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King Diamond - Announce Return To The Stage
Danish heavy metallers King Diamond have announced on their official website that they will be returning to the stage soon, after joining forces with Nick Storch at ICM and Paul Ryan at The Agency Group to book new shows.
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| Source: | covenworldwide.org |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
King Diamond - Completes Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Livia Zita has issued the following update on the health status of her husband, the legendary Kim Bendix Petersen - who underwent open-heart triple-bypass surgery last November:
"Some of you have been asking for an update on King Diamond's health, so I thought I'll write what's been going on.
King has just finished his Cardiac Rehabilitation program this past Friday, and graduated with flying colors. Thanks to the wonderful people at the rehab center, his exercise regimen helpe him gain a lot of muscle, and start on the road of building up good endurance. We will start regular exercises now to get the endurance up to nice levels.
The examinations by his heart surgeon and cardiologist revealed that his health is steadily improving, and they all expect him to feel better than ever, 15 years younger than he really is. I am immensely proud of what he has achieved in these short 3 months, stopped smoking entirely, changed diet and doing regular exercise among other things.
I cannot say anything certain about when he will be back working on King Diamond related things, but he is looking forward to finishing the DVD's eventually, and he is most certainly not stopping music.
I hope this information was helpful, I can honestly say that his progress has been nothing short of amazing. He is the strongest person I know. He would also like to extend his huge gratitude to all of you, for your absolutely amazing support. It has really meant a lot to him.
Enjoy his cardiac rehabilitation 'graduation' picture below."
[center][/center]
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"Some of you have been asking for an update on King Diamond's health, so I thought I'll write what's been going on.
King has just finished his Cardiac Rehabilitation program this past Friday, and graduated with flying colors. Thanks to the wonderful people at the rehab center, his exercise regimen helpe him gain a lot of muscle, and start on the road of building up good endurance. We will start regular exercises now to get the endurance up to nice levels.
The examinations by his heart surgeon and cardiologist revealed that his health is steadily improving, and they all expect him to feel better than ever, 15 years younger than he really is. I am immensely proud of what he has achieved in these short 3 months, stopped smoking entirely, changed diet and doing regular exercise among other things.
I cannot say anything certain about when he will be back working on King Diamond related things, but he is looking forward to finishing the DVD's eventually, and he is most certainly not stopping music.
I hope this information was helpful, I can honestly say that his progress has been nothing short of amazing. He is the strongest person I know. He would also like to extend his huge gratitude to all of you, for your absolutely amazing support. It has really meant a lot to him.
Enjoy his cardiac rehabilitation 'graduation' picture below."
[center][/center]
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| Source: | ultimatemetal.com |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
King Diamond - Update On King Diamond's Health Status
King Diamond backing vocalist Livia Zita (who is also King Diamong's wife) has issued the following update on King's (real name: Kim Bendix Petersen) health status:
"Let me catch you all up on the past couple of weeks' happenings, because it affects many things.
On Monday the 29th of November, King had to be transported to the nearby hospital by ambulance. After several different tests were done and the EKG machine showing abnormalities, the doctors recommended that he get a cardiac catheterization.
Cardiac catheterization is a procedure where the doctors lead a very thin tube up from the leg and into the heart, where it injects dye into the bloodstream. Then a camera at the end of the tube takes many pictures of the heart's arteries, looking for blockages. After this was done, they determined that King had several heart attacks, and three of his heart's arteries were the cause: one was completely blocked, the second was 90% blocked, and the third was 65% blocked.
The only solution to this was an open heart triple bypass surgery.
If you are interested in the details of how this surgery is performed, please look it up online. I will only touch on the basics. The sternum (breastbone) is cut in half and pulled apart, to expose the heart. Veins are harvested from other places of the body, in King's case it was his left leg and chest wall. The person is then hooked up to a machine that practically does the job of the heart, circulating and oxygenating the blood. The heart is then stopped, and the lungs collapse (the lungs stop working since the blood is being oxygenated by the machine). The surgeon then sews the harvested veins in place, bypassing the found blockages. Once the surgery is done, the surgeon moves the ribs and breastbone back into place and wires it together. The chest is closed as well. They use an electric pulse to start the heart and a breathing machine is lead into the lungs to restart breathing.
King's surgery took approximately 7 hours.
Everything went well, and King was taken to ICU for recovery. He was walking and eating solid food already 2 days after the operation, and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care. 10 days after the ambulance took him to the emergency room, he is at home and is recovering well. It will be a few months before he feels completely normal and is without pain.
He would like to mention here that he's eternally grateful for the wonderful staff at Centennial Medical Center who took care of him. Dr. Kourlis, Dr. Kamili, Dr. Alang, Nurse Christie and Nurse Thomas among many others made sure that he got the best care and attention he could ever have hoped for. They were always very nice to me too, letting me stay overnight in the ICU after visiting hours were over.
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"Let me catch you all up on the past couple of weeks' happenings, because it affects many things.
On Monday the 29th of November, King had to be transported to the nearby hospital by ambulance. After several different tests were done and the EKG machine showing abnormalities, the doctors recommended that he get a cardiac catheterization.
Cardiac catheterization is a procedure where the doctors lead a very thin tube up from the leg and into the heart, where it injects dye into the bloodstream. Then a camera at the end of the tube takes many pictures of the heart's arteries, looking for blockages. After this was done, they determined that King had several heart attacks, and three of his heart's arteries were the cause: one was completely blocked, the second was 90% blocked, and the third was 65% blocked.
The only solution to this was an open heart triple bypass surgery.
If you are interested in the details of how this surgery is performed, please look it up online. I will only touch on the basics. The sternum (breastbone) is cut in half and pulled apart, to expose the heart. Veins are harvested from other places of the body, in King's case it was his left leg and chest wall. The person is then hooked up to a machine that practically does the job of the heart, circulating and oxygenating the blood. The heart is then stopped, and the lungs collapse (the lungs stop working since the blood is being oxygenated by the machine). The surgeon then sews the harvested veins in place, bypassing the found blockages. Once the surgery is done, the surgeon moves the ribs and breastbone back into place and wires it together. The chest is closed as well. They use an electric pulse to start the heart and a breathing machine is lead into the lungs to restart breathing.
King's surgery took approximately 7 hours.
Everything went well, and King was taken to ICU for recovery. He was walking and eating solid food already 2 days after the operation, and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care. 10 days after the ambulance took him to the emergency room, he is at home and is recovering well. It will be a few months before he feels completely normal and is without pain.
He would like to mention here that he's eternally grateful for the wonderful staff at Centennial Medical Center who took care of him. Dr. Kourlis, Dr. Kamili, Dr. Alang, Nurse Christie and Nurse Thomas among many others made sure that he got the best care and attention he could ever have hoped for. They were always very nice to me too, letting me stay overnight in the ICU after visiting hours were over.
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| Source: | facebook.com |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
King Diamond - Shoots Down New Mercyful Fate Album Rumors
In a blog on his MySpace, King Diamond is setting some facts straight, regarding to the interview he did for a Danish newspaper just before Christmas:
"The second rumour that's floating around, which is that Mercyful Fate has started writing new material, I really have no idea where it originated from. The present status of Mercyful Fate remains unchanged, meaning that we have not started writing new material. For that to happen, Mercyful Fate's recording contracts have to be renegotiated first. We certainly would love for this to happen so that we can finally make our long overdue "masterpiece". Both guitarist Hank Shermann and I are ready to go if that scenario presents itself, and who knows, that might happen this year.
So... for this year, you will see a double DVD of old private King Diamond video recordings and a double DVD of old private Mercyful Fate video recordings which I am working on as we speak. Guitarist Andy La Rocque has finished remastering "The Graveyard", "Spider's Lullabye", "Voodoo", and "House of God", all of which should also be available this year. And then there is "the big surprise" (not little King babies with horns on their foreheads or Mercyful Fate writing new songs, at least not as we speak) but something that could lead to renegotiations of the Mercyful Fate recording deals. We'll see. Be patient... On a personal note, I do feel reasonably confident that the Mercyful Fate masterpiece will see the light of day."
Mercyful Fate's last studio album, "9", was released in 1999.
"The second rumour that's floating around, which is that Mercyful Fate has started writing new material, I really have no idea where it originated from. The present status of Mercyful Fate remains unchanged, meaning that we have not started writing new material. For that to happen, Mercyful Fate's recording contracts have to be renegotiated first. We certainly would love for this to happen so that we can finally make our long overdue "masterpiece". Both guitarist Hank Shermann and I are ready to go if that scenario presents itself, and who knows, that might happen this year.
So... for this year, you will see a double DVD of old private King Diamond video recordings and a double DVD of old private Mercyful Fate video recordings which I am working on as we speak. Guitarist Andy La Rocque has finished remastering "The Graveyard", "Spider's Lullabye", "Voodoo", and "House of God", all of which should also be available this year. And then there is "the big surprise" (not little King babies with horns on their foreheads or Mercyful Fate writing new songs, at least not as we speak) but something that could lead to renegotiations of the Mercyful Fate recording deals. We'll see. Be patient... On a personal note, I do feel reasonably confident that the Mercyful Fate masterpiece will see the light of day."
Mercyful Fate's last studio album, "9", was released in 1999.
| Source: | blogs.myspace.com |
| Band profile: | Mercyful Fate |
Aghora - King Diamond Drummer Joins The Band
King Diamond drummer Matt Thompson will be joining Floridian prog act Aghora in the studio during the recording of Aghora's third full-length spinner titled simply "Aghora 3". Aghora spoke of Matt Thompson and their new album on their website a few weeks ago, and said the following:
"We are happy to anounce the new drummer for Aghora 3. Ladies & Gents, Please welcome Matt Thompson on board. Matt is a great drummer with a good history and beyond solid chops and skills. Some of you may know him from the King Diamond records. He has begun demoing stuff with us. Please visit his site and get familiar. [Link]
Aghora 3 is in the writing process. So far there are 10 solid ideas. We are going to do this album on our terms. But it will be on a good schedule so you will have new music sooner than you think. Thanks to everyone who auditioned and sent in video and mp3's. Best wishes to you all."
"We are happy to anounce the new drummer for Aghora 3. Ladies & Gents, Please welcome Matt Thompson on board. Matt is a great drummer with a good history and beyond solid chops and skills. Some of you may know him from the King Diamond records. He has begun demoing stuff with us. Please visit his site and get familiar. [Link]
Aghora 3 is in the writing process. So far there are 10 solid ideas. We are going to do this album on our terms. But it will be on a good schedule so you will have new music sooner than you think. Thanks to everyone who auditioned and sent in video and mp3's. Best wishes to you all."
| Source: | aghora.org |
| Band profile: | Aghora |
King Diamond - North American Tour With Kreator Cancelled
The following has been posted by Ole Bang on the official website of the band:
"Most regretfully we have to announce that King will not be able to tour North America as planned. King has over the past 6 month been suffering from a herniated disc in the spine, and has still not recovered to a satisfactory level. He was prescribed absolute rest for several months, and this appear to be more than half a year.
Following several visits to specialists and most recent MRI-scan; we have to realize that his condition need far more rest than expected in the first place. At the moment he can neither walk for more than an hour at a time, nor can he sit like you would do in a normal daily life; ie. there is no chance that he will fully recover in time for the tour start in March.
We deeply regret the inconvenience caused for everyone involved, for promoters, bands and fans; and most of all we're very very sorry that we can not go out and perform for the fans; who have been waiting for the tour to kick off.
Unfortunately life is unpredictable, and it's completely out of our hands when illness kick in, and no medicine, how harsh it might have been, can cure the situation. If anything could remedy the situation it would have been done, but for now we simply just have to wait, and let King get the much needed rest.
I will post news about any developments as soon as it's available. At this time we will also like to say Thanks, for all the kind words of a speedy recovery we have received."
Kreator also announced they will not tour alone. So the whole tour has been cancelled. An update by the band goes as follows:
"To end the rumours: Kreator will not be playing any of the King Diamond/Kreator tour alone! Here´s a statement from Mille!
"First of all: We are very disapointed that our tour in March/April is not going to happen! We were really looking foreward to see all our North American fans again and were preparing a killer show for you! But I must also say, that right now the most important thing is King Diamonds health. I want to see the King playing shows and producing albums for many years to come in good shape and so all I can say in the name of the whole band at this point is: Get well soon King and all the strenght and best wishes from Germany! All hail to the King!"
"Most regretfully we have to announce that King will not be able to tour North America as planned. King has over the past 6 month been suffering from a herniated disc in the spine, and has still not recovered to a satisfactory level. He was prescribed absolute rest for several months, and this appear to be more than half a year.
Following several visits to specialists and most recent MRI-scan; we have to realize that his condition need far more rest than expected in the first place. At the moment he can neither walk for more than an hour at a time, nor can he sit like you would do in a normal daily life; ie. there is no chance that he will fully recover in time for the tour start in March.
We deeply regret the inconvenience caused for everyone involved, for promoters, bands and fans; and most of all we're very very sorry that we can not go out and perform for the fans; who have been waiting for the tour to kick off.
Unfortunately life is unpredictable, and it's completely out of our hands when illness kick in, and no medicine, how harsh it might have been, can cure the situation. If anything could remedy the situation it would have been done, but for now we simply just have to wait, and let King get the much needed rest.
I will post news about any developments as soon as it's available. At this time we will also like to say Thanks, for all the kind words of a speedy recovery we have received."
Kreator also announced they will not tour alone. So the whole tour has been cancelled. An update by the band goes as follows:
"To end the rumours: Kreator will not be playing any of the King Diamond/Kreator tour alone! Here´s a statement from Mille!
"First of all: We are very disapointed that our tour in March/April is not going to happen! We were really looking foreward to see all our North American fans again and were preparing a killer show for you! But I must also say, that right now the most important thing is King Diamonds health. I want to see the King playing shows and producing albums for many years to come in good shape and so all I can say in the name of the whole band at this point is: Get well soon King and all the strenght and best wishes from Germany! All hail to the King!"
| Source: | covenworldwide.org |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
King Diamond - New Song Available For Download
A new song from King Diamond entitled 'Never Ending Hill' is available for free download online here. The track comes off the group's upcoming new album "Give Me Your Soul? Please", which will be released on June 26th through Metal Blade Records.
| Source: | smnnews.com |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
King Diamond - Scandinavian Dates Announced
King Diamond will tour Europe in October/November. Confirmed dates so far are as follows:
17.10.2007 - Voxhall - Aarhus, Denmark
19.10.2007 - KB - Malmö, Sweden
20.10.2007 - Amager Bio - Copenhagen, Denmark
29.10.2007 - Klubben - Stockholm, Sweden
31.10.2007 - Arenan - Gothenburg, Sweden
02.11.2007 - Metal Massacre III - Linköping, Sweden
03.11.2007 - Betong Screamfest - Oslo, Norway
"Be sure to check in reguarly [here] as we will announce more dates soon!"
King Diamond are rumoured to tour North America in the spring of 2008. More details, including other participating bands and exact cities/dates, will be announced soon.
17.10.2007 - Voxhall - Aarhus, Denmark
19.10.2007 - KB - Malmö, Sweden
20.10.2007 - Amager Bio - Copenhagen, Denmark
29.10.2007 - Klubben - Stockholm, Sweden
31.10.2007 - Arenan - Gothenburg, Sweden
02.11.2007 - Metal Massacre III - Linköping, Sweden
03.11.2007 - Betong Screamfest - Oslo, Norway
"Be sure to check in reguarly [here] as we will announce more dates soon!"
King Diamond are rumoured to tour North America in the spring of 2008. More details, including other participating bands and exact cities/dates, will be announced soon.
| Source: | covenworldwide.org |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
| Event: |
King Diamond - Album Artwork Revealed
The cover artwork for the upcoming King Diamond album, Give Me Your Soul?Please, has been posted online here. The album will be released on June 26th through Metal Blade Records.
| Source: | smnnews.com |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
King Diamond - New Album Info
The new King Diamond album will probably be released late June/beginning of July. Nothing is certain yet but it looks that way. The album will be titled "Gimme Your Soul? Please".
The CD contains 13 tracks and the song titles are as follows:
01. The Dead
02. Never Ending Hill
03. Is Anybody Here?
04. Black Of Night
05. Mirror, Mirror
06. The Cellar
07. Pictures In Red
08. Gimme Your Soul
09. The Floating Head
10. Cold As Ice
11. Shapes Of Black
12. The Girl In The Bloody Dress
13. Moving On
According to King Diamond: "I guarantee you this is the best album yet I am positive about it. Its more King Diamond there have ever been. It has the best King Diamond top class through the whole album. The story is very dark, perhaps one of the darkest I have ever done before."
More comments about the album by King Diamond can be found here.
The CD contains 13 tracks and the song titles are as follows:
01. The Dead
02. Never Ending Hill
03. Is Anybody Here?
04. Black Of Night
05. Mirror, Mirror
06. The Cellar
07. Pictures In Red
08. Gimme Your Soul
09. The Floating Head
10. Cold As Ice
11. Shapes Of Black
12. The Girl In The Bloody Dress
13. Moving On
According to King Diamond: "I guarantee you this is the best album yet I am positive about it. Its more King Diamond there have ever been. It has the best King Diamond top class through the whole album. The story is very dark, perhaps one of the darkest I have ever done before."
More comments about the album by King Diamond can be found here.
| Source: | covenworldwide.org |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
Therion - Ex-King Diamond Drummer Snowy Shaw Joins As New Vocalist
Snowy Shaw, ex-drummer of King Diamond, Mercyful Fate and Dream Evil, has joined Therion as new vocalist. According to his official website he will share vocal duties with Mats Leven, which means he'll most likely take over harsh vocals, which were given up by band leader Christofer Johnsson earlier this year. More details to follow.
| Source: | snowyshaw.com |
| Band profile: | Therion |
King Diamond - New Album Update
King Diamond have finished recording the drums, bass and rhythm guitars for their upcoming album, tentatively due in early 2007. The follow-up to 2003's "The Puppet Master" will contain 13 tracks (including an intro), five of which were written by the band's guitarist Andy La Rocque. Frontman King Diamond will soon begin writing the lyrics for the album, which is being recorded in Dallas, Texas and at Los Angered Recording (owned by La Rocque) in Gothenburg, Sweden.
| Source: | blabbermouth.net |
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
KIng Diamond Live: Preview available to download
A live recording of the KING DIAMOND track "Mansion In Darkness" has been posted online in MP3 format at this location:
http://www.metalblade.com/bands/king_diamond/kingd-mansionindarkness.mp3
"Mansion In Darkness" comes off the band's upcoming double live CD, "Deadly Lullabyes Live" (view cover http://www.covenworldwide.org/KingLive.gif), due on September 21 through Metal Blade Records. The album was recorded during the band's last U.S. tour and was mixed at guitarist Andy LaRocque's Los Angered studio outside Gothenburg, Sweden.
Regarding the upcoming live CD, vocalist King Diamond recently stated: "The new double live album simply KICKS ASSSSSSS!!!! Top-notch performance by everyone involved, including our amazing audiences. I don't think I have ever heard the old classic DIAMOND songs performed this well and this close to the originals. I speak for everyone when I say, that we have never had as much fun on stage as we had on this last tour, and it shows when you listen to the album. This is the ultimate KING DIAMOND line-up at work ON STAGE. For my own part, my voice is stronger than ever, and singing old songs like 'Welcome Home' gives me more pleasure today than ever before. It's all there for our fans to hear, a KING DIAMOND show from beginning to end, RAW * IN YOUR FACE * LOUD * MOODY * BRUTAL * HORROR * and AWESOME AUDIENCE SING-ALONGS * it's KING DIAMOND LIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!!"
"Deadly Lullabyes Live" track listing:
01. Funeral
02. A Mansion In Darkness
03. The Family Ghost
04. Black Horsemen
05. Spare This Life
06. Mansion In Sorrow
07. Spirits
08. Sorry Dear
09. Eye Of The Witch
10. Sleepless Nights
11. The Puppet Master
12. Blood To Walk
13. So Sad
14. Living Dead "Outro"
15. Welcome Home
16. The Invisible Guests
17. Burn
18. "Introductions"
19. Halloween
20. No Presents For Christmas
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http://www.metalblade.com/bands/king_diamond/kingd-mansionindarkness.mp3
"Mansion In Darkness" comes off the band's upcoming double live CD, "Deadly Lullabyes Live" (view cover http://www.covenworldwide.org/KingLive.gif), due on September 21 through Metal Blade Records. The album was recorded during the band's last U.S. tour and was mixed at guitarist Andy LaRocque's Los Angered studio outside Gothenburg, Sweden.
Regarding the upcoming live CD, vocalist King Diamond recently stated: "The new double live album simply KICKS ASSSSSSS!!!! Top-notch performance by everyone involved, including our amazing audiences. I don't think I have ever heard the old classic DIAMOND songs performed this well and this close to the originals. I speak for everyone when I say, that we have never had as much fun on stage as we had on this last tour, and it shows when you listen to the album. This is the ultimate KING DIAMOND line-up at work ON STAGE. For my own part, my voice is stronger than ever, and singing old songs like 'Welcome Home' gives me more pleasure today than ever before. It's all there for our fans to hear, a KING DIAMOND show from beginning to end, RAW * IN YOUR FACE * LOUD * MOODY * BRUTAL * HORROR * and AWESOME AUDIENCE SING-ALONGS * it's KING DIAMOND LIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!!"
"Deadly Lullabyes Live" track listing:
01. Funeral
02. A Mansion In Darkness
03. The Family Ghost
04. Black Horsemen
05. Spare This Life
06. Mansion In Sorrow
07. Spirits
08. Sorry Dear
09. Eye Of The Witch
10. Sleepless Nights
11. The Puppet Master
12. Blood To Walk
13. So Sad
14. Living Dead "Outro"
15. Welcome Home
16. The Invisible Guests
17. Burn
18. "Introductions"
19. Halloween
20. No Presents For Christmas
Read more ››
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
King Diamond - Mixing of live album in March
KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy LaRocque will begin mixing the group's upcoming live album at the end of March at his Los Angered studio outside Gothenburg, Sweden. According to a posting on the band's web site, "no details are known at the moment such as album title, if it's going to be 2 CD etc. Andy [said] however that most of the song the band played on the USA tour will be on the album."
In a recent interview with Denmark's Metal Reference, frontman King Diamond discussed the recording process for the live CD.
"We wanted to have [the album] released earlier than this, but it seemed quite inappropriate as there was no tour to support 'Abigail 2', and we obviously have to conduct more shows than that if we want to select some of the better parts for a live release," he said. "But we definitely thought at that time that we would be able to release a live album."
Asked if the recordings will also be released on DVD, King said, "Oh, no. It's going to be a double live album, this one, and it was recorded on our last US tour, and we almost recorded all the shows for this purpose. A live DVD will probably surface later, and both my record labels Metal Blade and Massacre are interested in joining forces to release it. [The DVD] will however feature live material from our European tour, and this is likely to happen right after summertime 2004."
In a recent interview with Denmark's Metal Reference, frontman King Diamond discussed the recording process for the live CD.
"We wanted to have [the album] released earlier than this, but it seemed quite inappropriate as there was no tour to support 'Abigail 2', and we obviously have to conduct more shows than that if we want to select some of the better parts for a live release," he said. "But we definitely thought at that time that we would be able to release a live album."
Asked if the recordings will also be released on DVD, King said, "Oh, no. It's going to be a double live album, this one, and it was recorded on our last US tour, and we almost recorded all the shows for this purpose. A live DVD will probably surface later, and both my record labels Metal Blade and Massacre are interested in joining forces to release it. [The DVD] will however feature live material from our European tour, and this is likely to happen right after summertime 2004."
| Band profile: | King Diamond |
King Diamond upcoming live album
KING DIAMOND recently spoke to Metal Reference about the his upcoming live album, tentatively due next fall through Metal Blade Records.
"The musicians [from my band] are currently located in [KING DIAMOND guitarist] Andy [LaRocque]'s studio [Los Angered in Gothenburg, Sweden] in order to listen to their takes [from the live recordings]," he explained. "The real task is to pick the best takes of them all from each and every concert... the guitars, the drums, and I don't need to participate in that. I think that [bassist] Hal [Patino] has joined them as well in order to scrutinize his bass work.
"We wanted to have [the album] released earlier than this, but it seemed quite inappropriate as there was no tour to support 'Abigail 2', and we obviously have to conduct more shows than that if we want to select some of the better parts for a live release. But we definitely thought at that time that we would be able to release a live album."
Asked if the recordings will also be released on DVD, King said, "Oh, no. It's going to be a double live album, this one, and it was recorded on our last US tour, and we almost recorded all the shows for this purpose. A live DVD will probably surface later, and both my record labels Metal Blade and Massacre are interested in joining forces to release it. This one will however feature live material from our European tour, and this is likely to happen right after summertime 2004".
Regarding the group's original plans to record material from both "Abigail" and "Abigail 2" towards the live album, the singer said, "Yes, that was indeed my intention. We wanted to record 75 - 80 percent of those two records, but these plans were as you suggested abandoned... due to the massive illegal downloading of 'Abigail 2'. Our record label said that we lost about 30 percent of the sales due to illegal downloading. That was a bit tough, and we thus had to renegotiate our contract with the record label. We were in fact ready to go on tour in the U.S. and had almost signed a contract with a local promoter when we learned from our record company that they wouldn't support the tour. This is the first time that we experienced such a thing. The only good thing that came out of this situation is the way that we were forced to record 'The Puppet Master'."
King also commented on his contribution to the upcoming PROBOT CD (in the form of the track "Sweet Dreams"), the project headed up by former NIRVANA drummer/current FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl.
Read more ››
"The musicians [from my band] are currently located in [KING DIAMOND guitarist] Andy [LaRocque]'s studio [Los Angered in Gothenburg, Sweden] in order to listen to their takes [from the live recordings]," he explained. "The real task is to pick the best takes of them all from each and every concert... the guitars, the drums, and I don't need to participate in that. I think that [bassist] Hal [Patino] has joined them as well in order to scrutinize his bass work.
"We wanted to have [the album] released earlier than this, but it seemed quite inappropriate as there was no tour to support 'Abigail 2', and we obviously have to conduct more shows than that if we want to select some of the better parts for a live release. But we definitely thought at that time that we would be able to release a live album."
Asked if the recordings will also be released on DVD, King said, "Oh, no. It's going to be a double live album, this one, and it was recorded on our last US tour, and we almost recorded all the shows for this purpose. A live DVD will probably surface later, and both my record labels Metal Blade and Massacre are interested in joining forces to release it. This one will however feature live material from our European tour, and this is likely to happen right after summertime 2004".
Regarding the group's original plans to record material from both "Abigail" and "Abigail 2" towards the live album, the singer said, "Yes, that was indeed my intention. We wanted to record 75 - 80 percent of those two records, but these plans were as you suggested abandoned... due to the massive illegal downloading of 'Abigail 2'. Our record label said that we lost about 30 percent of the sales due to illegal downloading. That was a bit tough, and we thus had to renegotiate our contract with the record label. We were in fact ready to go on tour in the U.S. and had almost signed a contract with a local promoter when we learned from our record company that they wouldn't support the tour. This is the first time that we experienced such a thing. The only good thing that came out of this situation is the way that we were forced to record 'The Puppet Master'."
King also commented on his contribution to the upcoming PROBOT CD (in the form of the track "Sweet Dreams"), the project headed up by former NIRVANA drummer/current FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl.
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| Band profile: | King Diamond |