


That artwork is about as iconic as it gets, too. Kicking off with the nine-minute At The Graves and following it with the glorious Sleepless Nights was a masterstroke: at times, King’s fourth studio album seemed somehow bigger, scarier and more immersive than its predecessors. Perhaps less conceptually focused than its three immediate predecessors, The Eye recounted hazy tales of atrocities committed in the name of the Christian god, with nuns doing particularly badly out of the whole enterprise, via organ-embellished metal monoliths like ageless opener Eye Of The Witch and the blistering Burn.Īlthough disappointingly grandma-free, Conspiracy provided a worthy sequel to Them and delivered some of King Diamond’s greatest ever songs in the process. With a slightly heavier but warmer sound, King Diamond entered the 90s with another tour-de-force of thunderous shlock.
#Mercyful fate full
At this point, 9 is a righteous full stop at the end of the Fate discography, but you never know what Satan has in mind for the future, eh? 8. With a crunchy and muscular production underpinning a welcome return to occult themes, the likes of Burn In Hell and Buried Alive were every bit as memorable as the band’s early classics. Released barely a year after Dead Again, 9 was widely hailed as a massive return to top form for the Danish icons. Lyrically, the likes of The Old Oak and Legend Of The Headless Rider may have slightly blurred the lines between the Danish band’s seminal devilry and the narrative grimoire of King Diamond’s solo work, but the Fate sound was very much intact and as distinctively gruesome as ever. The first Mercyful Fate album after their 1992 reunion, In The Shadows was a robust and commanding return. King Diamond’s strongest album of the ‘90s, Voodoo defied prevailing musical trends and further strengthened the evil old sod’s legacy.ġ1. Notable for featuring a blistering lead break from Pantera’s Dimebag Darrell on its absurdly catchy title track, Voodoo delivered exactly as advertised: a spooked-out saga of occult rituals, ceremonial crosses and plucky exorcists, with all the face-flaying melodic thrills and spills that fans had, by now, become rather accustomed to. If you’ve ever had nightmares about waking up inside a wooden puppet, you might want to avoid this one, but you would have to miss out on immaculate KD classics like the title track and Magic.
#Mercyful fate cracker
King Diamond – The Puppet Master (2003)Ī mid-career cracker than seemed to signal a return to the grand, epoch-defining form of his first decade, The Puppet Master is a deeply fucked up record. Set in a mysterious church that, not entirely surprisingly, turns out to be full of truly terrifying shit that would make most people go instantly mad, House Of God is the dark horse of the King Diamond catalogue: a slow-burning enigma with a handful of great songs ( Black Devil, The Trees Have Eyes and Help!!!) and lashings of textbook Diamond goodness.ġ3. Metallica: the story behind every Garage Inc.King Diamond: the confessions of Satan’s little helper (opens in new tab).The first half takes in state-sanctioned execution ( Killer), ghost hunters ( The Poltergeist) and a group of evil kids ( Moonlight). King Diamond – The Spider’s Lullabye (1995)Ī mixture of short stories and one longer concept piece, The Spider’s Lullabye suffers for being the least cohesive of King Diamond’s solo records. Best record players: turntables your vinyl collection deservesĢ0.The best Metallica merch 2020 (opens in new tab): amazing gifts for the Metallica fan in your life.
#Mercyful fate how to
