Metal Reviews

You're welcome to comment on:


Click here to see the review.

i'm still a King Diamond noob

i've got all the Mercyful Fate but only 2 King Diamond albums.

sad I know..

I didn't realize that this album was never reviewed. Big improvement over Fatal Portrait as far as the production and overall song writing. At least King started to sing more with his regular voice as opposed to just all falsetto like he did on the first album. Great story too and what would really be the blueprint for every album there after; conceptual from start to finish.

Never cared for King Diamond. His vocals, to me, always sounded like Oscar The Grouch's Wife On Steroids. And the music (though not to the degree of his work with Mercyful Fate) just sounds too NWOBHM-ish for my liking.

worst. description. of. king. diamond. ever.

After a couple of years of just blind hating of King diamond, and after listening to The family Ghost and the 7th day of july 1777, the band is nothing more than solid heavy metal. I need to check out more by them

I feel like you just don't know Grungette well enough.

No worse than saying, "Dave Mustaine sounds too much like Daffy Duck."

he doesn't sound like Daffy Duck. People who say that are stupid.

it's also stupid saying King Diamond sounds like Oscar the grouchs wife on steroids. It's not funny nor is it true.

It is not "too NWOBHM-ish", it is very melodic traditional heavy metal (there are a few instances where the terms overlap but their is a definite distinction), and King's voice sounds nothing of the sort.



You need to educate yourself a little more before commenting.
It's not as if you just started frequenting this site, so wtf?

Anyway, now that the obligatory "never cared for King's vox blahblahblah" is dispensed with...


About fucking time this got it's place in the CLASSICS, this is far more deserving than most hitherto.
99/100

I think he meant Donald Duck.

Now, that makes sense!

Donald quacks, while Daffy has more of a lisp.

Anyway, does anybody have a clue why I love Mercyful Fate yet can't stand King Diamond's solo works? I have no idea myself...

They are actually quite different, if you think about it and I like MF a bit more myself, but, KD is still aces.
I bounce between this and Fatal Portrait as my two favorite KD albums, but they are all good.

Ah finally!! Thanks Crash, for giving this album a review worthy of its awesomeness and historical standing - although I really wanted to review it myself you bastard nah you did a better job than i would have anyway.

This is easily on of my top 10, if not top 5 albums of all time, but then I am a sucker for concept albums...but they still gotta be good! And they don't get much better than this. It is different to Mercyful Fate, obviously; just having the King's vocals present doesn't make the two bands the same, Mercyful Fate being much less polished-sounding (still totally amazing, don't get me wrong) and more of a twin-guitar-Maiden-type-thing going on. Personally I think I prefer this album over anything Mercyful Fate did, but then Melissa and Don't Break the Oath are both better than any other KD album (IMO). Anyway sweet review, and probably the one I've been awaiting the most eagerly on this site! I guess I don't have to come back anymore huh

Never would have guessed can't argue though

I'd just like to clarify a bit on NWOBHM vs. Traditional Heavy Metal
Think of traditional (henceforth known as THM) as the foundation from which all other sub-genres are built.
NWOBHM was a very temporally and locally specific movement, with it's own sound, style and overall attitude, which was built off of THM. NWOBHM is pretty anthemic, upbeat and working-class.
THM is more varied and complex (not necessarilly structurally, but in texture and mood).
KD and MF are THM, 80's THM, to be precise. When I hear KD I hear more Crimson Glory than Saxon or Tank.
Other THM bands would be Running Wild, Savatage, Armored Saint, Manowar, Riot and so on; you get the picture, no need for a laundry list.
NWOBHM would be Maiden, Blitzkrieg, Tank, Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head, etc... some similarities (not surprising since NWOBHM is an offshoot of THM), and I can see saying a band like Anvil has that NWOBHM sound, but KD?
No.

A man of exquisite taste, I see.

This is one of my alltime favourite albums, agreed on the love or hate vocals but i for one love them, this album just wouldnt be the same without King's trademark shrieks, and what can one say about the music? the riffs and leads are godly, the druming is outstanding, the lyrics are great and the production fits nicely with the music, it is simply one of the best Heavy Metal albums ever written.