King Diamond
King Diamond is the pseudonym of the Danish musician Kim Bendix Petersen (Copenhagen, June 14, 1956). King Diamond also names his third musical project (after Black Rose and Mercyful Fate), in which he leads as vocalist and composer. Hit Parader magazine ranked him at number 85 on the list of the 100 Greatest Metal Vocalists in the World.
Career
King Diamond made his debut with Black Rose, a psychedelic rock and hard rock influenced band formed in 1979. In 1981 he would form the band Mercyful Fate, his first big project, mixing complex and dark heavy metal with explicitly satanic lyrics. He eventually created King Diamond as his solo project, active since 1985, before discontinuing Mercyful Fate in 1999.
Other projects in which he was previously involved were: Brats, a hard rock/punk band in which he participated as a vocalist in 1981, and in the heavy metal project Danger Zone, in that same year. He also collaborated in 2004 on Dave Grohl's Probot project, on the song "Sweet Dreams"; from the self-titled album.
Solo project
As a soloist his sound evolved towards a darker and more theatrical heavy metal, with progressive touches, retaining the rawness and characteristic changes of rhythm of Mercyful Fate. He also moved away from explicitly satanic lyrics and has dedicated himself to making concept horror albums, in which he usually develops stories of his own authorship, the story of the Abigail album being the most representative, while musically it has been his most important work. acclaimed by fans and the one that has received the best reviews from the specialized press.
King's characteristic voice (with abrupt changes in intonation and the recurrent use of falsetto), his outlandish makeup, his peculiar relationship with Satanism, his lyrics, his stories and the special effects of his records make him unique in the gender. The controversial vocal style that he employs, especially his falsetto timbre, has been the object of both admiration and rejection by the metalhead public, sometimes being described as "exaggerated"; or "too loud". Although it is true that falsetto is only a part of his multiple vocal technique, it has been this that has characterized him and has given him his originality as an artist; However, it is evident his wide and well-trained register, the emotional capacity with which he handles it in the studio and especially on stage.
The collaboration of Andy LaRocque as guitarist, co-writer of several songs and recently producer of the band has been fundamental in defining the sound of King Diamond. His complex solos and riffs have been the band's signature instrumental, thanks to which their sound has moved away from the mainstream heavy metal trends of the 1980s. Andy LaRocque is the only original member to continue from 1985 with King on the project.
Another aspect that characterizes King Diamond are his live performances, where he usually represents the horror stories from his albums. Currently the band has an actress named Jody Cachia, who is in charge of representing various characters from Diamond's stories in their shows.
Religious beliefs
King Diamond follows LaVeyan Satanism, which he does not see as a religion, but a philosophy that he lived by, even before reading Anton LaVey's The Satanic Bible. Journalist Michael Moynihan calls him "one of the few 1980s satanic metal artists who was more than just an imposter using an evil image for shock value".
Despite the scandal his lyrics caused in the 1980s, especially on Mercyful Fate's albums, Diamond has stated that he is tolerant of various religious ideas, while not affiliated with any in particular, despite showing concerned with the ability humans have to kill each other in the name of a god. He has said:
"We have different gods and no one has yet been able to prove to the rest of the world that they believe in the correct god and that it is the real god, if he really exists. What scares me is that we are capable of killing each other for believing in different gods. We can't prove the existence of it, but we still kill ourselves for it. I respect people who believe in God, in different gods, but I think it's crazy that one person kills another for something that's in your own mind. Nobody knows what they are like, nobody knows the meaning of life. I don't know what God is like, but what I do know is that I'm not going to spend the next 20 years thinking about it. It's crazy."
Makeup
King Diamond has been known since Mercyful Fate for his quirky corpsepaint, having transformed it several times throughout his career. On several occasions, he has said that he was inspired by the makeup that Alice Cooper wore on stage.
In the early eighties, King received a letter from the United States from Gene Simmons (Kiss), in which Diamond was accused of having copied his makeup (at that time King wore a style very similar to that of the American musician of Jewish origin). Although the lawsuit was never carried out, King decided to change his look and soon appeared with a very different and much more outlandish makeup.
Influence
King Diamond has gradually gained a legion of followers in the underground metal movement, and currently enjoys medium popularity in the metal mainstream, thanks in large part to the influence it has exerted on such popular bands as Metallica. However, his true influence initially occurred in the underground metal of the Scandinavian countries, later in the United States and the rest of Europe. Since the appearance of the Mercyful Fate album Melissa in 1983, he has been considered a cult artist and recognized as a precursor of black metal, although this point is disputed by fans. Some think that it does not make sense to classify it in such a way, because its sound, although difficult to classify, is closer to traditional heavy metal (and sometimes speed metal) than to black metal, as we know it today. Others argue that the influence comes from his satanic lyrics and dark imagery of him, and not so much from his sound, although black metal bands who don't buy into Anton LaVey's satanism reject him ideologically. There are those who believe it prudent to place it within what is known as the first wave of black metal, along with bands as heterogeneous (both in sound and in lyrics) such as Venom, Bathory, Celtic Frost or Sodom which, despite their dark imagery, they have marked ideological differences with the more extreme black metal that would emerge in the 90s.
In addition, King Diamond, as a fan of cult music and with subliminal messages, has always commented that his favorite band is Uriah Heep, in fact the song The Wizard is the intro in Abigail's worldwide concert. In honor of vocalist David Byron, her only child is named Byron.
Personal life
Kim Bendix married Livia Zita, a Hungarian-born singer 28 years his junior. The couple usually resides in Dallas, Texas, United States.
Zita has made appearances as a backing vocalist on the albums The Puppet Master and Give Me Your Soul...Please, as well as during live performances.
She is also his music business partner, currently working with him to compile old King Diamond and Mercyful Fate material for two DVD releases; this project would be made up of various live performances. Similarly, she also collaborated with her husband to remaster editions of King Diamond's albums The Spider's Lullabye, The Graveyard , Voodoo and House of God.
Zita and Kim are first-time parents, their son is named Byron.
Credits and staff
- King Diamond (voice and keyboards)
- Andy LaRoque (guitar)
- Mike Wead (guitar)
- Pontus Egberg (low)
- Matt Thompson (battery)
Discography
- 1986: Fatal Portrait
- 1987: Abigail
- 1988: Them
- 1989: Conspiracy
- 1990: The Eye
- 1995: The Spider's Lullabye
- 1996: The Graveyard
- 1998: Voodoo
- 2000: House of God
- 2002: Abigail II: The Revenge
- 2003: The Puppet Master
- 2007: Give Me Your Soul...Please
DvDs
- 2019: songs for the dead live