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Widely regarded as the finest vocalist in all of death metal (who possesses a multi-octave range), theatrical rocker King Diamond first rose to prominence as a member of Mercyful Fate, before launching a solo career on his own. Born Kim Bendix Petersen in Denmark on June 14, 1956, the future King Diamond was originally drawn to theatrically based hard rock due to such trailblazers as Alice Cooper, and soon began fronting local bands in the '70s, including a punk metal outfit called the Brats. Shortly thereafter, the group mutated into Mercyful Fate, consisting of members Hank Shermann (guitar), Michael Denner (guitar), Timi Hansen (bass), and Kim Ruzz (drums), in addition to Diamond. Diamond, by this time, had developed an interest in the occult, which reflected in the new group's subject matter, as the frontman began wearing makeup (which resembled a cross between his hero Cooper and Kiss' Gene Simmons). After several demos made their way across Europe (and even reaching America via an underground tape-trading network among metalheads), Mercyful Fate issued a self-titled four-track EP before inking a recording contract with Roadrunner Records. The quintet issued a pair of thrash metal classics, 1983's Melissa and 1984's Don't Break the Oath, as Diamond's satanic lyrics created quite a stir at the time with outsiders. Despite a promising future, Mercyful Fate broke up when a common musical style couldn't be agreed on (Diamond wanted to continue with thrash metal, while a few of the others wanted to explore more mainstream-oriented hard rock).
Undeterred, Diamond launched a solo project, which was almost identical in approach, both musically and visually, as his former band. The group's original lineup included such former Mercyful Fate bandmates as Hansen and Denner, but over time, bandmembers would come and go (the only constant member besides their leader has been guitarist Andy LaRocque). King Diamond's first three solo releases, 1986's Fatal Portrait, 1987's Abigail, and 1988's Them, are widely considered to be Diamond's finest, as the singer continued to issue further releases until the early '90s (1989's Conspiracy, 1990's The Eye). It was also around this time that Diamond found his name embroiled in controversy -- due to a Geraldo Rivera TV special on music with supposed "hidden messages," and when Kiss' Simmons served a lawsuit against the singer, claiming that the makeup design Diamond had been using too closely resembled the one that Simmons used in the '70s and early '80s, which resulted in an out of court settlement and with Diamond being forced to modify his makeup design.
Come the early '90s, Mercyful Fate was constantly being name-checked as a prime influence by just about every new thrash and death metal band, which led to a re-formation of the original group (save for drummer Ruzz), and such further releases as 1993's In the Shadows (which included a remake of their early track, "Return of the Vampire," with Metallica's Lars Ulrich sitting in on drums), 1994's Time, 1996's Into the Unknown, 1998's Dead Again, and 1999's 9. By the middle of the '90s, Diamond began issuing solo albums again (simultaneously with his Fate output), as such titles as 1995's The Spider's Lullabye, 1996's The Graveyard, 1998's Voodoo, 2000's House of God, and 2002's Abigail II: The Revenge were issued.
2007 Give Me Your Soul...Please 2005 Abigail [CD & DVD] 2004 Deadly Lullabyes: Live 2003 The The Puppet Master 2002 "Them" [Japan Bonus Tracks] 2002 Conspiracy [Japan Bonus Tracks] 2002 In Concert 1987: Abigal [Japan CD] 2002 Abigail II: The Revenge 2000 House of God 1998 Voodoo 1996 The The Graveyard 1995 The The Spider's Lullabye 1991 In Concert 1987: Abigail 1990 Family Ghost 1990 The The Eye 1989 Conspiracy 1988 "Them" 1987 Abigail [Bonus Tracks] 1986 Fatal Portrait
Compilations & Boxed Sets 2004 Platinum Box 2004 Conspiracy/Them 2003 The The Best of King Diamond 2003 Abigail/Fatal Portrait 2001 Nightmares of the Nineties 2001 Black Rose: 20 Years Ago-A Night of Rehearsals 1992 Dangerous Meeting
EPs & Singles 1988 The The Dark Sides 1986 The The Lake 1985 No Presents for Christmas
When King Diamond emerged with the archetypal black metal outfit Mercyful Fate in the early '80s, his alarmingly satanic lyrics were downright scary. But as a solo artist, he has become a reliable source of harmless, B-movie horror fun with his well-done concept albums. The Graveyard isn't one of his best, due to less memorable material and a tight, dry production which, while it sounds cleaner than that of earlier albums like Fatal Portrait and Abigail, doesn't convey the dark theatricality of the material as well as those albums do. Diamond's backing band never disappoints, however; guitarists Andy LaRocque and Herb Simonsen contribute plenty of flawless neo-classical solos with imagination and spirit
