King Diamond will embark on a long-awaited North American headlining tour this fall. The Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920 trek will commence on October 15 in San Antonio, Texas and run through December 6 in Dallas, Texas. Support will be provided by Overkill and Night Demon. Additional backing vocals for the King Diamond set will be provided by the special guest, Myrkur.
The Metal Voice recently spoke to Metal Blade CEO, Brian Slagel, about the two classic King Diamond albums, Fatal Portrait and Abigail. He also gave a quick update on the upcoming tour and what fans can expect.
Asked if he can give any King Diamond spoilers for the upcoming tour, Slagel responds, "The hope is that we've got something new (music) to release before the tour but that's really up to them getting it finished and recorded, so that's the hope. But I will tell you, that obviously he's known for - especially in the last like 10- 15 years - for having these elaborate stage shows for both Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. And some of the things that he's attempting to do on this tour, just stage production wise, I don't think anybody's ever done before.
"He (King Diamond) kind of told me about what they're doing and how they're going to do it and all these concepts and it looks like they're going to pull it all together to be able to do all this stuff. And for him you know, I think it's expected now (elaborate stage set up) that you need to see something over the top production wise, because he set that bar. After they played that Sweden Rock festival, kind of his first comeback after the heart attack, and ever since then you know they are constantly raising the bar production wise and this one's going to be some pretty insane stuff that's going to go on production wise. So I can't give you the details but I can tell you it's going to be more than likely something you've probably never seen before."
Asked if there will be any new music, Slagel reveals, "We're hoping that we'll get a song or two, and then the record will come out, you know, hopefully fairly shortly after that, it just takes time you know, art takes time."
King Diamond previously elaborated on what fans can expect: "This is Saint Lucifer's Hospital, enter if you dare! We have been busy putting this ever-growing horror story together, and it's still growing. I know the end of it, but how we will get there will be a long trip. There are so many characters, and so many unexpected things along this journey. It's a crazy family on another timeline in 1920, where I experienced some hard times, and they have to come to our time to steal from us to survive. This is the most elaborate thing we have ever done, that goes for the stage production as well.
"There will be additional backing vocals by Myrkur and she'll be playing organ for songs that need it. There will be some horrific surprises taking place on stage, but we are not to be held responsible since we are on a whole different timeline in 1920. It was back at the time when medicine was going through a dark period with lots of testing on human beings in order to progress medicine. This is Saint Lucifer's Hospital, also known as The Institute, enter if you dare!"
Secure your tickets at kingdiamondcoven.com.
Tour dates:
October
15 - Boeing Center at Tech Port. - San Antonio, TX
16 - Bayou Music Center - Houston, TX
18 - Andrew J Brady Music Center - Cincinnati, OH
19 - The Factory - St. Louis, MO
20 - The Midland Theater - Kansas City, MO
22 - Murat Theatre At Old National Center - Indianapolis, IN
23 - The Louisville Palace Theatre - Louisville, KY
25 - The Eastern - Atlanta, GA
26 - Duke Energy Center for the Arts - Mahaffey Theater - St. Petersburg, FL
28 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD
30 - Kings Theater - Brooklyn, NY
31 - Roadrunner - Boston, MA *
November
2 - MTelus - Montreal, QC
3 - The Theatre At Great Canadian - Mississauga, ON
4 - The Masonic Temple - Detroit, MI
6 - The Agora Theatre & Ballroom - Cleveland, OH
7 - The Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL
8 - The Riverside Theater - Milwaukee, WI
10 - The Fillmore - Minneapolis, MN
11 - Vibrant Music Hall - Waukee, IA
14 - Mission Ballroom - Denver, CO
16 - The Complex - Salt Lake City, UT
18 - Orpheum - Vancouver, BC
20 - Edmonton Convention Center - Edmonton, AB
21 - TCU Place - Saskatoon, SK
22 - Grey Eagle Resort And Casino - Calgary, AB
24 - Keller Auditorium - Portland, OR
25 - Moore Theater - Seattle, WA
27 - Fox Theater - Oakland, CA
29 - YouTube Theater - Los Angeles, CA
30 - The Theater At Virgin Hotels - Las Vegas, NV
December
1 - Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre - San Diego, CA
2 - The Van Buren - Phoenix, AZ
4 - REVEL - Albuquerque, NM
6 - The Factory In Deep Ellum - Dallas, TX
* no Overkill
King Diamond is quite possibly the most recognizable and prolific personality ever in heavy metal. Revered by icons as big as Metallica and Pantera to inspiring newer upstarts globally, King Diamond, the man and the band, have left an indelible mark on the history, and now again, the future of heavy metal.
In August of 2008, King Diamond joined Metallica on stage at Ozzfest in Dallas to perform the Mercyful Fate medley made famous from the Garage, Inc. album. Additionally, King Diamond was featured alongside Motӧrhead's Lemmy Kilmister as a playable character in Guitar Hero: Metallica in 2009.
By 2012, King Diamond was prepared to return to the stage for a select number of shows. The band's triumphant return to the stage were the highlights of both the Hellfest and Sweden Rock festivals in France and Sweden. Fans at these festivals were treated to the largest and most involved stage production in the band's storied history. Horror concepts from multiple albums were used in the décor; fans can rest assured that this show will only get larger and more impressive at future performances.
King Diamond continued to hit the stage from 2013 to 2018 including performances at Rock Hard Festival (DE), Copenhell (DK), Graspop (BE), Metal Days (SI), Bloodstock Open Air (UK), Loudpark (JP), Wacken Open Air (DE), a 2014 North American tour with Jess and the Ancient Ones, Fun Fun Fun Fest (US), toured as a part of the 2015 Mayhem Festival in the summer (US), a fall 2015 North American tour with Exodus as special guests, Sweden Rock fest (SE), Hellfest (FR),and Psycho Las Vegas (US).
In 2019, after the release of the King Diamond'S first new single in twelve years "Masquerade Of Madness," the band hit the road with a series of live shows in Europe including stops at Summer Breeze festival (DE), Graspop (BE), Hellfest (FR), Rock Fest (ES), and with Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats and Idle Hands as special guests for nineteen dates across North America.
King Diamond's thirty+ year musical career is one of the most storied in history of heavy metal, but the tale is not yet over. The most recent release, 2007′s Grammy nominated album Give Me Your Soul…Please, stands as one of the most critically acclaimed albums in an already iconic discography. Future albums will feature entirely new horror stories, concepts, haunting orchestrations, and the band's signature brand of heavy metal from the mind of King Diamond and the talented group of musicians: guitarists Andy LaRocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg, and drummer Matt Thompson. King is currently in the studio working on the band's next album which will be released in 2025.
King Diamond live lineup:
Andy Larocque - guitar
Mike Wead - guitar
Pontus Egberg - bass
Matt Thompson - drums
Myrkur - additional backing vocals, keyboards
(Photo - Greg Lawrence)
