Inspiration (Personal influence on me)
Click here to join the King Diamond Fan list.
Click the logo go to the Portal of my site.
Welcome to my King Diamond tribute page.
Where shall I start, promoting the most genius musician in the world? Maybe on this page? I know this page is a bit off-topic, seeing the rest of my website, but to me King Diamond has always been a huge source of inspiration. And now it is time to give him the tribute he deserves. So here we go.
I've been following his every step since the mid eighties (since I heard the Mercyful Fate album Don't Break the oath for the first time). I had been a lingering metal head for many years, liking the type of music but not being a fan of one band in particular. Then a friend of mine told me I had to listen to this album, and so I did. The album started with heavy guitar riffs (the song Dangerous meeting was the first one he put on), and a solid rhythm section. Then I got blown away by the kinda weird approach of the singer (Kim Peterson Bendix a.k.a. King Diamond) of this band. High pitched screams, deep (demon like) growls and a right in your face performance. I was stunned. Never, ever did I have a musical experience like this before, hearing an album for the first time. After seeing some of their shows, which were build around around King's theatrical performance on stage, I was hooked for life.
King's Career in a nutshell.
I ran over to the local record store and bought every record that was available at that time (the: "Nuns have no fun" (1982) EP, the "Melissa" (1983) and the "Don't break the oath" (1984) [which was brand-new at the moment] albums). Then, a few months later, the news got out that Mercyful Fate had split. I was devastated. The first band I really liked had seized to exist. The reason was (as always) musical differences. Hank Shermann wanted to go in a more AOR/main stream direction. Bad call Hank !!! (just listen to the wimpy FATE (his solo project) material and you'll know what I mean). The Mercyful Fate songs mostly had Satanic influences in the lyrics and the bands stage act was marked by King's theatrical performance and wearing black and white face make-up.
But there was also GOOD news!!! King started a solo career, taking Timi "Grabber" Hanson (Bass) and Michael Denner (lead guitar) with him and came back with a vengeance. The band was completed with Andy Laroque (lead guitar) and Micky Dee (drums). Two very talented musicians who gave the band a very own sound and of which "Andy" is still a main driving source in the band (imo: King Diamond and Andy Laroque are "the King Diamond") Signing Roadrunner Records, they released an EP, named: "No presents for Christmas" (1985), followed by "The Fatal Portrait" (1986); an album with a horror story written to music. This would become the trademark for his Solo career: Concept albums with one horror theme. Then came "Abigail" (1987), which is in my opinion one of the all-time classics and the best King Diamond album EVER, followed by "Them" (1988), "Conspiracy" (1989), "the Eye" (1991) and "Abigail in concert 1987" (1991 Released shortly after King left Roadrunner)). Then again bad news. King had been the main artist signed to Roadrunner Records, but he didn't get the support he wanted. He wanted to tour with a large stage set with theatre backgrounds, actors on stage, special effects and lighting. He had done this before, during the Them/Conspiracy tour (on a smaller scale). Roadrunner Records didn't want to put the amount of money on the table for a project like this. They'd rather pump the money in "new" bands like Sepeltura (which got a huge budget to start off their career). Economically maybe a good choice of Roadrunner, but for King it was a knife in the back. He had been the main Artist for them for years, but now they shoved him aside. Maybe they thought he was obsolete and the younger musicians should get a chance? How wrong can you be! King Diamond is still around and Sepeltura is dead and buried (well almost). Of course there will be other issues which will have influenced their choices, but for King it was the reason to rip up the contract and leave. The King Diamond Band seized to exist (for the moment).
The best KD album: Abigail (1986)
A long period of silence followed, until the world was rejoiced by the news that Mercyful Fate was reborn in their original line-up (except for the drummer). Their first life performance after their reunion was at the "Dynamo Open Air 1993" festival in Eindhoven Holland. They had signed Massacre records and released "in the Shadows" (1993), followed by "Time" (1994), "Into the unknown" (1996), "Dead Again" (1998) and "9" (1999). Meanwhile King Diamond and Andy Laroque reunited the King Diamond band again and released "Spider's Lullaby" (1995) (not the best KD album but with some brilliant songs and again the Horror theme concept returned). In 1996 the KD band made "the Graveyard" (1996), followed by "Voodoo"(1998), "The House of God" (2000), "Abigail II: the revenge" (2002) and "the Puppet Master" (2003). Nowadays King Diamond releases his albums under Metal Blade records. In this period of the late nineties, King Diamond recorded, performed and toured with both Mercyful Fate and the KD band. The era of King Diamond (solo) can be divided into three main periods: The beginning (from Fatal portrait until Conspiracy (1985-1991). During this period, King Diamond has been a great influence on the metal scene and musically it was a period with lots of experiments and searching boundaries. The best line-up in this period was when recording "Abigail" with Mickey Dee on Drums, Michael Denner and Andy Laroque on Lead guitars and Timmi "Grabber" Hanson on bass. This album is a real gem. Due to the great guitar licks from both Michael and Andy and the solid (and very experimental) rhythm section, this album is still the best they ever made. The early to mid-nineties (1991-1996): A period, marked by lots of troubles with record companies, a period of silence, many band member changes and two albums with solid songs. "The Eye" and "Spiders' Lullaby" are OK in my opinion, but they lack the finesse and the genius from the earlier work. The third and last period (1997-now) is marked by gradually increasing musicianship and composing. All albums from 1997 until now are getting better and better with each release. Especially "Abigail II: the revenge" and "the Puppet Master" are both brilliant albums, which distinguish themselves by new influences and experimental composing. The Puppet Master was recorded in King's house in Texas, but it sounds so good that you can't hear the difference. And the additional vocals from female vocalist Livia give a new edge to King's music. Brilliant! He also has a very solid line-up in his band now, being: Andy Laroque (lead guitar), Mike Wead (lead guitar), Hal Patino (Bass) and Matt Thompson (drums). With this line-up he has recorded the last two albums and I hope these guys stick together for a long, long time to bring us their superb musical talents. Long live the King!!
My Best King Diamond Experience.
Once I attended a double bill concert once with both Mercyful Fate and King Diamond (the band) as headliner in 1997/1998 (with King performing/singing for over 3 1/2 hours). This was the best KD concert I have seen until date. Why? Because of this: There were some difficulties with Polish customs (where they had been playing the night before). The Polish customs did not want to release the trucks carrying the stage set (backgrounds, lighting and PA system), and only the tour bus got through. The management had been working all day to get the trucks through customs, but it was too late for them to arrive in time (but more about that later). When the band arrived in Tilburg (theatre 013) they had NO stage set, NO Lighting and NO PA system of their own, just their personal instruments (with the exception of the drum kit) and King's Microphone with the "crossed human bones" (another trademark of his). We were standing in the concert hall, and enjoyed the opening act (of which I forgot who they were, but this isn't about hem: So what the Hell?). We were not aware of the problems MF and KD had the night before. Then Mercyful fate approached the stage and started to perform their set (on the PA, lighting and Drum kit from the opening act). They gave a great show and played a varied mix of old and new Mercyful Fate songs. After about a 1 1/2 hours concert, they left the stage and the curtains were closed to build up the set for the KD band. We had already heard about the great stage attributes (gravestones, a mausoleum and other weird and occult stuff that would be used for the act). We were anticipating a great theatrical act. The curtain opened............... the lights were off and the band got on stage (you could see the little LEDs of their cordless instruments). The intro theme from "the Graveyard" was sounding through the speakers......... and then the lights went on ................. and there was nothing on stage but the band...... What the F###? Disappointment was my first feeling when I saw this (it had been about 8 years since I saw the last KD concert and I was awaiting the complete set in all its splendor). Then King Diamond told the disappointed public what had happened at the Polish customs and that they had put everything to work to get the set over in time. Unfortunately it had taken until about 11 o'clock a.m. to get the trucks through customs and the drivers had been pushing to arrive in time, but in vein. The trucks would arrive, at the earliest, at about 3 a.m. the next morning (which was of course way too late). "But we are not going to make this little setback to bring us down. I will tell you what should be here on stage,.......Here is supposed to be a large headstone,........there a few coffins, ........ and there in the background should be a mausoleum............" While King was walking up and down the stage, he pointed at several places where attributes should have been placed. While he was describing those objects, you could see them in your minds eye, so colorful and vibrant was his explanation. He also thanked the opening act for lending their drum kit and their PA system, and proceeded: "I am supposed to stand here with a lantern in my hand (but that's also in one of the trucks)." he said, "So I'll just act it out. Let's go......." Then the lights went out again and the Intro theme started. What followed was one of the most inspired concerts I have ever seen. Both King and the rest of the band played at their best. King performed his act, just like all equipment and attributes were on stage (but they weren't). Tell you what? We didn't even miss it. What a performer the man is. Awesome!! I saw the same show the next day with all the stage props (they played there 2 nights in a row), but it could not be topped by what I witnessed the night before.
In the early years of his career (mostly in the Mercyful Fate period), King Diamond was very influenced by the satanic beliefs of Anton Lavey. IMO there's nothing wrong with that (although I am not a Satanist myself). Later on in his career, when he started his own solo project, he abandoned the direct path of spreading his beliefs through his songs and changed the subjects of his lyrics into Horror stories, describing and telling about the "dark side" of humanity. Magic and unexplained mysteries are the subjects, as well as insanity (or sickness of the human mind) and power games between the stories' characters. And the best part about the stories is that the main characters in them don't always win, or have to overcome their own inner struggles. This way of telling stories has inspired me a lot over the years. Here are some samples on how his story lines and the way of describing characters and events have influenced me.
The Fatal Portrait: Five songs, interlinked to tell a story about a mother who (jealous as she was) killed her daughter by trapping her soul in a painting through making the picture. When the painting was done, Molly (the little girl) had vanished from the physical world and was trapped inside. This story inspired me to write the Fatal portrait scenario for the Infinite Quest game.
NEWSFLASH
The new King Diamond Live album came out, Called Deadly Lullabyes. Recorded on their last "Puppet Master" tour in the US, this is one of the best Live Metal albums in years, musically covering their highlights from the past twenty years. Go get it, before it's too late! Or we'll send Grandma after you with a nice cup of tea!!
Click on one of the album covers to hear a sample in MP3 format.
Some links to King Diamond fan sites
The official KD Fanclub: The official King Diamond/Mercyful Fate Fanclub site.
The Coven Worldwide forum: The official King Diamond/Mercyful Fate Fanclub (Covenworldwide) forum.
The Mercyful King forum: NEW!! My own un-official King Diamond/Mercyful Fate forum. Join for free and speak your mind freely about Mercyful Fate/King Diamond and other related topics in a relaxed environment. No hassle, no censorship and no BS. Added a life review of the concert in 013 (11-06-2006) in the forum today. Live Review 013 Tilburg (11-06-2006) Enjoy the read.
Hail Satan: A tribute to Mercyful Fate.
The house of God: A King Diamond fan site.
The King Diamond BB: My favorite King Diamond/Mercyful Fate forum.
King Diamond by Luci: Russian Fan site (also in English) with loads of (live) videos and obscure stuff.
Roadrunner Records Video: Here you can watch both the Welcome Home and the Sleepless nights video as released by RR-Records.
The Kings Crypt: Another King Fan site.
The unofficial King Diamond Fanclub site: This used to be the former official KD Fanclub, but it has returned (luckily).
The Ultimate KD site: And another great one.
The Witch's Vamp: Great KD fan site with lots of info and a huge linkpage.
The Coven of Darkness: Kinda obscure and occult King Diamond site (its great though. So have a look).
Copyright by Infinite Quest Productions 2002-2004 © All rights reserved