King Diamond - Abigail II: The Revenge

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Metal Blade
Catalog Number: 14379
Format: CD
Total Time: 53:03:00

I must admit to not being the biggest fan of the King. No, not that King, but King Diamond. To put it simply, his voice annoys the hell out of me. His new album, Abigail II - The Revenge, returns to a concept that began some 15 years ago.

Well, you may be interested to know that King Diamond's voice still annoys me, but this album, taken in parts, is quite an achievement in today's metal. Again, King Diamond's vocals remind me of Alice Cooper mixed with sucking on a helium balloon. He can still hit those high notes, but those notes reach so many levels and display so many styles that for a man that wears ugly make-up, it's quite fascinating. And it's always comical. Musically, the album is really impressive - it's heavy, theatrical, and it has an edge that not many other metal albums have. It's modern with complicated passages that blend seamlessly from one intricate note to another. The dramatic moments are everywhere and take you, literally and figuratively, to another place.

The King has definitely recruited well for this new album and along with long time partner-in-crime Andy La Rocque and new guitarist Mike Wead (Mercyful Fate, Momento Mori, Candlemass, & Hexenhaus) they have created melodramatic music on another level to anything else I've heard this year. If there's one downfall, and it definitely is major depending on how you view King Diamond, it is THAT voice. Those falsetto notes become tiresome across 55 minutes, although the fact that he mixes it up means you're not drowned - but it does feel like it sometimes. For those who find King Diamond god-like, then I'm sure you'll ignore those statements completely.

Abigail, being a concept album, is a great read and an interesting booklet is provided. Not only are the lyrics descriptive (similar to Dream Theater's Metropolis Part II) but it also includes a family history. The music and the story are entwined flawlessly and the haunting elements that King Diamond presents is absorbing and intriguing.

Is it worth it? Yes. I think so. Maybe. I'm not sure. I'm indecisive, that's true, but I've never been his biggest fan. But it does all come down to that voice. And that voice still annoys me.

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Spare This Life (1:44) / The Storm (4:22) / Mansion In Sorrow (3:36) / Miriam (5:10) / Little One (4:31) / Slippery Stairs (5:10) / The Crypt (4:11) / Broken Glass (4:13) / More Than Pain (2:31) / The Wheelchair (5:19) / Spirits (4:57) / Mommy (6:26) / Sorry Dear (0:53)

Musicians:
King Diamond - vocals, strings, harpsichord, keyboards, vocals
Andy LaRocque - guitar, strings, harpsichord, keyboards
Kol Marshall - strings, harpsichord, keyboards
Hal Patino - bass
Matt Thompson - drums
Mike Wead - guitar

Discography:
No Presents For Christmas (1985)
Fatal Portrait (1986)
Abigail (1987)
Them (1988)
Conspiracy (1989)
The Eye (1990)
Family Ghost (1990)
In Concert 1987: Abigail Live (1991)
The Spider's Lullabye (1995)
The Graveyard (1996)
Voodoo (1998)
House Of God (2000)
Abigail II: The Revenge (2002)
Puppet Master (2003)
Deadly Lullabyes: Live (2004)
Give Me Your Soul... Please (2007)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin DK

Added: December 29th 2004
Reviewer: Gary Carson
Score:
Artist website: www.covenworldwide.org
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Language: english