Ask Google about King Diamond and you’ll get the Satanism headline in half a second. That’s not wrong, exactly — it’s just not the story that explains why he’s still one of the most fascinating figures in metal 40 years in. The real answer is in the stories that never make the quick summary: a near-lawsuit from Gene Simmons, five hours legally dead on an operating table, and a haunted apartment that shaped his earliest music. Here are King Diamond’s wildest stories, the ones that actually get at the legend.

The 13 Stories That Actually Explain The Legend

1. Gene Simmons Almost Sued Him Over Face Paint. In the early ’80s, KISS bassist Gene Simmons reportedly threatened legal action, claiming King Diamond’s face paint copied his own. King’s response has become one of the great deadpan lines in metal history: he told Simmons he didn’t have much money to sue him for, but plenty of other people had money Simmons could be sued by. The suit never materialized, and King eventually evolved his design into the more elaborate “cross” style fans know today anyway — influenced, he’s said, by Peter Gabriel and Alice Cooper, not Simmons at all.

2. He Was Legally Dead For Five Hours. On November 29, 2010, after years of heavy smoking led to multiple heart attacks, King underwent emergency triple-bypass surgery. His heart was stopped for a staggering five hours. He’s since described waking up with a breathing tube and having to relearn how to breathe and walk as a “nightmare come to life” — an experience that directly shaped the medical horror themes running through his long-awaited Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920 trilogy.

3. He Lived In A Genuinely Haunted Apartment. During his early Mercyful Fate days, King lived in a Copenhagen apartment he’s said was plagued by real poltergeist activity. His fascination with the supernatural isn’t just old horror movies — some of it is lived experience, which explains the authenticity running through even his earliest, rawest material.

4. He Guest-Starred On Metalocalypse. Proving the horror persona comes with a real sense of humor, King voiced multiple characters across four episodes of the animated series, including the Blues Devil and a cynical fast-food manager, plus a cameo as one of Dethklok’s faceless Klokateers.

5. He’s A Playable Character In Guitar Hero. To unlock him in the 2009 game, players had to master Mercyful Fate’s “Evil.” Developers meticulously recreated his stage movements and iconic bone-cross mic stand — though his makeup got a slight tweak, for the same licensing sensitivities that almost got him sued in the first place.

6. Metallica Bring Him Onstage To Perform Their Own Tribute To Him. After recording an 11-minute Mercyful Fate medley for Garage Inc., Metallica have repeatedly invited King onstage to perform it with them, including a 30th-anniversary show in San Francisco — proof of how deep the King/Metallica mutual admiration actually runs.

7. He Had A Cordial, Viral Moment With Stryper’s Michael Sweet. In 2022, a clip of King and the Christian metal frontman sharing a respectful, cordial exchange went viral despite their polar-opposite worldviews. Sweet later said he’d be open to a collaboration — though he’d “pray about it” first.

8. His Album “The Eye” Is Based On Real History. Not every King Diamond concept is ghosts and hauntings — 1990’s “The Eye” draws from the French Inquisition and the real case of Father Urbain Grandier, exploring religious hypocrisy and actual witchcraft trials. It remains one of his most intellectually ambitious records.

9. He Runs His Career Like A Family Business. King and his wife, Livia Zita, manage his career together with unusual independence for an artist at his level. Livia isn’t just a partner — she’s a backup vocalist on records like “The Puppet Master” and has been central to remastering his back catalog.

10. His First Two Album Purchases Still Define His Sound. King has cited Deep Purple’s “Fireball” and Black Sabbath’s “Master of Reality” as the first two records he ever bought — and the rhythmic drive of Iommi and operatic flair of Ian Gillan are still audible in every King Diamond and Mercyful Fate track since.

11. His Influences Run Deeper Than Metal. Beyond Sabbath and Deep Purple, King’s vocal style draws on the theatricality of Alice Cooper and Arthur Brown, the progressive structures of Peter Gabriel, and the soaring range of Uriah Heep’s David Byron — a mix of prog complexity and metal grit that’s shaped his sound since day one.

12. His Solo Debut Wasn’t Actually A Full Concept Album. Despite being known for epic, album-length horror narratives, King’s 1986 solo debut “Fatal Portrait” was a transition piece — only the first five songs follow a continuous ghost-story arc, while the rest, including the holiday favorite “Halloween,” stand alone. It was the stepping stone to the full concept storytelling of “Abigail.”

13. His Satanism Is A Philosophy, Not A Religion. The most consistently misunderstood King Diamond fact: he’s an avowed LaVeyan Satanist, made an eternal member of the Church of Satan by Anton LaVey himself in 1988 — but as he’s clarified for over 40 years, it’s a commitment to individualism and self-empowerment, not the worship of a literal devil. It’s the philosophical backbone running underneath every concept album he’s written.

Loaded Radio Recommends: Ghost Albums Ranked – From Blasphemous Beginnings to Arena Supremacy

Where He’s Headed Next

King’s long-awaited horror trilogy, now titled Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920, is still targeting a late-2026 release — built directly from the real hospital nightmare that followed his 2010 surgery. If you’re looking for a companion deep-dive into another theatrical horror-rock act, our Ghost Albums Ranked list covers similarly theatrical territory from a very different generation of occult rock.

TL;DR

• King Diamond’s most memorable stories go well beyond the Satanism label — a near-lawsuit from Gene Simmons, five hours legally dead, and a genuinely haunted Copenhagen apartment top the list
• He’s voiced characters on Metalocalypse and is a playable character in Guitar Hero: Metallica
• His album “The Eye” is based on real French Inquisition history, not just supernatural fiction
• His long-awaited trilogy, Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920, is rooted directly in his real 2010 near-death experience

Check This Out: King Diamond’s ‘The Institute’ – The Horrifying True Story Behind the Album Trilogy That Has Fans Terrified and Thrilled

Forty-plus years in, and King Diamond is still finding new ways to make horror feel real — which story on this list surprised you most? Let us know in the comments, and follow Loaded Radio for more of the deep cuts the headlines always skip.

The post King Diamond’s Wildest Stories You Probably Don’t Know appeared first on Loaded Radio.

Album Review: Arise From Worms – A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction

Reviewed by Eric Clifford

One of my favourite tech death albums is Nocturnus’ “Thresholds” release – which is one of those releases that seems to divide opinion, but it’s brand of thrashy death combined with relentless shredding and sci-fi themes still scratches the elastic, noodly itch for me every time. And I think my fondness for it goes some way to explaining why I’m having such a fun time with Arise from Worms here as well. I don’t know if any of the members involved here ever heard “Thresholds”, but if not it must somehow have crept into their subconsciousness regardless, because “A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction” feels like the rebirth of “Thresholds”, and I’m here for it every step of the way.

The lineup alone should see you salivating: Canadian drumkit warlock Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), 50-fingered shred god Sonny Lombardozzi (Incantation, Fleshtized), mouthpiece for Sumerian demonkind Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel), and Derek Sherinian – who given that he’s played keys with Dream Theater, Malmsteen, and Steve Vai it’s safe to say that he too has the type of inhuman chops you typically have to barter at least your own soul for. In extreme metal terms, this is a Justice League tier lineup, and I’ll listen to anything each of these individuals has been part of. As you’d expect, the level of musicianship alone is damn near flawless, with each member holding more talent in a skin tag than most of us could boast of in the entirety of our being. But that only matters if it’s deployed well – I doubt any of us would struggle to come up with examples of technically gifted folk releasing bafflingly terrible material over the years. So. How are the band’s actual songs?

I’ve got my quibbles to be sure, but on the whole there is some amazing stuff here, and those of you who like tech or progressive death metal will likely struggle to reach the replay button over the vast, throbbing erections you’ll be nursing as a result of it. It’s gravid with agile performances, guitars, drums and keys unified in this kaleidoscope of speed and precision with examples being so frequent that it’s barely worth singling out specific ones because every one of the songs is overflowing with potential choices. I think the highlight for me is the 2-part “Axes of the Viovode”, it’s moody, crepuscular introduction melting away into an actively mutating thrash riff that spider-crawls through a mirror-hall of time signature and tempo switches, sudden jazzy flourishes, and one or the other of Sonny or Flo going fucking nuts on their instruments. The guitar wankery is just sublime – from about 1.13 onwards, part two is concerned only with shredding your face to the bone with an absurdly fast solo that crashes back into more of the band’s Dark Angel on Disco Biscuits death/thrash madness. It’s so fucking cool.

The promo sheet makes a point of outlining Sonny’s usage of less familiar scales, and while I’m in no way musically educated enough to converse of the relative merits of one scale vs another, I can at least say that the work here is definitely more outre than could be expected of the rest of us who are still fumbling our way through basic pentatonic runs. When he isn’t flying around Satan’s blues arpeggios, the band are in restless pursuit of other ways to keep things interesting. “Psionic Being” sees Steve Tucker’s baronic yell blast out at gale force over a meter and tempo that seems actively allergic to staying still too long, sections flowing into and around each other like squid jiu jitsu, all with the grace and confidence you only get from people who REALLY know what they’re doing.

But it does have missteps nonetheless. The keys, courtesy of Derek Sherinian, add a real proggy edge to tracks like “Forgotten Kings”, boosting that Nocturnus vibe that had me so enraptured. But the keys aren’t uniform throughout and I did miss their presence on otherwise excellent songs which could have been even better had the ivories been tinkled a bit more venomously within them as well. By far though the biggest detraction is “Laolongtou”, which seems to be a vocal-free instrumental version of “Forgotten Kings”. Besides being a bit bewildering (why would you ever want LESS Steve Tucker?) it’s stacked next to “Nine Walls”…which is also an instrumental (a 6.37 minute long one at that. And also one with a really neat sci-fi keyboard sting towards the end, since we’re on the subject). So basically, “Laolongtou” is a worse version of a track on the same album, immediately following after a song which renders it doubly redundant. In terms of bad choices, it’s up there with asking a cannibal for a blowjob. It’s also sat roughly in the midsection of the album, so it also assists with snapping the album’s momentum in half. I don’t know why the band did any of this, but as and when a follow up surfaces, I humbly but fervently entreat them not to do it again.

In a nutshell, this is a triumphant debut full length, albeit not one without it’s share of frustrations. The meat of the album is stupendous, and with a lineup this capable the sky is basically the limit in terms of what they can accomplish. I’ll be watching Arise from Worms like a hawk – not least to make sure that they don’t wait til Steve is off having a cigarette to stuff the same song back on the album without him on it – and I recommend that you do likewise, first and foremost by grabbing this the second it drops on us come the 10th July ’26.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Album Review: Arise From Worms – A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Amon Amarth have stripped away at their Viking-themed death metal and released a moody, acoustic single called Upphaf.

The Nordic folk-inspired jam (which translates to “beginning” or “origin” in Old Norse) bridges the gap between the five-piece’s previous album, 2022’s The Great Heathen Army, and their as-yet-unannounced 13th record. Press materials call it a “quiet moment”, in contrast to the “fury” of their upcoming album.

The track comes with a cinematic music video directed by Pavel Trebukhin. Watch and listen below.

No details of Amon Amarth’s 13th album have been given yet, but, talking to Hammer earlier this year, singer Johan Hegg teased a “very diverse” set of songs.

“We always try to balance new, interesting takes on our music with trying to keep the format of the band,” he said. “It’s like what Iron Maiden do: you will always hear that it’s an Iron Maiden song, but they always add some new, interesting things to their albums.”

The release of Upphaf precedes the start of the band’s European tour, during which they’ll be supported by fellow Swedes Orbit Culture and Soilwork. The shows kick off at the O2 Apollo in Manchester on October 9 and continue through the UK until October 11. They’ll then play across mainland Europe until November 15.

See the full list of dates below.

Hegg told Hammer that fans can expect a “more elaborate stage” setup than on previous tours.

“[It] gives us the possibility to keep things moving throughout the show,” he said. “The idea is to do an extended set for the headline tour with a bigger and better production. We are definitely working on making the stage production… I’m not sure I would say more interesting, but at least more eventful.”

Formed in Tumba, Sweden in 1992, Amon Amarth took their name from the Sindarin word for Mount Doom, a volcano in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings. Contemporaries to fellow Swedish melodic death metal bands such as In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and At The Gates, their lyrics often focus on Viking warfare and Norse mythology.

They charted in Sweden for the first time with 2006’s With Oden On Our Side. The title track of 2008 follow-up effort Twilight Of The Thunder God is considered their signature song.

Amon Amarth 2026 European tour dates (with Orbit Culture and Soilwork):

• Oct 09: Manchester O2 Apollo, UK
• Oct 10: London Eventim Apollo, UK
• Oct 11: Wolverhampton Civic Hall, UK
• Oct 13: Paris Zenith, France
• Oct 14: Esch-sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
• Oct 16: Stuttgart Schleyer-Halle, Germany
• Oct 17: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
• Oct 18: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
• Oct 20: Den Bosch Mainstage, Netherlands
• Oct 21: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
• Oct 23: Gothenburg Scandinavium, Sweden
• Oct 24: Stockholm Hovet, Sweden
• Oct 26: Helsinki Ice Hall, Finland
• Oct 27: Tallinn Unibet Arena, Estonia
• Oct 29: Gliwice PreZero Arena, Poland
• Oct 30: Leipzig Quarterback Immobilien Arena, Germany
• Oct 31: Oberhausen Rudolf Weber Arena, Germany
• Nov 02: Budapest Barba Negra, Hungary
• Nov 03: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
• Nov 04: Bamberg Brose Arena, Germany
• Nov 06: Prague O2 Universum, Czech Republic
• Nov 07: Berlin Velodrom, Germany
• Nov 08: Munich Zenith, Germany
• Nov 10: Milan Alcatraz, Italy
• Nov 11: Zurich The Hall, Switzerland
• Nov 13: Barcelona Sant Jordi Club, Spain
• Nov 14: Madrid Vistalegre, Spain
• Nov 15: Lisbon Sala Tejo, Portugal

Fucked Up don’t get the kind of attention that they once did, but they are still an underground rock ‘n’ roll institution, and they still put out a whole lot of music. Just last month, Fucked Up released Year Of The Monkey, the second installlment in the hugely ambitious new 12″ single series Grass Can Move Stones, which will apparently finish out their long-running Chinese Zodiac project after 20 years. That’s not enough to keep them busy, though. Today, a couple of Fucked Up members launch a new side project that recalls the band’s early hardcore punk days.

The post Fucked Up Side Project Crazy Clue Announce Debut Album <em>Where The Dregs Dwell</em>: Hear “Social Pressure” appeared first on Stereogum.

The post The Ulkerrs Love Me Crazy Review appeared first on Edgar Allan Poets – Noir Rock Band.

Jawdropped have announced the details of the first big step in their guaranteed ascent to the top, revealing everything you need to know about their debut album.

The record is set to be called ‘Secret To Spare’ and will be released on 18 September via Transgressive Records / Canvasback.

The band’s own Roman Zangari had this to say about what inspired him whilst writing the album:

I’m always writing based off of things that I hear, or something that happened to a friend. L.A. is this destination that so many people move to with a dream of having this exciting life in the arts,” Zangari adds. “There’s so many crazy people you meet across that spectrum of failure and success, and I’m really fascinated by those stories. But there’s a self-reflective level too, because we’re also playing that game. We’re no different than the failed actor that’s working at the bar.”

The artwork looks like this:

Whilst the tracklisting is a bit more like this:

1. The Line
2. Monday
3. Split Lip
4. Cellulite
5. High Beams
6. Cup
7. Smoglight
8. Pitch Black
9. Whiplash
10. Two

You can also check out a new taste of the album now in the form of ‘Split Lip’, which as bright and breezy a song as you’re going to hear all Summer. Soft patters of indie emo sentiment are mashed together with a shimmering Brit-pop spirit to create the sort of song that eases the senses and warms the heart.

Lyrically though, it’s a song that hits very close to home for the quartet, as Roman explains:

“It’s about being in a band and struggling to keep your shit in check. You spend your whole life as a musician striving for success and hoping to experience all these things that the four of us were experiencing for the first time. This song weighs out the excitement of that with the underwhelming reality of it all: we’re still broke, there’s no guarantee that any of this is going to lead to anything. How do you know that these decisions you’ve made are going to pan out in the future?”

The post Jawdropped Announce Debut Album ‘Secret To Spare’ appeared first on Rock Sound.

End Of Abyss, a rising name in Finland’s progressive metal scene, will unveil their debut album in October. While the band may be new to international audiences, its lineup features familiar faces from the Finnish metal world — including vocalist Mikko Herranen, known for his work across multiple bands and as a producer, and bassist Janne Koskenkorva, […]

Source

These dates follow the release of the former Yes legend's upcoming autobiography and a "full-on, over-the-top prog album." Continue reading…

It’s been almost four years since Swedish Viking rowers Amon Amarth unleashed The Great Heathen Army, but they hardly sit idle. Now they approach a new way of songwriting on their first-ever acoustic excursion, “Uppha”. The single serves as the quiet moment to what lies ahead, before the fury of their next studio album, which according to the label they are currently working on.
Read more…

If you’re the right age, the world “Candlebox” brings up all kinds of indelible memories. If you’re too young, just know that Candlebox were a Seattle rock band who happened to catch on during the grunge explosion, even though they weren’t really a grunge band. They were one of the first acts who signed to Madonna’s Maverick label, and their self-titled 1993 debut spawned a ton of radio hits and went quadruple platinum. But they got a lot of backlash for riding the grunge wave, even though they never really tried to do that, and their subsequent records didn’t sell. Candlebox ultimately broke up and got back together, and they’re still a band today, but their name will always evoke a certain moment of rock ‘n’ roll excitement, confusion, and resentment. Now, Candlebox have a brand new Mountain Goats song named after them.

The post The Mountain Goats – “Candlebox” appeared first on Stereogum.