Year : 2019
Style : Heavy Metal
Country : Denmark
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 353 mb
Bio:
Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956, Copenhagen, Denmark),better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Grammy Award nominated Danish heavy metal musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his extensive vocal range, in particular his usage of falsetto. He is the lead vocalist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond.King Diamond's first heavy rock band was called Brainstorm (1974–76), with Jeanette Blum (Jean Blue) vocal and bass, Michael Frohn (Mike West) guitar and Jes Jacobsen (Jesse James) drums. King Diamond left Brainstorm and began singing with local Danish hard rock band Black Rose. It was during this time in Black Rose that King Diamond began experimenting with horror themed theatrics as well as shaping a malevolent quasi-Satanic stage persona. he left Black Rose and joined the punk-metal band Brats where he met Hank Shermann. Soon after, the two of them were asked to help Michael Denner (also formerly a member of Brats) with his own project Danger Zone. This band included Timi Hansen and the mentioned musicians would join with King Diamond in 1980 to become Mercyful Fate.Following Mercyful Fate's 1984 release of Don't Break the Oath and the subsequent tour (which saw them play in the U.S. for the first time), King Diamond split ways with Mercyful Fate. With him, he took two of his bandmates (Hansen and Denner) to pursue a solo career under his own name.Mercyful Fate reunited in 1992 (while King Diamond simultaneously continued his solo career) and recorded five more studio albums. In 2000, King decided to put Mercyful Fate on hold and continue on with his solo career. Though Mercyful Fate continues to remain dormant, the band is still under contract with Metal Blade Records. Also in 1999, King Diamond and Hank Shermann performed the song Evil with Metallica live. This performance also has King Diamond without his famous makeup. In recent interviews, King Diamond has stated that Mercyful Fate will record and tour again when the timing is right, saying "It's definitely not finished.In 2001, King Diamond worked out a deal with the band Usurper to sing backup vocals on the song "Necronemesis" in exchange for them shifting their recording schedule around to accommodate the recording of Abigail II: The Revenge. In 2004, King Diamond contributed vocals to "Sweet Dreams", which was the final track on the album of Dave Grohl's heavy metal side project Probot. In late 2005, King Diamond appeared on the Roadrunner United - The All-Star Sessions album, contributing vocals for his song "In the Fire", which featured multiple Roadrunner Records musicians (past and present) working together to create individual songs. King Diamond also guested on the Cradle of Filth song "Devil Woman" in late 2005.
Album:
2 DVD + 2 CD DIGIPAK - DVD format includes two live concerts Pro-Shot in HD, where KING DIAMOND performed 'Abigail in Concert' * June 17th, 2016 from GRASPOP METAL MEETING in Belgium, where KING DIAMOND headlined Main Stage #2 with support from AMON AMARTH * November 25th, 2015 from THE FILLMORE in Philadelphia, PA * CD includes the audio recording from THE FILLMORE concert.I’ve been a fan of King Diamond (and Mercyful Fate) for as long as I’ve been a fan of heavy metal, which is close to 20 years. As a kid and living in Brazil, I couldn’t attend King Diamond’s or Mercyful Fate’s concerts in the 1990’s in my home country for being too young, so it was only in 2017 that I was able to see the great Dane and their faithful band in my hometown, but damn, it was worth the wait.Playing exactly the same setlist as the band’s upcoming DVD – and subject of this review -, the King, Andy LaRocque and Mike Wead (guitars), Matt Thompson (drums) and Pontus Egberg (bass) provided ace instrumental, perfect execution and masterful atmosphere, bringing tears to young and old alike.That same atmosphere and sense of nostalgia can be traced back to the band’s two shows featured in this DVD. The first one, a huge and epic performance at the 2016 Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium, showcases the King’s monstrous crowd-control power, as every metalhead in that sea of humans, leather jackets and sweat was left mesmerized by the theatrically inspired nuances and trademark falsettos. The second, an extremely similar display of what I experienced in Brazil: an intimate, tailor-made spectacle where band and audience were equal parts of a thrilling experience, this time around in a smaller venue – The Fillmore in Philadelphia, PA, US – in 2015.The art direction and the photography are top notch and will definitely put you very close to the action, from LaRocque’s prolific and meticulous riffing to the camera itself waltzing in the stage, making you see and hear the Grandma in “Welcome Home” or King himself stabbing a wonderfully hilarious Abigail doll in the initial part of “Funeral”. All cameras add to a really cool sense of immersion.As for the music itself, there is little to be said about King Diamond’s 1987 masterpiece ‘Abigail’ – which is played in its entirety here – and about classics such as “Sleepless Nights”, “Eye of the Witch” and the beautiful holy trio of “Halloween”, “Melissa” and “Come to the Sabbath”. All of those are executed to perfection and with the extra flavor provided by the powerful and loud drumming of Matt Thompson, as well as King’s falsettos – accompanied by Livia Zita’s soothing backing vocals -, which are actually scary if you think that they’re coming from a 60+ year old man.From Grandma’s wheelchair to Abigail’s coffin, from the ghost surrounding the stage to the constant changes of lighting and scenario, the professionalism allied to the extremely high skills of the musicians makes for the macabre and spectacular aura throughout both concerts, particularly more so in the Philadelphia one. The shows are thrilling, aesthetically beautiful, and musically perfect. You’ll feel chills with the organ bits of the ‘Abigail’ set, get mesmerized by LaRocque’s acoustic intro in “The 7th Day of July 1777” and be fearful of the omens and the apocalyptic ending with “Black Horsemen” and “Insanity”, not to mention travel back in time listening to the solos and the strong bass lines.‘Songs for the Dead Live’ is the ultimate King Diamond concert experience turned into DVD. There isn’t a single note out of key, a single camera take that could be better from a different angle, or a single second when you would think that something could be better; it’s a product made to equally please visually, musically and from a nostalgia point of view. The only downside for me is that both concerts feature the exact same setlist, which could easily be prevented by changing a couple of tracks from one to the other – God knows (well, Satan knows) King Diamond has plenty of classics to spare.This is a must-have for every heavy metal fan, not just King Diamond ones, as it is an epitome of all we love: organic, passionate performances, visually appealing, haunting moments and – best of all – a perfect homage to the heydays when band and audience would unite as one for a seminal experience. All hail the King.
Line-Up:
King Diamond - Vocals, Keyboards (1985-present) - See also: Mercyful Fate, ex-Black Rose, ex-Brats, ex-Danger Zone, ex-Brainstorm, ex-Roadrunner United
Andy LaRocque - Guitars, Keyboards (1985-present) - See also: ex-Illwill, ex-X-World/5, ex-Death, ex-E.F. Band
Mike Wead - Guitars (1990-1995, 2000-present) - See also: Bibleblack, Hexenhaus, Kamlath, Nattas, Mercyful Fate, ex-Memento Mori, ex-Warchild, ex-Candlemass, ex-Maninnya Blade, ex-Abstrakt Algebra, ex-Warning, ex-Hemisfear, ex-Kryptillusion
Matt Thompson - Drums (2000-present) - See also: Aghora, Legacy of Disorder, Shaolin Death Squad, Synkronizity, ex-Surgeon, ex-Truncator, Deuxmonkey, ex-Bat Castle, ex-Michael Harris, ex-Autumn Silence, ex-Judgement
Livia Zita - Vocals (additional) (2003-present)
Tracklist:
CD1: Live At The Fillmore In Philadelphia' 2015
01. Out From The Asylum
02. Welcome Home
03. Sleepless Nights
04. Halloween
05. Eye Of The Witch
06. Melissa (Mercyful Fate Cover)
07. Come to the Sabbath (Mercyful Fate Cover)
08. Them
09. Funeral
10. Arrival
11. A Mansion In Darkness
12. The Family Ghost
13. The 7th Day Of July 1777
14. Omens
15. The Possession
16. Abigail
17. Black Horsemen
18. Insanity
CD2: Live At Graspop Metal Meeting' 2016
01. Out From The Asylum
02. Welcome Home
03. Sleepless Nights
04. Halloween
05. Eye Of The Witch
06. Melissa (Mercyful Fate Cover)
07. Come to the Sabbath (Mercyful Fate Cover)
08. Them
09. Funeral
10. Arrival
11. A Mansion In Darkness
12. The Family Ghost
13. The 7th Day Of July 1777
14. Omens
15. The Possession
16. Abigail
17. Black Horsemen
18. Insanity
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
