While metal continues to explode in popularity and becomes an ongoing joke for the mainstream while being adored by countless anime fans who fawn over prepubescent boys dressed as girls, both the underground and the mainstream metal world remain stagnant. Here is a quick glance into what one can expect.
16 CommentsTags: beithÃoch, ben crosland, goat terror, king diamond, liturgy, mercyful fate, opeth, wilderun
Timi Hansen who played on the classic Mercyful Fate records and the first few King Diamond albums has been confirmed dead by King Diamond himself. Timi had gone public with his diagnosis on early August while announcing that he would not be able to play on the Mercyful Fate reunion tour and that Armored saint bassist Joey Vera would be taking over. He passed on the 4th of November barely a week after his 61st birthday. King Diamond left the following message.
1 CommentTags: Heavy Metal, king diamond, mercyful fate, timi hansen
Attic hail from Germany are a German band that have recently started to tour with a few bigger bands recently. Their gimmick is King Diamond/Mercyful Fate for those oblivious to their existence. Within this gimmick there are a few bizarre surprises though.
No CommentsTags: andy laroque, attic, dissection, Heavy Metal, king diamond, sanctimonious, storm of the light's bane
Zloslut is a Serbian Black metal that initially consisted of sole founding member Agnarion who had produced all the records by himself but here on Sahar, Agnarion is joined by a full band that changes the dynamic of this album compared to previous works. All the previous rough edges have been rounded out from the production all the way to the riffs themselves. While this does create a certain amount of sterility, it also allows the band the freedom to explore and to develop their own style.
6 CommentsTags: Black Metal, Finnish Black Metal, king diamond, mayhem, Sahar, zloslut
Mercyful Fate Don’t Break the Oath was released on September 7, 1984. Back then, you most likely purchased the album on vinyl or cassette. King Diamond, the vocalist of Mercyful Fate, expanded on the image that Kiss and Alice Cooper had adopted years earlier, but he backed it up with powerful speed/heavy metal with melodic vocals and lyrics informed by more than a passing acquaintance with the occult.
If you ask me, Don’t Break the Oath was the peak of his career. The band picked up on the speed metal techniques of rhythm and used them to expand heavy metal with more fluid tempo and riff styles, then built epic songs out of that which did not over-emphasize the vocals but let them aid the songs, much like on the second Iron Maiden album. In the 1980s, just about every metal band listened to this classic.
4 CommentsTags: Heavy Metal, king diamond, mercyful fate, Speed Metal
