King Diamond And Black Rose 20 Years Ago A Night Of Rehearsal
Metalblade 2001
By Russell Garwood
20 Years Ago A Night Of Rehearsal was recorded on a 2 track reel-to-reel tape recorder three years before the release of Mercyful Fates debut Mini-LP. One of King Diamonds earliest bands, Black Rose, stood as Jorn Bittcher on guitar, Ib Enemark responsible for organ and moog, bassist Jesper Weber, and drummer Kurt Jurgens, who was also responsible for occasional backing vox. King Diamond was, of course, responsible for the vocals, which are less developed and contain much less falsetto than his later work. The music is classic shock progressive rock, reminiscent of Deep Purple, Alice Cooper and Kansas, and while it hasnt aged well, it was accomplished and reasonably complex.
The demo tape has been left untouched you can hear not only failed beginnings, but the bands chat in Danish between the songs. Standouts are numerous. Opener Locked Up In The Snow, while cheesy, is very catchy and Crazy Tonight has some good guitar work. Road Life is an entertaining, memorable effort with a plodding rhythm, while penultimate track I Need Blood has some of the best vox on the album. There is also a Golden Earring cover in the form of Radar Love (the long LP version) it is good to hear them cover some of their influences.
The booklet includes special written commentary by King Diamond, in which he goes through each song, explains what it was about and often mentions their exotic live show. He also explains some of what is said between the songs, which finishes the package off nicely. While 20 Years Ago A Night Of Rehearsal may not be for everyone, all fans of King Diamond should own it, and any fans of Deep Purple, Alice Cooper or bands of that generation would find this a welcome addition to their collection.
Metalblade 2001
By Russell Garwood
20 Years Ago A Night Of Rehearsal was recorded on a 2 track reel-to-reel tape recorder three years before the release of Mercyful Fates debut Mini-LP. One of King Diamonds earliest bands, Black Rose, stood as Jorn Bittcher on guitar, Ib Enemark responsible for organ and moog, bassist Jesper Weber, and drummer Kurt Jurgens, who was also responsible for occasional backing vox. King Diamond was, of course, responsible for the vocals, which are less developed and contain much less falsetto than his later work. The music is classic shock progressive rock, reminiscent of Deep Purple, Alice Cooper and Kansas, and while it hasnt aged well, it was accomplished and reasonably complex.
The demo tape has been left untouched you can hear not only failed beginnings, but the bands chat in Danish between the songs. Standouts are numerous. Opener Locked Up In The Snow, while cheesy, is very catchy and Crazy Tonight has some good guitar work. Road Life is an entertaining, memorable effort with a plodding rhythm, while penultimate track I Need Blood has some of the best vox on the album. There is also a Golden Earring cover in the form of Radar Love (the long LP version) it is good to hear them cover some of their influences.
The booklet includes special written commentary by King Diamond, in which he goes through each song, explains what it was about and often mentions their exotic live show. He also explains some of what is said between the songs, which finishes the package off nicely. While 20 Years Ago A Night Of Rehearsal may not be for everyone, all fans of King Diamond should own it, and any fans of Deep Purple, Alice Cooper or bands of that generation would find this a welcome addition to their collection.
