KING DIAMOND Guitarist ANDY LA ROCQUE Celebrates 57th Birthday Onstage In San Francisco (Video)

[MetalAges]

KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque celebrated his 57th birthday onstage with his bandmates Friday night (November 29) at The Warfield in San Francisco, California. KING DIAMOND's namesake frontman led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" to the Swedish axeman, who is the only other member of the group to have remained a constant since its inception in 1985. Check out video footage below. In addition to playing guitar for KING DIAMOND, La Rocque — whose real name is Anders Allhage — has made a long career in recording and producing other artists at his Sonic Train Studios in the city of Varberg, which is located 40 minutes south of Gothenburg, on the west coast of Sweden. Earlier this month, KING DIAMOND released a new song called "Masquerade Of Madness". Mixed by La Rocque and King Diamond at Sonic Train Studios, the track will appear on KING DIAMOND's first studio album in 12 years, "The Institute", which will be released in 2020 via Metal Blade Records. KING DIAMOND received a Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the track "Never Ending Hill" off the band's last album, 2007's "Give Me Your Soul … Please". "Give Me Your Soul ... Please" sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 174 on The Billboard 200 chart. KING DIAMOND released a DVD/Blu-ray, "Songs For The Dead Live", in January via Metal Blade Records. The set captures 1987's seminal "Abigail" album in its entirety, twice, and in very different locales: Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia's Fillmore in November 2015. The performances feature KING DIAMOND's current band, comprising of guitarists La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and drummer Matt Thompson.

Thank you and goodnight, San Francisco. You made it out from “The Institute” and joined us to wish our one and only Andy LaRocque a happy birthday. Stay Heavy... pic.twitter.com/GaztYCu6cp

— King Diamond (@KingDiamond) November 30, 2019​

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