On January 25th, King Diamond will release a new DVD/Blu-ray, Songs For The Dead Live, via Metal Blade Records. To celebrate this DVD/Blu-ray, a release party will take place at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, NY on February 6th at 7PM. Featuring an appearance by Abigail, this event will include a showing of both shows from Songs For The Dead Live: Belgium’s Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and Philadelphia’s Fillmore in November 2015, both of which contain a brace of classic King Diamond and Mercyful Fate tracks before launching into Abigail. To RSVP, please email: kingdiamondparty@gmail.com

There is only one King Diamond, and for more than thirty years the great Dane has been dropping classic albums and putting on shows fans remember for the rest of their lives. Perhaps the only downside to having such a formidable catalogue is that there are just too many great songs to fit into a single set. However, you would be hard-pressed to find a fan who wouldn’t want to hear 1987’s seminal Abigail in its entirety, and Songs For The Dead Live captures this, twice, and in very different locales. The performances of the all-star lineup of musicians, comprising of guitarists Andy LaRocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg and drummer Matt Thompson, are absolutely ferocious, hammering home every single moment.

For a preview of Songs For The Dead Live, videos for “Arrival (Live at Graspop)” and “Sleepless Nights (Live at The Fillmore)” can be viewed at: metalblade.com/kingdiamond – where Songs For The Dead Live can also be pre-ordered in the following formats:

–2DVD/CD 6-Panel Digipak
–Blu-ray (includes audio digital download of Philadelphia Show)
–opaque blue with white splatter vinyl (US retail exclusive – limited to 600 copies)
–root beer marbled vinyl (US webstore exclusive – limited to 250 copies)
–clear pale orange marbled vinyl (US webstore exclusive – limited to 250 copies)
–180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
–transparent amber marbled vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 700 copies)
–clear ghost white vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 500 copies)
–orange-brown/black marbled vinyl (EU exclusive – limited to 300 copies)
–black/purple melt vinyl (Nuclear Blast exclusive – limited to 200 copies)
–orange/red marbled vinyl (Napalm exclusive – limited to 300 copies)
–clear lavender marbled vinyl (EMP exclusive – limited to 200 copies)
–clear ash grey marbled vinyl (Bengan exclusive – limited to 200 copies)
–pink blue marbled vinyl (eBay exclusive – limited to 200 copies)

Captured on film by director Denise Korycki for Wild Wind Productions, she worked closely with King on every aspect of filming, and throughout the viewer finds themselves front and center as the shows unfold. This includes some inventive camera placement, such as riding in on the back of the wheelchair as it is wheeled out to “Out From The Asylum” at the start of the show, or looking up from the coffin at the commencement of Abigail opener “Funeral”, which adds an extra dimension to proceedings. Naturally, the theatricality that has become synonymous with King Diamond is there in full force, making for an even more immersive experience. The gothic stage set and the participation of actors playing out certain scenes tying into the songs definitely increases the drama and the sense of complete disconnect from the trappings of reality, ensuring that the shows remain riveting from start to finish.

While the setlists are virtually identical, the drastic difference in the two venues make for distinctly different atmospheres. The sweeping, epic scale of Graspop and the virtual sea of baying metalheads makes for a particularly thrilling spectacle, King holding them all in the palm of his hand. The Fillmore show is immediately more intimate, and rather than a mixed bag of metal lovers drunk on a weekend of the heavy stuff, the audience is comprised entirely of the King Diamond devout, screaming back every word, their love for their hero bleeding from every frame. Songs For The Dead Live gives those who missed out on seeing these shows in the flesh a chance to vividly experience them, offering so much deeper an experience than your run of the mill live DVD.

Graspop Metal Meeting track-listing
Out from the Asylum
Welcome Home
Sleepless Nights
Halloween
Eye of the Witch
Melissa
Come to the Sabbath
Them
Funeral
Arrival
A Mansion in Darkness
The Family Ghost
The 7th Day of July 1777
Omens
The Possession
Abigail
Black Horsemen
Insanity

The Fillmore track-listing
Out from the Asylum
Welcome Home
Sleepless Nights
Eye of the Witch
Halloween
Melissa
Come to the Sabbath
Them
Funeral
Arrival
A Mansion in Darkness
The Family Ghost
The 7th Day of July 1777
Omens
The Possession
Abigail
Black Horsemen
Insanity

King Diamond online:
http://www.kingdiamondcoven.com
https://twitter.com/realkingdiamond
https://www.facebook.com/kingdiamondofficial