Metal Riot

On May 18th, King Diamond will release LP re-issues of the classic albums Abigail, Fatal Portrait, and Them via Metal Blade Records. Available as 180g picture discs, these exclusive editions can be purchased now at: http://www.metalblade.com/kingdiamond 

“You can spiral yourself into darkness with these classic King Diamond albums, or you can exhibit them on your wall like I will. Either way, enjoy.” – King Diamond

See below for the albums’ track-listings, and stay tuned for more King Diamond re-issues coming soon!

Track listing BELOW.

Abigail has long been my absolute favorite King release, though many prefer Them. I’m happy the King’s finest, IMO, hour is getting the US full tour treatment! Read my recent interview with the legend himself HERE about his near death experience and how he hates saxophones, then check dates out below. Mayhem Fest might be gone, but they went out with the coolest band to ever grace their tour (besides another Mickey Dee alumni band, Motorhead). Yes, the black horseman ride again and that jerk Jonathan is gonna have kind of a hard time.

Official statement:

King Diamond will be back on tour soon for an extra special event for fans – one not to be missed! As part of the set, the band will be performing the classic 1987 album Abigail in its entirety! The tour will begin on October 29th and runs through December 5th with legendary bay area thrash metal band Exodus as the opening act! The full list of confirmed dates is below. The general on sale for tickets begins Friday, August 7th at 10am ET.

dates BELOW.

SLAYER, King Diamond, HELLYEAH, The Devil Wears Prada, Whitechapel, Thy Art Is Murder, Jungle Rot, Sister Sin, Sworn In, Shattered Sun, Feed Her To The Sharks, Code Orange and Kissing Candice have all been announced for Mayhem. While there is no band as mainstream as last years headliners Avenged Sevenfold on here this year, the main stage has a lot to offer.

Tickets are On Sale Beginning Friday April 17, 2015 at 10:00am Local Time

General Admission Festival and Lawn Tickets are only $19.99 including all fees for the first 72 Hours of Onsale (while supplies last). Not bad for 13 bands performing on the ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAIN STAGE and the VICTORY RECORDS STAGE. I’d pay that to see just Sister Sin’s wild and razor edged rock show alone.

The main stage will feature five-time-nominated, two-time Grammy winning thrashers Slayer as headliner, as well as additional performances from King Diamond, HELLYEAH, and The Devil Wears Prada. The VICTORY RECORDS STAGE will feature headliner Whitechapel as well as Thy Art Is Murder, Jungle Rot, Sister Sin, Sworn In, Shattered Sun, Feed Her To The Sharks, Code Orange and Kissing Candice. Nice to see Code Orange on this tour as they will give even the main stage acts a run for their money. And I can’t wait for Jungle Rot to hammer down some real death metal on the unsuspecting.

Kerry King, guitarist of ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAIN STAGE headliners Slayer states, “I don’t know if third time will be a charm, but it will definitely be hellish! Slayer and King Diamond on stage for the first time together in the States- NEVER has Mayhem been more evil. DON’T FUCKIN’ MISS IT.”

For more see BELOW.

“I might have to bring Grandma back some day. I use her a lot on stage. Not just during “Welcome Home”. She stays around and we do something horrible to her (laughing). You’ll experience that. It’s almost like going back to the Inquisition. For a few minutes I feel like that. It’s all in good spirits, y’know, but it feels like the whole crowd WANTS something bad to happen.” – King Diamond

When you hear the phrase “Hail to the King” some people think of Elvis. Others think of Bruce Campbell’s character Ash from the Evil Dead films. Mall kids think of Avenged Sevenfold. But for old school metal heads there is only one king…King fucking Diamond.

Pop culture has occasional moments of shadowed fringe brilliance like the horror/fantasy comic The Lords Of Misrule (which also has an evil old Granny w tea cups full of blood, perhaps not incidentally). True Blood was mainstream but sometimes had some inspired Nocturnal Poisoning’s Doomgrass album finds Xasthur experimenting with a compelling mix of poverty ghost blues and watery darkness. 1349 are named after the year the black plague came to Norway, so that is pretty darn metal. But only King Diamond has truly married high concept horror of both the low brow and literary minded historical varieties to classic metal sounds for decades with such consistent vision, death defying vocal heights and an all encompassing approach that goes beyond shock rock tactics.

Now King Diamond is back from near death with a North American tour (including Fun Fun Fun Fest) and a new lease on life. It was an honor to speak with, in my opinion, the greatest living metal singer about his recent years, career highlights and how it feels to do nasty things to his characters.

Abandon all hope and enter HERE to read more.