By Christopher David<\/p>\n
The resurgence of legacy heavy metal acts in the last few years has brought many welcome surprises, and perhaps none are more satisfying the return of the mighty King Diamond to the touring circuit.<\/p>\n
Following a hugely successful \u2018comeback\u2019 tour in 2014 and 2015 that culminated in full performances of the King\u2019s 1987 masterwork Abigail<\/em>, King Diamond returned to the Riviera Theater on Monday night in promotional anticipation for his upcoming album The Institute,<\/em> set to be released next year.<\/p>\n While the nature of The Institute<\/em> is unknown as far as the conceptual elements go, the stage was one hell of a tease. A dungeon-like, metal cavern that looked like a cross between an aged hospital and Freddy Krueger\u2019s boiler room hissed smoke and ominous glowing lights as Diamond emerged with his signature crossbones microphone, leading the band through a show that was as heavy on deep cuts as it was on hits. The addition of \u201cVoodoo,\u201d \u201cThe Invisible Guests,\u201d and \u201cBehind These Walls\u201d showed that Diamond is fully plundering his back catalog to the delight of diehards everywhere, and the biggest surprise of the night came with set closer \u201cThe Lake,\u201d a non-album cut from all the way back to 1986\u2019s Fatal Portrait <\/em>sessions.<\/p>\n The performance aspect was heightened by highlights from the many album narratives\u2014the introductory funeral mass of the black horsemen performed over Abigail\u2019s coffin that precedes \u201cArrival,\u201d King\u2019s evil grandma arriving returning from the asylum at the start of \u201cWelcome Home.\u201d The crowd even got a teaser from the new record in the form of \u201cMasquerades of Madness,\u201d which has all the hallmarks of a classic King Diamond song\u2014haunting keyboards, creepy harmonies, and a succinct, catchy chorus\u2014and came complete with the disturbing presence of a child in a creepy medieval mask leading the singer about the stage.<\/p>\n Guitarist Andy LaRocque, Diamond\u2019s lead guitarist since the beginning of his solo career following the original Mercyful Fate days, is still in top form, as is the rest of the band (Mike Wead on guitar, Pontus Egberg on bass, and Matt Thompson on drums), shining a light on just how important musicianship has always been to King Diamond\u2019s performances and albums. Much as it could be argued that the original Alice Cooper group helped to elevate the eponymous singer, Diamond\u2019s complex arrangements have always had an almost classical approach, a focus on balancing dynamics with bombast. That approach has paid off throughout Diamond\u2019s career, leading to a series of albums that are carefully crafted as opposed to pulled together from disparate sources and songs. All of that is to say that such an approach is ready-made for a live stage and provides ample opportunity for the singer to show off his impressive vocal range; the fact that King Diamond is regularly touring again and firing on his best cylinders shouldn\u2019t be taken for granted by anyone who loves classic heavy metal.\u00a0\u00a0 All in all, this 2019 tour is a phenomenal achievement that played to all of the King\u2019s strengths and left everyone in the house wanting more.<\/p>\n One could say that Diamond\u2019s career (like any musician) could be divided into acts: there was the first act immediately following Mercyful Fate, the heyday of power metal that gave us timeless classics like Abigail<\/em> and Them<\/em>, followed by a second act that saw heavy metal largely go underground during alternative rock\u2019s peak, a shift in attention that saw the best artists stay the course, for which Diamond was no exception, honing his knack for narrative songcraft with House of God<\/em>, The Spider\u2019s Lullabye<\/em>, The Graveyard<\/em>, and others.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a wicked blessing for us all that the third act of King Diamond\u2019s career has begun. The doors are about to open on The Institute, <\/em>and it promises to be one of his best yet. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n For more on King Diamond, click here<\/a><\/p>\n