King Diamond & Merciful Fate : your opinion ?

[Steven Lee Cooper]

Hi there !


One of my friends is a hard rock, progressive and heavy metal fan since 1977. He has all of the ACG albums but has no solo Alice LP - though he attented a 1982 SF concert. His favorite bands are Led Zeppelin (he has everything they released I think), Kiss ( he has most of their recorded stuff) and King Diamond, who he is a big fan of. He asked me once what Alice fans on this board thought about King Diamond and I said that I didn't remember the subject being brought up here, which surprised him. He really loves KD and thinks he's the unsung hero of metal of his generation. Since my friend doesn't speak English very well, he wanted me to ask all of you what you think of Merciful Fate and King Diamond. I know Kind Diamond is a big Alice fan, or so it seems -my friend sent me a picture of KD at home where a SF tour poster can be seen in the background. Thanks !


By the way, this reminds of a one-page article I had read in the French rock press about King Diamond, back in late 1983.
The journalist talked about the King Diamond image and such, and he ended up saying "Alice Cooper was no different". What struck me in this sentence is the use of the word WAS instead of IS when talking about Alice, especially when, ironically, Alice had just released a new album at that moment ! It felt like the journalist was talking about a dead person ! Gosh, that tells you how much Alice went unnoticed back then, even right after a new LP !

[recoop]

Re the use of "was"- perhaps some people regarded Alice Cooper as ending when the band split up, others with the release of " Hell" and a lot of other with "L and W".

Me, I hung in there despite L and W.

[mr.barlow]

I don't think much of either of King Diamond or Mercyful Fate. Isn't King Diamond's kid an Alice Cooper imitator or wannabe?

[pitkin88]

Re the use of "was"- perhaps some people regarded Alice Cooper as ending when the band split up, others with the release of " Hell" and a lot of other with "L and W".

Me, I hung in there despite L and W.

Me too though I now wish i had stopped buying until FTF. Constrictor was pretty much the end of my hardcore obsession with Alice.


King Diamond: Looked pretty stupid and a downright copy. Laughable. I might have listened to a song or two but couldn't name one. I dont like heavy heavy metal so no need to explore.

Mercyful whatever I have never heard nor wanted to.

[RemarkablyInsincere]

Isn't King Diamond's kid an Alice Cooper imitator or wannabe?

No, it's the kid of King Diamond's former bassist.

I have gotten into King Diamond in the last year. Saw his tour last fall and it was great fun. I was surprised by how much good music he has.

Of course, I'm not surprised that many here wouldn't like it.

[Daggers & Contracts]

King Diamonds' "No Presents For Christmas" is a "Must Play" every holiday season!
I like Mercyful Fate/King Diamond - he just leans more to the Goth side so some of his imagery is downright scary but much different than the Horror that Rob Zombie utilizes.

[Si]

Many Alice fans won`t have any interest in King Diamond/Merciful fate as they are heavy metal artists. A great many AC fans have no interest in the genre at all.

It's actually good timing that you bring this up now, as while updating the timelines (at last) I came across an old interview with KD in a Danish newspaper.
19 year old King Diamond was in the audience at the Copenhagen WTMN show. "I stood up front and felt that if I reached out and touched his boots, he would vanish into thin air. It was quite magical. It was the first time I thought I should also have makeup on, when he stood on the stage. Not to copy Alice Cooper, but because it was so extremely powerful" [Translated from Danish]
He went on to say the the show changed his life in many ways. So you could certainly say he was a fan!

[mr.barlow]

So much so he stole his act.

[Devon]

I don't know about "stole" but was very heavily influenced. Although if you're going to say that then you would have to say the same about Zombie, Manson, KISS, etc. King Diamond had several influences, but most were in that circle (KISS, Ozzy, etc.) At least the King has acknowledged his influences, unlike some others (*ahem* Simmons & Stanley) who for a long time didn't even though it was blaringly obvious.

[mr.barlow]

I don't know about "stole" but was very heavily influenced. Although if you're going to say that then you would have to say the same about Zombie, Manson, KISS, etc. King Diamond had several influences, but most were in that circle (KISS, Ozzy, etc.) At least the King has acknowledged his influences, unlike some others (*ahem* Simmons & Stanley) who for a long time didn't even though it was blaringly obvious.

All the above and others have lifted Alice's act. Some more than than others. All of them were imitators and none of them innovators.

Ozzy and Sabbath had their own thing going but once he went solo he "borrowed" a great deal from Alice. The one thing he coudn't steal from Alice was the talent and ability to write lyrics. It's now common knowledge that Ozzy wrote very little of what he sang over the years.

KISS--the ultimate rip off. They've always sucked--realy bad! They've never had an original idea both visually or musically.

They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but I still call it stealing someone's act.

[Toronto Bob]

I like KD and Mercyful Fate. Awesome voice and wicked riffola. Denner/Shermann have writen as many cool riffs as Wagner/Hunter.

It would have been nice if Alice could have done something similar to KD like go back and forth between the group and a solo career

Seen MF once and KD once - top notch - although King's voice was a bit shot at the MF show, for which he apologized.

I think I prefer King diamond over MF just a bit and while Alice would be an obvious influence on KD, to say King stole the entire act is silly and plain wrong.

Abigail, Melissa and The Eye are personal faves

[cooperrocks]

I love hard rock and metal (and love the more metal Alice albums personally. Brutal Planet still sounds awesome), but I was never a fan of King Diamond or Merciful Fate. I know we aren't supposed to discuss religion here but I just wanted to say that I am a Christian, and though I am pretty open-minded when it comes to most lyrics, the lyrics in King Diamond and especially his stuff with Merciful Fate were just a little too much for me personally. I feel the same about Slayer. Just my opinion and I am not trying to push my faith on anyone, so I apologize if I violated the rules in any way.

I have heard a couple of King Diamond songs that I do like though but I never cared for his voice. It was just a little too high pitched. I know King Diamond has had some health problems in recent years, so I do wish him well.

[RemarkablyInsincere]

KISS--the ultimate rip off. They've always sucked--realy bad!

Hogwash.

[Si]

Hogwash.

Now THAT was a good band

[mr.barlow]

KISS--the ultimate rip off. They've always sucked--realy bad!

Hogwash.

Right on the money!
That is the perfect word to describe the music and career of KISS.

[jacknifejohnny]

Kiss = all flash, no substance

[While Heaven Wept]

Merciful Fate were a fantastic band. Those early albums are quite far ahead of their time musically.... certainly went a long way in inspiring the European Metal sound that can still be heard today. Many bands such as Opeth, At The Gates along with many of the black metal bands owe much to the sound of those MF albums.

I have only heard a few KD albums but I love Abigail. His voice is hilarious but strangely addictive. Saw them live a few years back and the whole show was fantastic.

[HORRORHOLIC]

I love Mercyful Fate/King Diamond. I finally had a chance to see him live this past October and will be seeing him once again this summer on the Mayhen Festival in Toronto. What an absolutely amazing live show too!

[pitkin88]

KISS--the ultimate rip off. They've always sucked--realy bad!

Hogwash.

Without doubt, around the Alive album, Kiss where one of the most exciting live bands on the planet. Alice was left in their wake.

[Steven Lee Cooper]

Thanks to you from my friend and me for your answers !