King Diamond is not a regular visitor in the north of England so this was a special occasion for the denizens of Manchester who made their way to the Academy dressed in assorted ghoulish outfits and costumes. The show was set to become a glorious horror show full of screaming falsettos and wild guitar solos. Unto Others and Paradise Lost joined the funhouse as well.
First up was Unto Others, a band that had very recently played in Manchester, opening for Green Lung. Since that show, people had been talking about Unto Others with glowing praise, their brand of gothic heavy metal had clearly left an impression and the dark atmosphere made them a perfect opener for King Diamond. Lead singer, Gabriel Franco, returned armed with his sunglasses and Type O Negative-style riffing that helped turn the Academy into a goth club in an 80s movie or the club from The Crow if you’d prefer a more modern reference (yes, I know it’s 30 years old).
Paradise Lost were next and they had a dower and gloomy approach as they made use of 7-string guitars and a glorious clean vocal performance from Nick Holmes who had a few seconds of technical issues before absolutely killing it for the rest of the set. Despite being a band full of maudlin subject matter and moose morose lyricism, Paradise Lost had a lot of fun on stage with guitarist Aaron Aedy flailing around on stage and doing windmills while they played all these goth classics like the phase laden anthem, ‘Ghosts’.
‘The Last Time’ is one of my favourite songs from Draconian Times, a landmark goth record in its own right, so it had a bit of emotional weight for me as I’d finally gotten to see Paradise Lost for the first time since the Draconian Times anniversary tour. The set ended with ‘Just Say Words’ and as the final notes rang through the Academy, I began planning on acquiring tickets for Paradise Lost’s headline show at New Century in October.
During the break, we watched all the crew put together the set and when the curtain finally came down, it was breathtaking. A gigantic set of stairs and equipment from an early 20th-century psychiatric hospital took up the entire stage, full of minute details and easter eggs designed for longtime King Diamond fans. It made the hype all the more real, knowing King Diamond was on his way and the horrors would commence soon.
As the house lights went down and the lanterns began to light, King Diamond appeared with a puppet and a knife before getting into ‘Arrival’. The set continued with all sorts of spooky gimmicks, including the regular appearance of a dancer who would show up periodically dressed as assorted ghoulish creatures like a zombie during ‘Voodoo’ or a ghoulish figure branding a lantern and patrolling during ‘A Mansion in Darkness’.
The set was full of classic tales of macabre horror like ‘Voodoo,’ ‘Sleepless Nights,’ as well as tracks from the highly anticipated new album in the form of ‘Masquerade of Madness’ and the infectious grooves of ‘Spider Lily’. It surprised absolutely no one that the man sounded incredible, his stratospheric falsetto reached the same impossible heights just as easily as it did 40 years ago and we were all enthralled by it as though we’d all heard it for the first time.
The big moment everyone was waiting for had finally arrived; two ghostly spectres discussing an elderly woman, a grim story of torment and tea and King getting bollocked for messing around with the piano. The iconic drum fill had hit and King returned with the phrase everyone was waiting for: “GRANDMAAAAAAAA”. It’s amazing just how iconic two syllables can become and it was made all the more exciting by how many grandmas were in the building. There was even one in the audience screaming their lungs out as the band ripped through the certified heavy metal classic.
Despite appearing deadly serious, emphasis on deadly, King Diamond had a wacky sense of humour. He made reference to the contractual obligations he has to talk to his brand new Keyboardist, Hel Pyre of W.E.B., and he took it like a champ when he broke a glass and the audience did the classic Northern weeeey. As per contractual agreement, Hel requested ‘Eye of the Witch’ which made use of creepy synths and slow stomping guitar riffs and led perfectly into the final track before the encore ‘Burn’. ‘Burn’ is a great track but the visuals of the dancer pretending to be set on fire like she was part of a Salem witch trial made it unforgettable.
The set ended with the iconic title track from his 1989 masterpiece of the macabre, ‘Abigail’. A track full of flailing guitar solos and dark harmonies from guitar legends Andy Larocque and Mike Wead. Those haunting synths turned the Academy into the cabin from ‘The Evil Dead’ as the sounds invoked a parade of cursed spectres with malevolent plans that start and end with mayhem.
At times, King Diamond has the same tone and feeling as someone like Krusty the Clown, a strange and goofy man who takes his craft seriously, beloved by all despite his flaws, and also happens to have a cavalcade of goofballs and gags with him at all times. King Diamond assured us that the long wait for new Mercyful Fate and King Diamond albums is almost over as they’re both halfway through development.
Could we see these albums as early as Q1 2026? We can only hope.
