King Diamond
Tower Theater Upper Darby Pennsylvania 10th November 2019
By: Steve Trager
It’s hard to pinpoint the brilliant musical success of King Diamond that has surrounded him as a solo artist throughout the last twenty plus years has been nothing short of stellar.
Many of the diehard fans know his distinct voice from the days of Merciful Fate that have propelled King D into a solo phenomenon behind the painted mask that has been a mystery for decades.
For many fans that had a chance to catch this band performing across Europe alongside some legendary iconic names over the summer of 2019 captivating many of the well known rock festivals seems to be a great indication that King Diamond would give North American fans a short run of dates of what he is calling it The Institution Tour.
While it’s been more than ten years for the mastermind of King Diamond of releasing new material, we settle for nothing but a great live experience without new songs.
Sitting through two opening bands is no easy task especially if you don’t know a damn thing about either of the bands and looking up the info on them, line sometimes has an advantage but takes the enjoyment of what to expect of any band rather quickly.
First up was a great short set by Portland Oregano’s Idle Hands a five piece powerhouse that certainly provided a great six-song set from their debut effort which is worthy of a check off the bucket list to get this year.
A quick set change over and then in direct support of the Diamond Tour was UK Punk rockers Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, who also entertained the legendary venue to about 8 or so songs. Again not knowing any of these bands here, they were both decent warm-up to set the stage for the headliner to dominate the stage.
Last change over and the curtain dropped so the final preps could be set for a great show, just about a 25-minute intermission, the lights went out and the into started to fill the speakers of the Tower Theater.
The curtain lifted and the entertainment took over, from a visual naked eye it appeared to be a two-level complete stage set up like a vintage hospital.
I have always liked the visual of special effects like this makes a typical show much more impressive with lights, smoke machines and a blazing set of lights flashing across the stage.
Outcomes King Diamond strapped to a gurney with an IV that set the mood of a dead rock star that suddenly comes alive a bit confused throws himself off the gurney and the show begins to unfold with the opening song from 1986’s Album Fatal Portrait “ The Candle “.
We all have our favorites and wished the entire show would be based around every well-known song he ever wrote but that’s not possible, as a seventy-minute show could have easily turned into two-plus hours or more if we had it our way.
Other favorites were pulled from 1990s The Eye with “Behind These Walls” among cult classics like “Voodoo” and “ Halloween” spanning his catalog going way back like a history lesson in music.
It’s always refreshing when an artist references where it all began for them going forward,
Kind Diamond yelled out to the packed house it’s nice to back where it all started for me in 1984 with Mercyful Fate.
The energy and the display of the great well-rounded musicians he has made for a fantastic show complete with one new song “Masquerade of Madness “ from the forth coming release slated to be 2020 titled the institution.
Rounding out the complete setlist of this show King Diamond unleashed two amazing encores from relics in his catalog “Burn” and from 1987’s release of Abigail “ Black Horsemen “ which was a heartfelt dedication of the recent passing of his former bassist Timi Hensen.
It was certainly a high energy show with many stellar songs that have made this individual more than just a performer, he is the King of his own show… enough said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.