Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging

countertenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist ...

singing voice, in particular his far-reaching

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

screams. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist for both

Mercyful Fate Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, and with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fat ...

and the eponymous King Diamond. He also plays keyboards and guitars on studio recordings but uses live shows to focus solely on his vocal performance. Diamond is renowned for his dark lyrical content and his story concepts. He is also known for his distinctive

shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emerge ...

stage persona (in particular his black and white facepaint). He has been an influence for other rock and metal artists, including

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical styl ...

and

Cradle of Filth Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved originally from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic metal and other metal genres. Their ly ...

Career

Early days

King Diamond's first heavy rock band was called Brainstorm (1974–76), with Jeanette Blum (Jean Blue) on vocals and bass, Michael Frohn (Mike West) on guitar and Jes Jacobsen (Jesse James) on drums. Diamond left Brainstorm and began singing with local Danish

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...

band Black Rose. He began experimenting with horror-themed theatrics and shaping a malevolent quasi- Satanic stage persona. He left Black Rose and joined the punk-

metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...

band Brats, where he met

Hank Shermann Rene Krolmark (born 11 July 1958), better known by his stage name, Hank Shermann, is a Danish musician best known for his work with the heavy metal band Mercyful Fate. Career Shermann started playing guitar in 1977, influenced by the likes of Ac ...

. The two were soon asked to help Michael Denner (also formerly a member of Brats) with his own project, Danger Zone. This band included Timi Hansen, and the musicians would join with Diamond in 1980 to become

Mercyful Fate

Following Mercyful Fate's 1984 release of '' Don't Break the Oath'' and the subsequent tour (which saw them play in the U.S. for the first time), Diamond split ways with Mercyful Fate. With him, he took two of his bandmates (Hansen and Denner) to pursue a solo career under his own name. Mercyful Fate reunited in 1992 (while Diamond simultaneously continued his solo career) and recorded five more studio albums. In 1999, Diamond and Hank Shermann performed the song "Evil" live with

. This performance also featured Diamond without his famous makeup. King Diamond live 1999

In 2000, Diamond decided to put Mercyful Fate on hold and continue on with his solo career. The band has reunited and is on a North American tour. Also mention of a new song that has been played live called “Jackal of Salzbourg. King has mentionned also that there has been work on the song but not finished yet. citation needed, date=September 2020 In recent interviews, Diamond has said that Mercyful Fate will record and tour again when the timing is right, saying, "It's definitely not finished." On 1 August 2019 Mercyful Fate announced a reunion and an accompanying European tour.

King Diamond

In 2001, King Diamond worked out a deal with the band Usurper to sing backup vocals on the song "Necronemesis" in exchange for them shifting their recording schedule around to accommodate the recording of '' Abigail II: The Revenge''. In 2004, Diamond contributed vocals to "Sweet Dreams", the final track on the album of

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

's heavy metal side project

Probot Probot was a heavy metal side project of ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters rhythm guitarist and lead-singer Dave Grohl. Described by Grohl as "a death metal ''Supernatural''", the album mixes instrumentals recorded by Grohl himself with variou ...

. In late 2005, Diamond appeared on the '' Roadrunner United – The All-Star Sessions'' album, contributing vocals for his song "In the Fire", which featured multiple Roadrunner Records musicians (past and present) working together to create individual songs. Diamond also guested on the

song "Devil Woman" in late 2005. In April 2006, Diamond reunited with Mikkey Dee (

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

drummer) at a sold-out gig at Kåren in

Gothenburg, Sweden Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a ...

. In 2001 he referred to Dee as "one of the best drummers of all time and that's something that has bothered us since he left." Diamond released his album '' Give Me Your Soul... Please'', on 26 June 2007. The band received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the track "Never Ending Hill". He was forced to cancel a United States tour due to a herniated disk, causing severe back pain, which puts him in intense pain almost all of the time. He attributes the problem to the long stressful hours spent working on the album. Diamond made an appearance at

Ozzfest Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...

on 9 August 2008 at Frisco, Texas alongside

, performing a medley of Mercyful Fate songs previously released on Metallica's '' Garage Inc.'' album. He also performed a cover of the

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup cons ...

song "A New Level" with Vinnie Paul, Scott Ian, Max Cavalera, and Nick Bowcott. In 2009, Diamond was revealed to be a playable character for the

rhythm game Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to press ...

'' Guitar Hero: Metallica'', appearing with Mercyful Fate's song "Evil". The player must complete the song on any instrument and any difficulty to unlock the character. On 29 November 2010, Diamond was taken to the hospital, where doctors discovered several blockages in his arteries due to his heavy smoking habit. They determined that he had had several heart attacks and that he needed triple-bypass surgery. The surgery was performed successfully, and on 11 December 2010 it was announced that he was at home recovering. All his musical projects were placed on hold. On 7 December 2011, Diamond appeared on stage with Metallica at the Fillmore in San Francisco to celebrate Metallica's 30th anniversary. In June 2012, Diamond performed his comeback concert at Sweden Rock Festival. On Saturday 8 September 2012, Diamond appeared along with

Mark Tremonti Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...

on VH1 Classic's '' That Metal Show'' discussing his surgery and various details about upcoming events. He appeared on

Volbeat Volbeat are a Danish rock band formed in Copenhagen in 2001. They play a fusion of rock and roll, heavy metal, and rockabilly. Their current line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Michael Poulsen, guitarist Rob Caggiano, drummer Jon ...

's 2013 album, ''

Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies ''Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies'' is the fifth studio album by Danish rock band Volbeat. The album was released on 5 April 2013. The title refers to the outlaws and gunslingers of the 19th century. This is the band's first album with guitarist ...

'', providing guest vocals on the track "Room 24". In August 2013 Diamond performed at Open Air Bloodstock Festival, UK.

was chosen to headline the 2015 Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. The bands

HELLYEAH Hellyeah, stylized as HELLYEAH, was an American heavy metal supergroup formed in Dallas, Texas, in 2006. The band's last lineup consisted of lead vocalist Chad Gray, guitarists Christian Brady and Tom Maxwell, bassist Kyle Sanders, and drum ...

, King Diamond, The Devil Wears Prada,

Thy Art Is Murder Thy Art Is Murder is an Australian deathcore band from Blacktown, Sydney, that formed in 2006. The band consists of vocalist Chris "CJ" McMahon, guitarists Sean Delander and Andy Marsh, drummer Jesse Beahler and bassist Kevin Butler. Thy Art Is ...

, Jungle Rot,

Sister Sin Sister Sin is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg. The band released four full-length albums, with the most recent '' Black Lotus'' released October 27, 2014. Sister Sin toured in Europe and North America with bands such as Slayer, Kin ...

Sworn In Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...

Shattered Sun Shattered Sun is an American metalcore band from Alice, Texas, formed in July 2005. History Originally formed in July 2005 by Daniel Trejo and Sebastian Ortiz. Bassist Steven King, drummer Nick Garcia and vocalist Clem Galindo were added later t ...

, Feed Her To The Sharks, Code Orange and Kissing Candice also participated in the Rockstar Tour.

Other media

Diamond was a special celebrity guest star in four episodes of the Warner Bros. adult-oriented cartoon ''

Metalocalypse ''Metalocalypse'' is an American adult animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006, followed by a musical one-hour special, '' Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem'', on October 27, 2 ...

'' as the Blues Devil, Ronald von Moldenberg, a fast food manager, and one of the Klokateers in 2006 on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

Stage presence

On stage, Diamond uses a microphone stand consisting of a

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates ...

bone and a

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it conn ...

bone in the shape of a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...

. He previously used a

human skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

, called Melissa, on stage. In the mid-1980s Melissa was stolen after a performance in the Netherlands. Diamond has changed the design of his make-up often over the years. With ''

Conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

'', he wore a mesh of black and white line war paint, with some red "blood" made to look like a wound coming out of his forehead. With his album '' The Puppet Master'', he used very little white and mainly had black crosses and inverted crosses going up and down his face.

Influences

Diamond cites Arthur Brown,

David Byron David Garrick (29 January 1947 – 28 February 1985), better known by his stage name David Byron, was a British singer, who was best known in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist with the rock band Uriah Heep. Byron possessed a powerful oper ...

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and ...

Ian Gillan Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan ...

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

as his primary influences. According to Diamond's biography on his official website, the first two albums he bought were

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Originally formed as ...

's ''

Fireball Fireball may refer to: Science * Fireball (meteor), a brighter-than-usual meteor * Ball lightning, an atmospheric electrical phenomenon * ''Bassia scoparia'', a plant species Arts and entertainment Films * '' The Fireball'', a 1950 film starring ...

'' and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...

's '' Master of Reality''.

Religion

Diamond follows

Satanism Satanism is a group of Ideology, ideological and Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 19 ...

, which he does not see as a

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

, but a

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

by which he lived even before reading Anton LaVey's '' The Satanic Bible''.Götz Kühnemund: "'A History of Horror". In: ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdrawn. ...

'', no. 82, November 2010, pp. 20–27. Michael Moynihan calls him "one of the only performers of the '80s Satanic Metal who was more than just a poseur using a devilish image for

shock value Shock value is the potential of an image, text, action, or other form of communication, such as a public execution, to provoke a reaction of sharp disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions. In advertising Shock advertising or Sh ...

". Michael Moynihan, Didrik Søderlind: '' Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground'', Feral House 1998, pp. 15f. Diamond has expressed concern that religion has led so many people to kill and destroy each other. He stated that he cannot comprehend why religion has caused so much death and destruction when it is logically impossible to prove the presence or absence of any

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

. He states that he has reached a point in his life where he has completely given up believing in anything religious.

Personal life

Diamond is married to

Livia Zita Livia Zita (born Lívia Zita Lokay on 21 December 1984 in Budapest, Hungary) is a Hungarian voiceover actress and rock singer, best known for her work with the Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, to which she belongs as a guest musician in ...

, a Hungarian-born singer who has made appearances as a backup vocalist on the albums '' The Puppet Master'' and '' Give Me Your Soul...Please'', as well as during live performances. She is also his business partner, and is currently working with him to compile old footage for two planned DVD releases of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate live performances. She also helped him make remastered editions of the King Diamond albums ''

The Spider's Lullabye ''The Spider's Lullabye'' is the sixth studio album by Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, released on 6 June 1995. Unlike other King Diamond albums, it is not a full concept album; only half the songs form a single plot. The album was recor ...

'', '' The Graveyard'', '' Voodoo'' and '' House of God''. In 2017, they became parents to a son, Byron, born in March 2017.

Legacy

Metallica released an 11-minute medley of five Mercyful Fate songs on their 1998 '' Garage Inc.'' cover album. King Diamond has provided guest vocals for live performances of the medley at Metallica's concerts on three occasions: at the 1999

Gods of Metal Gods of Metal is the biggest Italian metal festival, held annually since 1997. It takes place in early summer, usually on the first or second weekend of June. It is most often held at venues in or near Milan, but took place in Bologna three ti ...

festival in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, Italy (with Hank Shermann on guitar); at the 2008

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, Texas; and at a 2011 Metallica fan club gig in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, California (with Hank Shermann on guitar, Michael Denner on guitar and Timi Hansen on bass). King Diamond has appeared on the covers of many rock and metal magazines, and has influenced many artists, including Metallica's

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...

, Cage, and

Andy DiGelsomina Andy DiGelsomina is an American composer, lead guitarist, songwriter, orchestrator, arranger, blogger, and producer. Life and career DiGelsomina was born in Springfield, Ohio. His father was a fan of rock music, while his fraternal grandfathe ...

of the Wagnerian opera metal project Lyraka. American heavy metal band Cage devoted to him the song "King Diamond" on the album '' Hell Destroyer'' in 2007.

Discography

Awards

*2008 – Grammy nomination in the "

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

" category for the track "Never Ending Hill"

References

External links

King Diamond Coven
– official website *Interviews with King Diamond band member

an

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, King 1956 births Danish atheists Danish heavy metal singers Danish horror writers 20th-century Danish male singers Danish rock singers Danish Satanists Countertenors English-language singers from Denmark Heavy metal keyboardists Living people Mercyful Fate members Metal Blade Records artists Musicians from Copenhagen 21st-century Danish male singers King Diamond (band) members