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The metal world has a history of creating songs about the macabre, horror, and psychic terrors that would reduce mortals to a quivering pile of jelly, and King Diamond made this his life work. First with Mercyful Fate and then as a solo artist, he’s been busy crafting Lovecraftian tales that would hollow your bones and make your teeth fall out. He’s not the first guy to stroll out on stage with a painted face and elaborate stage setups (and let’s give Arthur Brown credit for being a direct influence on Alice Cooper) but he is one of the most effective.
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Halloween couldn’t be a more perfect date for the St. Lucifer’s Hospital 1920 tour to land in town, and some people got in the spirit via costume choices to join in the spirit. The King had some trusty sidekicks with him tonight, notably guitarist Andy Larocque who’s been in the band since the start, 20 year vets drummer Matt Thompson and guitarist Mike Wead (who also played in Mercyful Fate) and bassist Pontus Egberg, the familiar anchor on the center right of the stage. Diamond tapped into his Danish connections for this tour to invite Myrkur, who lent her organ playing and devilishly angelic vocals to the proceedings.
The basic blueprint of Diamond has remained pretty constant since the Mercyful Fate days; operatic singing, driving guitars, harmonics and neo-classical runs all delivered with a cross-shaped mic holder made of leg bones and a constant scowl from the King. I’d say that it’s very impressive he’s kept the vocal range, even as he edges to the age of 70. Has there been a diabolical deal made here? No one but the King knows.
Of course he couldn’t not play “Halloween” and that song got a huge charge from the crowd, a true fan favorite from Fatal Portrait. Had the venue allowed people to bring in pumpkins, the mosh pit would have been a bit more slippery. Myrkur’s presence was understated and she was perched up near the top of the giant stair riser that ran across the stage, above Thompson, but her contributions did not go unnoticed. The twin guitar work of Wead and Larocque was precision personified; this is a well-oiled machine that has never seen a speck of rust. I have to admit that I didn’t quite get the theme of the hospital; aside from the sacrifice of the baby Abigail at the beginning and the random bodies floating in tanks, the set list was mainly comprised of previously released material so if there was some new thematic twist, someone needs to fill me in.
But even if cohesion wasn’t a strong suit for the storytelling of the night, the pull of the theatrics and delivery can never be discounted, and once again the King shows why he’s still wearing that jet black crown.
Overkill took the stage before Diamond, and with their giant bank of amps behind them it was a bit comical; I wanted to run behind the stage to see if they were all just props like that infamous Immortal photo. Any metal fan can instantly name the Big Four, but there were a few others who were of that same era but just didn’t quite make the same dent in metal history, and New Jersey’s Overkill (not to be confused with the SST band of the same name) was one of them, along side contemporaries like Testament and Possessed and Exodus. Not to say they didn’t have success; they have a pretty lengthy career (can anyone name all 20 of their LPs?) and played a handful of their most well-known songs, including early banger “Rotten To The Core.” Singer Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth (looking like the nephew of Motorhead’s Philthy Phil) and bassist D.D. Verni are the remaining original members, but the rest of the band fit in just fine. “Hello From The Gutter” evoked some heavy NWOBHM vibes and the closer of Subhumans “Fuck You” gave everyone an opportunity to do single finger exercises.
