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Post by rfan8312 on Apr 15, 2023 19:26:33 GMT
Not sure if anybody is familiar with this artist. He was the lead singer of the band Mercyful Fate but has put out around 20 albums as King Diamond.
I can promise that 95% of listeners will be turned off by his voice instantly never to return.
I was lucky enough to hear his best work first in which his voice compliments the wonderful musicianship and moreso the eerie vibes and story that went with each album.
His album 'The Eye' is fascinating. I thought the entire album was themed around the Salem Witch Trials. But turns out that is only a part of it. All of KD's albums tell an interesting story.
On 'Them' its the story of an evil grandmother returning to live with her family at their home after she is released from an asylum.
Most people's favorite album that I'd spoken to was 'Abigail'.
Though, my favorite album of his, one that instanly transports me to my teen years in New England's deep winters, is 'The Conspiracy'. This album is a continuation of 'Them' in which King returns to his childhood home where the events of Them took place to claim the house as his own and still has much to contend with in the evil that still lurks there which took the life of his little sister Missy and he misses her.
My words here are futile in trying to recreate the magic I found in these albums at the age of 15.
Anybody finding these works through recommendations on the internet later in life may dismiss them as cartoonish bufoonery sung by a bizarre Danish guy dancing around in face paint.
Though I remember once telling the story of these albums to a group of people who didn't go for this kind of music and they demanded that I hand over the lyrics sheets I'd printed up for each album so they could explore King Diamond on their own.
Here's a couple of cool starter tracks. From The Conspiracy and The Eye.
Every track on this album is wonderful. The Conspiracy. 'Sleepless Nights'.
From the album The Eye. 'Two Little Girls'.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 15, 2023 19:57:18 GMT
Not greatly enamoured, although I've heard worse singing in metal music. His falsetto reminds me of The Darkness.
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Post by rfan8312 on Apr 15, 2023 20:08:40 GMT
I'm surprised that I even like or can tolerate his singing and I'm also surprised at how naturally gifted and talented he is only to sing to very few ears willing to listen.
I've wondered if he has been able to make a true living from this work. I've read many times that touring now is almost unfeasible financially even for very popular bands.
A track like this though I think would be far less effective without those soaring high pitched vocals.
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 15, 2023 20:18:58 GMT
Lol - yes love him - I've already owned up to being a Mercyful Fate and KD fan here.
As a teenager I was suitably impressed by how subversive they appeared at the time. I keep coming back to KD's recent 'greatest hits' live album. Here's "Halloween".
This was always one of my favourite early Fate tracks with the very idiosyncratic dual guitars - used to properly spook me out late at night ...
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Post by petea on Apr 15, 2023 20:23:48 GMT
Really not for me I'm afraid. I did try though!
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Post by rfan8312 on Apr 16, 2023 21:15:22 GMT
Thank you for giving it a shot, Pete.
Lol yes Jules it is a weird feeling admitting to liking King Diamond. Feels a bit like credibility suicide. "Ye but he admitted that he likes King Diamond so..."
Wow I didn't even know there was a greatest hits album. In a few weeks I will purchase that and check some Mercyful Fate in the meantime.
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Post by John on Apr 17, 2023 5:26:51 GMT
I had a demo of Mercyful Fate before they had a record deal I never really got into King Diamond but used to like the guitar playing back at that time.
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 17, 2023 10:11:37 GMT
Other bands like Maiden have twin guitar attacks but none of them sound like Fate - the way they craft those doom laden solos is different to everyone else ...
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 17, 2023 10:14:59 GMT
Wow I didn't even know there was a greatest hits album. In a few weeks I will purchase that and check some Mercyful Fate in the meantime. There are actually two live recordings of exactly the same set - Live at the Fillmore and Live at Graspop. Not bothered to compare them yet. |
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Post by Tim on Apr 17, 2023 11:28:23 GMT
Put me in the 95%, not because of his voice though, the music ... I use that term loosely though! What I did like is that it does 'exactly what it says on the tin' I was expecting to hear what I heard, so wasn't disappointed. So it's not false marketing, which is always a plus in my book  |
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Post by rfan8312 on Apr 17, 2023 23:23:11 GMT
Haha Tim
Fellows, hear me now, I implore you, broaden your horizons! Think not of the 95%...become the 5% that can endure the Sir King of Diamond.
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Post by rfan8312 on Apr 17, 2023 23:29:40 GMT
Other bands like Maiden have twin guitar attacks but none of them sound like Fate - the way they craft those doom laden solos is different to everyone else ... Yes there is something special and meaningful to the solos imo. Especially those of Andy LaRoque. I'm stunned lately at how much I overlooked the album Spiders Lullaby. The first track is glorious! |
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Post by rfan8312 on Apr 18, 2023 1:33:47 GMT
I had a demo of Mercyful Fate before they had a record deal I never really got into King Diamond but used to like the guitar playing back at that time. Ye it's quite interesting how many solos/leads some of the songs have. A bit like Megadeth's Rust In Peace, except it's like that on many KD albums. |
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Post by Tim on Apr 18, 2023 7:36:18 GMT
Haha Tim Fellows, hear me now, I implore you, broaden your horizons! Think not of the 95%...become the 5% that can endure the Sir King of Diamond. Haha, you'd normally find myself in that 5% too! |
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Post by rfan8312 on Apr 20, 2023 3:53:14 GMT
Other bands like Maiden have twin guitar attacks but none of them sound like Fate - the way they craft those doom laden solos is different to everyone else ... Jules you feel like recommending each other some songs from studio albums? I ask because I'm non stop with the first track lately from the album Spiders Lullaby 'From The Other Side'. Wtf this might be one of KD's finest moments. BTW did you by any chance ever get into Pantera and their album Far Beyond Driven? That album was everything to me back in the day. |
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 20, 2023 16:01:21 GMT
Never got into Pantera, was a bit after my metal days ...
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Post by julesd68 on Apr 20, 2023 16:02:08 GMT
Follow me to the crypt young Robert, here's one from '87.
Contains the immortal lyrics ...
"I am alive inside your wife ...
Miriam's dead, I am her head"
Abigail.
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Post by Slinger on Apr 20, 2023 18:58:15 GMT
3/5 for me - My patience is tested by I'm not a quitter - although my description would have been kinder. I sort of like it, but I don't know that I'd ever play it knowingly or deliberately.
Jon Anderson sings Ian Gillan, or perhaps Justin Hawkins (who Martin alluded to) in a lunatic asylum.
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Post by rfan8312 on Apr 23, 2023 3:38:24 GMT
Thanks Jules, yes Abigail will be something I will delve into soon. What an awesome story.
Very cool Paul, thanks for taking a gander. I will go out on a limb and dangle any credibility I have over the ledge here.
I'm listening to KD non stop now, strangely after a 20 year hiatus, and think that King Diamond adds as much to the atmosphere of a track as any vocalist I've ever heard. He is gifted in voice and imo bizarrely creative as well. Also, I'm quite thankful that his voice was not buried under mediocre musicianship. The players around him are adding a lot of unique creativity to the story as well.
High praise indeed for a singer making weird faces with scary face paint in all of his photos lol.
Here's track 2 from the legendary 'Them' album. BTW the track 'Tea Time' is no slouch.
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Post by julesd68 on Aug 26, 2023 19:23:48 GMT
Classic recent performance.
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