The Ultimate King Diamond - American History Information Guide and Reference

King Diamond (born Kim Bendix Petersen, June 14, 1956, Denmark is a musician. His first band was Black Rose. In 1980, he formed Mercyful Fate, a group that to a large extent pioneered the genre of black metal because of the group's stage presence and lyrics, although its musical style is somewhere around heavy metal, power metal, and progressive. In 1984, Mercyful Fate split up due to artistic differences and King Diamond began a solo career.

King Diamond's solo career was first launched with the album "Fatal Portrait", which featured the guitar talents of Andy LaRocque, who would become King Diamond's longest running collaborator. In 1987, the King Diamond band released "Abigail," which is often considered his best known solo work. The album tells the tale of an 18th century house that is inherited by a young couple who soon discover its dark secrets. "Abigail" was followed by "Them" and its sequel "Conspiracy," which also told of a demon possessed house, this time maintained by a demented old woman who drinks tea made from human blood.

Following the departure of drummer Mikkey Dee (who would later join Motörhead), King Diamond released "The Eye" followed by "The Spider's Lullaby" and "The Graveyard" and "Voodoo". Though these albums were well received they were somewhat in the shadow of King's reunion with Mercyful Fate.

In 2000, King Diamond's solo band recorded "House of God," a concept album concerning religious symbolism and emotional manipulation . In 2002, by popular request, "Abigal II: The Revenge" was released, and though it was loved by critics and fans alike, alleged loss of profits due to file sharing kept the band from touring.

The issue of touring funds was solved for the 2003 release of "The Puppet Master." Since the album was recorded largely at King's home in Texas, more money was left over for a tour. The tour was documented of the 2004 live album "Deadly Lullabies Live."

"The Puppet Master," which told of human beings being converted into string operated dolls, received critical acclaim and scored an admirable 9 out of 10 in Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles magazine. In addition to guitar work by Andy LaRocque, the album features long time collaborator Hal Patino on bass and Mercyful Fate guitarist Mike Wead on additional guitar. Also featured are drummer Matt Thompson and female singer Livia Zilla .

Contents

1 Current Band Members

2 Former Band Members

3 Discography

4 External links