King Diamond is one of those bands people either love it or hate it. I’m in the first group. The concept albums always based on horror stories, the great guitar work, the great drumming, the theatrical concerts, and of course, all the vocal layers King Diamond creates to give life to his stories.


Some 20 years ago I used to play about 30 King Diamond songs on the guitar, as I was getting ready to play in a cover band called Twilight Symphony. Unfortunately, we’ve only rehearsed a couple of times before splitting up (everybody was busy with other things), but learning to play those songs was a great experience.

Even before that, we used to play the song Halloween with my band from my teenage years.

I’ve always thought King Diamond should write the story for a horror movie, where he’d play one of the characters. Maybe Rob Zombie, another metalhead, who’s been directing movies for many years now, could work on that?

I’ll never forget going to a Mercyful Fate/King Diamond concert in Sao Paulo back in 1996. Seeing the two bands on the same night was out of this world!

#10: The Secret
I don't like the production on this album much, but it has some songs I dig.

#9: Twilight Symphony
This song named my King Diamond cover band back in the day.

#8: From the Other Side
Any song off this album (released in 95) reminds me of a Mercyful Fate/King Diamond gig I went to in Sao Paulo back in 96.
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#7: Into the Convent
Playing this song on the guitar years back was fun. Andy LaRocque is such a great guitarist.

#6: The 7th Day of July 1777
One of Andy LaRocque’s finest works. Great songwriting, great solo. And of course, King Diamond delivering the eerie elements the song needs.

#5: The Family Ghost
Another song that was a lot of fun to play back in the day. Also, I think Rob Zombie should team up with King Diamond and make a badass horror movie!

#4: At the Graves
That eerie intro... all the dynamics... the guitars. Great KD track!

#3: Sleepless Nights
The master of horror in metal doing what he does best!

#2: Halloween
This is one of the songs my band from teenage years used to play. Simple, but fun!

#1: Welcome Home
This song is my absolute #1 by King Diamond. Mikkey Dee’s drumming on it is awesome. Great guitars. Great leads. This is one of my favorite music videos, too, as it both shows the band playing as well as it tells a story. It was my favorite one to play on the guitar, too.