King Diamond

[The_Q]

I know there is already a thread here in regards to King Diamonds performance with Metallica at Ozzfest. My question is that I have only one of his albums "The Puppetmaster" abd for some reason never really got a spin. I just rediscovered it and am mindblown how awesome it is. I used to have "Them" and "Conspiracy" on tape years ago. Is all King Diamond stuff this good? How would you rate them? What about Mercyful Fate?

Thanks,

Sean

 

[The Invisible Guest]

Ask, and you shall receive. Here's a thread about this same topic from a good while back.

http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/progpower-usa/295072-king-diamond.html

 

[DoomsdayZach]

WOO!!!! Ok, here we go.

First of all, no, not all king is that good. I am biased and think there's only like 1 or 2 of his albums that i'm not full on digging, but he definitely went through some rough periods. I'll break it down. And note that a 10/10 only means it's the best of King's stuff, and this is only one man's opinion. I'm rating them against each other, not as albums in general.

Fatal Portrait - Awesome album. Probably the most like Fate, which makes sense. 7-8/10
Abigail - Pretty much a flawless album, and a classic. 10/10
"Them" - Again, classic. Nothing wrong with the album, and anytime you get someone singing GRANDMA in falsetto in a metal song wins. 10/10
Conspiracy - Fantastic. Step down, but still a great disc. 9/10
The Eye - I've always had a hard time getting into this one, but there are some fucking killer tracks on the disc. I need to give it more time myself actually... 6/10
The Spider's Lullabye - Ugh, not a fan. It isn't horrible, it's just never inspired me. 4-5/10
The Graveyard - My first KD album, so it holds a special place. Very emotional story and some great songs. 7.5/10
Voodoo - Good album, but he's done better. I'm not big on the story which is a big turn off. 7/10
House of God - One of my favorites, and I'm alone in this opinion. The story is brilliant, the music is fantastic. 9/10
Abigail II: The Revenge - Boring crap. There's no need for this album. 5/10
The Puppet Master - Amazing. I absolutely love it, and again the emotion is just too much. Love it. 9.5/10
Give Me Your Soul... Please - Again, pretty boring but there ARE some amazing tracks here and there. 6/10

As for Fate, that's one of the best bands ever. They really need to reform.

Mercyful Fate EP (Nuns Have No Fun)/The Beginning - Great early, raw recordings. Doomed by the living dead is one of the best songs ever. 10/10
Melissa - Best full length ever. Hands down. I love this album more than I love my family. 10/10
Don't Break the Oath - Another amazing album, just a shade less amazing than Melissa. 9.999/10
In the Shadows - 90's Fate is more hit or miss, but they never did anything bad. This album is solid with only a few tracks that are iffy. 7.5/10
Time - Fantastic album. Really fucking great, and the song Time is incredible, but really the first side of the album is golden. Second side is also very, very good. 8/10
Into the Unknown - Really good, really underrated. 7/10
Dead Again - Another great album with a few clunkers. But the great songs (including the epic Dead Again) are just amazing. 8/10
9 - Much more "modern" sound, but you can still hear Fate in there. Really good disc overall. Few stand out songs, but almost no bullshit tracks. 8/10

 

[Creeps]

Mercyful Fate - In The Shadows

-nuff said

 

[J-Dubya 777]

Just WHAT are you doing in Scott Ian's basement, Q-bert?

 

[The_Q]

Just WHAT are you doing in Scott Ian's basement, Q-bert?

Smacking him in the head with a hammer that he got rid of John Bush and reformed the classic Anthrax lineup when Anthrax had released their best album since "Sound Of White Noise" which was "We've Come For You All"!

 

[Azrael LenGraden]

Had to pipe in here...DoomsdayZach did a great job summing up Kings albums so I will just add my comments after his...

WOO!!!! Ok, here we go.

Fatal Portrait - Awesome album. Probably the most like Fate, which makes sense. 7-8/10 AGREED

Abigail - Pretty much a flawless album, and a classic. 10/10 AGREED, ONE OF MY TOP TEN ALL TIME ALBUMS

"Them" - Again, classic. Nothing wrong with the album, and anytime you get someone singing GRANDMA in falsetto in a metal song wins. 10/10 PRODUCTION LACKS ON THIS ONE, NO WHERE NEAR THE PUNCH THAT ABAGAIL HAD, DRUMS ARE WAY TO THIN

Conspiracy - Fantastic. Step down, but still a great disc. 9/10 PRODUCTION BACK UP, MY SECOND FAV KD RECORD.

The Eye - I've always had a hard time getting into this one, but there are some fucking killer tracks on the disc. I need to give it more time myself actually... 6/10 AGREED, OPENING TRACK IS THE BEST

The Spider's Lullabye - Ugh, not a fan. It isn't horrible, it's just never inspired me. 4-5/10

The Graveyard - My first KD album, so it holds a special place. Very emotional story and some great songs. 7.5/10

Voodoo - Good album, but he's done better. I'm not big on the story which is a big turn off. 7/10 PRODUCTION IS TOP NOTCH O NTHIS ONE< PROBABLY HIS BEST SOUNDING RECORD

House of God - One of my favorites, and I'm alone in this opinion. The story is brilliant, the music is fantastic. 9/10 THIS STOR STILL GIVES ME CHILLS EVERYTIME I READ IT... OF ALL HIS STORYS, THIS WOULD MAKE THE MOST COMPELLING STORY I BELIEVE>

Abigail II: The Revenge - Boring crap. There's no need for this album. 5/10

The Puppet Master - Amazing. I absolutely love it, and again the emotion is just too much. Love it. 9.5/10

Give Me Your Soul... Please - Again, pretty boring but there ARE some amazing tracks here and there. 6/10 I THOUGHT THE SONGS ON THIS ONE WERE MUCH BETTER THAN HIS PAST COUPLE EFFORTS BUT THE PRODUCTION WAS KIND OF DRY
As for Fate, that's one of the best bands ever. They really need to reform.

 

[Sir Exar Kun]

House of God - One of my favorites, and I'm alone in this opinion. The story is brilliant, the music is fantastic. 9/10

You're not alone on this. I think this is his best album since "Conspiracy". Admittedly, I have not heard all of his stuff, so I can't compare as deeply as others here, but "Conspiracy" is a masterpiece of an album, and if there are discs that others rate higher than that..... Well, I have to do some shopping!!!

 

[Jasonic]

Andy LaRouque = one of the most underrated guitarists in metal!

 

[TBJ]

To me the best ones are Abigail and Them, I also really liked Abigail II for some reason. I have heard most of the other ones but these 3 stand out for me.

 

[edgeofthorns]

Fatal Portrait - Awesome album. Probably the most like Fate, which makes sense. 7-8/10 Agreed

Abigail - Pretty much a flawless album, and a classic. 10/10 I really dig this album, but not my favorite.

"Them" - Again, classic. Nothing wrong with the album, and anytime you get someone singing GRANDMA in falsetto in a metal song wins. 10/10 This one is my second favorite KD effort behind Conspiracy.

Conspiracy - Fantastic. Step down, but still a great disc. 9/10 Stellar album, his best in my opinion.

The Eye - I've always had a hard time getting into this one, but there are some fucking killer tracks on the disc. I need to give it more time myself actually... 6/10 I've not heard this one.

The Spider's Lullabye - Ugh, not a fan. It isn't horrible, it's just never inspired me. 4-5/10 I've not heard this one either.

The Graveyard - My first KD album, so it holds a special place. Very emotional story and some great songs. 7.5/10 This is a very heavy album...in some places it sounds like Pantera.

Voodoo - Good album, but he's done better. I'm not big on the story which is a big turn off. 7/10 I've not heard this one.

House of God - One of my favorites, and I'm alone in this opinion. The story is brilliant, the music is fantastic. 9/10 The story line doesn't appeal to me whatsoever, so I'm not wasting my time.

Abigail II: The Revenge - Boring crap. There's no need for this album. 5/10 I really like this album, so I think a lot of fans are a little too hard on it.

The Puppet Master - Amazing. I absolutely love it, and again the emotion is just too much. Love it. 9.5/10 This is a good album, but a little overrated in my opinion. A very cool story line indeed.

Give Me Your Soul... Please - Again, pretty boring but there ARE some amazing tracks here and there. 6/10 I agree that this album is just plain boring.

I've added my thoughts in red to Zach's post.

~Brian~

 

[Palabra de Dios]

I think others (like Zach) provide a great breakdown of all albums. I don't consider myself a King or Fate expert (as I've not heard everything by both), but I have heard the classic stuff, and I do know more King stuff than Fate.

I love Melissa, and respect Don't Break the Oath.

I love "Them," Abigail, House of God, and The Puppet Master. I like The Graveyard, Conspiracy, Fatal Portrait, Give Me Your Soul...Please (which I really enjoyed, despite some criticism thus far on this thread), and Voodoo. I don't really listen to The Eye, The Spider's Lullabye, or Abigail II that much although they are respectable albums and by no means shitty.

 

[The Invisible Guest]

I think others (like Zach) provide a great breakdown of all albums. I don't consider myself a King or Fate expert (as I've not heard everything by both), but I have heard the classic stuff, and I do know more King stuff than Fate.

I love Melissa, and respect Don't Break the Oath.

I love "Them," Abigail, House of God, and The Puppet Master. I like The Graveyard, Conspiracy, Fatal Portrait, Give Me Your Soul...Please (which I really enjoyed, despite some criticism thus far on this thread), and Voodoo. I don't really listen to The Eye, The Spider's Lullabye, or Abigail II that much although they are respectable albums and by no means shitty.

I like Give Me Your Soul ... Please as well. I think it's a solid disc. The story isn't as good as some of the other ones, but it's a quality release, and should appeal to a fair amount of people.

As for the Mercyful Fate stuff the three I like best are In The Shadows, Time, and Melissa.

Britt

 

[DoomsdayZach]

I also want to say in regards to Abigail II and GMYS...P, they're really not horrific albums, but definitely the weakest in King's catalogue (IMO, of course). Also, it's funny how Neverending Hill from GMYSP is the same fuckin' riff as The Storm from Abigail II.