is a huge muthafuckin' C. just wish Mercyful Fate would come out of quasi-retirement.

Anybody here besides me ever hear the Force Of Evil albums? They were a band featuring the two MF guitarists, Michael Denner and Hank Shermann, put out their s/t debut in 2002 and a follow-up, Black Empire, in 2005. The first one was pretty good, thrashy classic/trad metal, but the second kinda sucked because of stupid horror-movie lyrics.

I was pleasantly surprised with the debut but never heard the follow up.

"damn old Fate/KD vinyl is fucking insanely expensive..."

John, what are you basing this on? The first two are on ebay as a lot for $9.99 right now...

I have those and the early years LP called In The Beginning.

All are AWESOME.

the first two are easy, it's all the other shit that's rough - the 12"s & some of the contemporaneous boots and that kinda stuff.

I still need The Beginning. for some reason I don't have that but have the non-essential Return of the Vampire

aas luck wd have it we bot face=painted last weekjend and a very good friend of mine wanted to be King Diasmon and i ahreed. yo obliviousness

hahahaha wtf

yeas bring it wtf bi duddley beetledrive

ahahahAHAHAHhahaha awesome

listening to The Brats...totally fun and cheesy and loveable, like this perfect mix of biker metal, punk, and sorta new wave melodies

wow this is crazy! the fathers of extreme metal sound super power pop on "b-brains"!

Classic drunk posting up there.

Dunno if I wanna hear Brats but Hank de Wank is all time lol material.

it's pretty good actually, they got some tunes! it's just super cute overall

I just feel somehow like it might disfigure Mercyful Fate a little bit for me somehow but that's probably ridic.

hmm yeah i guess if you were super invested in the whole evil image thing, but i don't believe king diamond is in this just two other dudes (not a real expert on MF except for don't break the oath)

Not that invested in the woooooh evil thing but yeah no King D.

smithy needs to post here

I am way past due for getting into this band. I'm going to remedy this tonight.

classic. I finally got Spider's Lullabye, already had the classics like Abigail and Them. this is AWESOME.

Mercyful Fate were my fav though. wish they'd come off of hiatus, it's only been a 11 year one :(

PLEASE TELL US WHO YOU ARE...

I am the aiiiiiiiiiiiiir you breattttheeeeeee
I am the Bell WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH
I am one million years
I am the Bell WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

King Diamond/Mercyful Fate and Halloween season go hand in hand, man....

King Diamond is in the Brats for sure! think I'll listen to Fatal Portrait this morning

one of the few classic era KD ones I haven't garnered yet -- Conspiracy being the other, but I ordered it a few days ago! want to dig up my copy of Abigail, what a classic.

I consider Fatal Portrait among his best works! relentless riffage, awesome effects...audibly from the same fit of inspiration as Don't Break the Oath imo

check this shit out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHrjah3p4PA

\m/! Awesome! Yea truthfully Mercyful Fate was my favorite of the two acts, especially Don't Break the Oath/Melissa, but I mean it's really like the difference between an A and an A minus. I had a ticket to see MF once in 1999 but A. it was out of state and I never found a way to get a ride as I didn't have a car, and B. the show got cancelled anyway :(.

I always love how King had his two acts very clearly sonically delineated for the most part -- like you can go to KD's solo work if you want more ear-catching heavy metal (still rife with neat guitar work)...or Mercyful Fate if you want more sprawling rock 'n rolly metal with rifftastic galore and demonically MAD melodies.

When asked to choose between, I choose "both".

Conspiracy is massively underrated. First two songs alone are some of the King's best work, and the story (which is a continuation of the story on Them) gets somehow even more twisted and evil.

I am cool with these guys even though they don't know how to spell "Abigail" (sic).

Or I guess "this guy."

I really think Mercyful Fate's "Into the Unknown" is overlooked. I mean their best material was behind them by this point, but it still rocks. Maybe just a solid three stars, but hey I'll take it!

finally got Conspiracy in the mail, and Fatal Portrait is en route. really like the vibe of Conspiracy, it's similar to Them obviously musically (being that it's a continuation), but there are some nice flourishes like the acoustic intros.

AMG's review of this is dumb.

think I'm going to chase this with an album I haven't listened to in ages, Mercyful Fate's Melissa. A classic if there ever was one.

Love the tunes. Cannot get w/ the level of falsetto. I have tried.

it's an acquired taste for sure, I wasn't into him at first. I mean when it comes down to it there's just no other vocalist remotely like him in metal. his falsetto isn't quite yer Michael Kiske warble but also isn't your Rob Halford shrieketto either. It's really screechy and pinched, with camp value to boot.

to me that falsetto makes "Evil" hit another level (whereas Metallica's cover fell short because Hetfield couldn't do it). "Under the sign of the MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON."

want a Don't Break the Oath tattoo on bicep but Catholic superstition keeps breathin in my ear that overtly Satanic tattoo will seal some kind of horrible deal

DO IT

it's like every time I listen to MF, it's like this is the only band that can get me into a "fuck...nobody even close to on their level these days, fuckin' youngsters" kinda vibe. for the most part I reject that vibe utterly but then I consider that once a million years ago some dudes from Denmark got all "yeah, we want our album to sound like this" and I think, fuckin', the balls on these guys. OTOH don't want to get possessed by Satan/sacrifice life & family to him so that's the offset

lol and otm.

I wish King would reform MF soon. I like his solo stuff fine and the later era MF stuff wasn't as solid but in their prime you couldn't fuck with Fate. they were probably the first heavy metal band of their ilk that I fell in love with, oddly after seeing them on Beavis and Butthead and just thinking they sounded evil and sinister.

I will rep for a lot of later Fate now - Time & In the Shadows are pretty great, the song "Angel of Light" is one of their best grooves. And Fatal Portrait for me stands alongside the best Fate stuff, too - great great record. The Puppet Master on the other hand I cannot get down w/.

IN THIN AIIIIRR

AND THEN EMPTIED ON THE FLOOOR-OOORR

SUDDENLY

THE DOOOOOR WAS OPEN

AND GRANDMA SAID

"DO COME IN MY LITTLE FRIEND"

A theory: If Conspiracy had a different album cover it would be regarded as highly as Them (or higher). Some days I think it's King's masterpiece.

But what the hell were they thinking with that sleeve?

wtf the sleeve is awesome

It looks like a substitute for a better cover that was banned or something. Like a last minute decision of "fuck it, just put his face on the cover, that'll do"

He's playing "The Lake" on this current tour. Also two new songs.

The setlist seems tailor made for me. Not spoiling anything else.

I paid for the VIP because meeting the King, even for 3 seconds, is a bucket list item.

Im ready

https://i.ibb.co/374VhrK/157299706971784140.jpg

I JUST MET KING.

I AM NOT OK

omg!!!

Ok the new tour is amazing this is the best show i ever saw i am happy as fuck

What was he like?? I would bet gracious and awesome. In fact, if he wasn't those things, don't tell me.

Was he wearing the makeup wen you met him?

Sorry, I'm a KD fanboy, obvs

Super nice. It was a fast meet and greet, so I didn't get to have a long convo, but it was still worth it.

Lol yep, full makeup.

amazing

My god his voice too.

At 63 he shouldn't still be able to do this. After the heart attack/bypass he stopped smoking which helped a ton.

Also this was held at our local performing arts center so there were ushers in uniforms, managers in suits. It was held in the Walt Disney theatre. Down the hall, in the other theatre, The Marriage of Figaro was playing.

Really sad that patrons of both shows weren't in the lobby at the same time.

that's so awesome you met him!

was it... a dangerous meeting?

I saw him a few years ago and I was blown away by how great his voices sounded (even with his wife helping out behind the scenes), even after heart surgery. Dude is immortal.

feels extremely weird to think of king diamond as an actual 63-year-old human and not an immortal shrieking banshee

oh he hasn't assumed his ultimate form yet

Have any of you tried his limited edition black lager?

Not distributed in FL but i want one

The yeast used to brew it comes from my longtime favorite Danish brewing company, Carlsberg

This face i am making is pretty much how I felt all night.

https://i.ibb.co/pyrCVD2/c5fc8e80-72c9-5ae9-84ca-712369719d9f-1.jpg

Some show pics too

https://i.ibb.co/6Fbqfwb/IMG-20191105-222110-01.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/CMpYG0H/IMG-20191105-222110.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/M5K3Grw/IMG-20191105-213346.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/jvZ9kj8/IMG-20191105-213345.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/fYSc3SK/IMG-20191105-213343.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/nPqF4Zx/IMG-20191105-212229.jpg

what happened to the new album

fuck, I missed that he had surgery earlier this year due to COVID stuff. guess that's it.

About him as a storyteller
https://mattcardin.substack.com/p/the-musical-horror-stories-of-king-diamond

i can't believe this dude is 68 when I see him live still.

setlist a wee bit predictable on current tour, but he did drop two new songs from the new 5-year delayed album, in addition to Masquerade of Madness, which of course has been around a while.

Listening to his first three albums for the first time recently, it struck me--King Diamond sounds like Jiminy Glick

ok

For years I've held off from getting his albums because I wanted the bonus tracks but even the latest reissues don't have them. Should I have just bought them or do I really need to track down editions with "No Presents for Christmas", "The Lake", "Shrine" and "Phone Call"?

I really don't consider any of those crucial. "No Presents" was beloved at record stores when it was new, funny record, but these are b-sides for the most part.

Phone Call is essentially a thematic skit