King Diamond "Abigail (CD+DVD Edition, Remastered)"

Abigail is the second King Diamond album and their first concept album. It was released in 1987 on Roadrunner Records. There were several re-releases, first in 1997 with 4 bonus tracks, and then a 25th Anniversary edition in 2005 with a bonus DVD. This album has sold over 175,000 copies in North America alone.

Abigail tells the story about a young couple, Miriam Natias and Jonathan La'Fey, who move into an old mansion that La'Fey inherited. It takes place in the summer of 1845. At their arrival they are warned by seven horsemen not to move into the house because if they do “18 will become 9.” They do not heed the warning and proceed to move into the mansion. During their first night, Jonathan meets with Count La'Fey, the Family Ghost, who is a deceased relative. The ghost shows him a casket in which a corpse of a stillborn child, Abigail, rests. The ghost informs him that Miriam is carrying the spirit of Abigail and that the child will soon be reborn. He insists that Jonathan must kill Miriam at once to prevent the rebirth.

The narration then relates the story of what happened to the Count and his wife: on 7 July 1777, the Count had discovered his wife had been unfaithful to him, and was pregnant with an illegitimate child. Enraged, he threw the Countess down the stairs, breaking her neck and causing the child to be stillborn. The Count had the body of the Countess cremated, and the stillborn fetus he named Abigail and had mummified and laid to rest in a sarcophagus, the Count having an inexplicable urge to preserve Abigail for the future.

The narration then returns to the summer of 1845, during which Jonathan and Miriam are beset by a range of omens; the church bell rings despite nobody being inside to ring it, flowers die, unwholesome stenches fill the house and in the dining room the table is discovered set for 3. In one incident an empty cradle is discovered by Jonathan swaying in the air, with both him and Miriam insisting that they didn’t bring it with them. The next day, Miriam is clearly pregnant and the fetus develops quickly; Jonathan realises that the family ghost was speaking the truth.

The fatal crisis begins when Jonathan accuses Abigail of possessing Miriam, and Abigail (through Miriam) admits it. Jonathan is terrified and considers getting a priest to exorcise Miriam - Miriam, however, exercising a moment of control, urges him to cast her down the stairs to kill her just as the Count had slain the Countess and Abigail’s original incarnation. Therefore, Jonathan pretends to give in to Abigail’s demands, and suggests to Abigail (once she regains control of Miriam) that she should come down to the family crypt so she can be reborn where she died. However, as the couple stands at the top of the stairs, Jonathan is distracted and the possessed Miriam throws Jonathan down the stairs.

Miriam gives birth to Abigail, but dies shortly afterwards, her last sight being of Abigail’s “yellow eyes”; supposedly her ghost can be heard screaming on the stairs in July ever after. The seven horsemen arrive at the mansion and discover the baby Abigail in the sarcophagus, eating something too horrifying for the narrator to mention (though the fact that it is found in the sarcophagus suggests that Abigail is eating her own previous body). Appalled, they take her away to bury her in a hidden chapel in the forest with seven silver spikes driven through her body (a burial heard as the intro to the album), in the hope that this will prevent a further resurrection.

Track listing

Disc 1 (CD)

1. "Funeral" King Diamond 1:30
2. "Arrival" King Diamond 5:26
3. "A Mansion in Darkness" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 4:34
4. "The Family Ghost" King Diamond 4:06
5. "The 7th Day of July 1777" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 4:50
6. "Omens" King Diamond 3:56
7. "The Possession" King Diamond, Michael Denner 3:26
8. "Abigail" King Diamond 4:50
9. "Black Horsemen" King Diamond 7:40
10. "Shrine"  04:23   
11. "A Mansion in Darkness (Rough Mix)"  04:37   
12. "The Family Ghost (Rough Mix)"  04:11  
13. "The Possession (Rough Mix)" 03:30  

Time:  56:57

 

Disc 2 (DVD) - Live in Gothenberg, Sweden, 1987

1. Funeral   
2. Arrival   
3. Come to the Sabbath (Mercyful Fate cover)   
4. The Portrait   
5. The Family Ghost   
6. The 7th Day of July 1777
7. Halloween  
8. The Family Ghost (Video)  
9. Welcome Home (Video)  
10. Sleepless Nights (Video) 

Released as part of Roadrunner Records' the Top Shelf Edition series.

Includes expanded booklet and liner notes.

DVD contains 7 unreleased songs recorded live in 1987.

Music video:

- The Family Ghost

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Sound Track Studio, Copenhagen, December-February 1986-1987.

King Diamond "Abigail (1997 Remastered)"

Abigail is the second King Diamond album and their first concept album. It was released in 1987 on Roadrunner Records. There were several re-releases, first in 1997 with 4 bonus tracks, and then a 25th Anniversary edition in 2005 with a bonus DVD. This album has sold over 175,000 copies in North America alone.

Abigail tells the story about a young couple, Miriam Natias and Jonathan La'Fey, who move into an old mansion that La'Fey inherited. It takes place in the summer of 1845. At their arrival they are warned by seven horsemen not to move into the house because if they do “18 will become 9.” They do not heed the warning and proceed to move into the mansion. During their first night, Jonathan meets with Count La'Fey, the Family Ghost, who is a deceased relative. The ghost shows him a casket in which a corpse of a stillborn child, Abigail, rests. The ghost informs him that Miriam is carrying the spirit of Abigail and that the child will soon be reborn. He insists that Jonathan must kill Miriam at once to prevent the rebirth.

The narration then relates the story of what happened to the Count and his wife: on 7 July 1777, the Count had discovered his wife had been unfaithful to him, and was pregnant with an illegitimate child. Enraged, he threw the Countess down the stairs, breaking her neck and causing the child to be stillborn. The Count had the body of the Countess cremated, and the stillborn fetus he named Abigail and had mummified and laid to rest in a sarcophagus, the Count having an inexplicable urge to preserve Abigail for the future.

The narration then returns to the summer of 1845, during which Jonathan and Miriam are beset by a range of omens; the church bell rings despite nobody being inside to ring it, flowers die, unwholesome stenches fill the house and in the dining room the table is discovered set for 3. In one incident an empty cradle is discovered by Jonathan swaying in the air, with both him and Miriam insisting that they didn’t bring it with them. The next day, Miriam is clearly pregnant and the fetus develops quickly; Jonathan realises that the family ghost was speaking the truth.

The fatal crisis begins when Jonathan accuses Abigail of possessing Miriam, and Abigail (through Miriam) admits it. Jonathan is terrified and considers getting a priest to exorcise Miriam - Miriam, however, exercising a moment of control, urges him to cast her down the stairs to kill her just as the Count had slain the Countess and Abigail’s original incarnation. Therefore, Jonathan pretends to give in to Abigail’s demands, and suggests to Abigail (once she regains control of Miriam) that she should come down to the family crypt so she can be reborn where she died. However, as the couple stands at the top of the stairs, Jonathan is distracted and the possessed Miriam throws Jonathan down the stairs.

Miriam gives birth to Abigail, but dies shortly afterwards, her last sight being of Abigail’s “yellow eyes”; supposedly her ghost can be heard screaming on the stairs in July ever after. The seven horsemen arrive at the mansion and discover the baby Abigail in the sarcophagus, eating something too horrifying for the narrator to mention (though the fact that it is found in the sarcophagus suggests that Abigail is eating her own previous body). Appalled, they take her away to bury her in a hidden chapel in the forest with seven silver spikes driven through her body (a burial heard as the intro to the album), in the hope that this will prevent a further resurrection.

Track listing

1. "Funeral" King Diamond 1:30
2. "Arrival" King Diamond 5:26
3. "A Mansion in Darkness" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 4:34
4. "The Family Ghost" King Diamond 4:06
5. "The 7th Day of July 1777" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 4:50
6. "Omens" King Diamond 3:56
7. "The Possession" King Diamond, Michael Denner 3:26
8. "Abigail" King Diamond 4:50
9. "Black Horsemen" King Diamond 7:40

Remaster bonus tracks

1. "Shrine" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 4:24
2. "A Mansion in Darkness (Rough Mix)" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 4:36
3. "The Family Ghost (Rough Mix)" King Diamond 4:10
4. "The Possession (Rough Mix)" King Diamond, Michael Denner 3:31

Released as part of Roadrunner Records' the King Diamond Remasters series.

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Sound Track Studio, Copenhagen, December - February 1986-1987.

Remastered at The Hit Factory, New York.

King Diamond "Deadly Lullabyes - Live"

Deadly Lullabyes Live is a live album from King Diamond, which was recording during The Puppet Master promotion tour. It spans two discs. The album features only recordings from the United States part of the tour.

Track listing

Disc one

1. "Funeral"
2. "A Mansion in Darkness"
3. "The Family Ghost"
4. "Black Horsemen"
5. "Spare This Life"
6. "Mansion in Sorrow"
7. "Spirits"
8. "Sorry Dear"
9. "Eye of the Witch"
10. "Sleepless Nights"

Disc two

1. "The Puppet Master"
2. "Blood to Walk"
3. "So Sad"
4. "Living Dead"
5. "Welcome Home"
6. "The Invisible Guests"
7. "Burn"
8. ""Introductions""
9. "Halloween"
10. "No Presents for Christmas"

A live album recorded on the U.S. tour for "The Puppet Master".

Jody Cachia: Actress

Recording information:

Mixed at King's House.

Mastered at Nomad Recording Studios.

Post Production at Los Angered Recording, Gothenburg, Sweden, and Nomad Recording Studios, Dallas, TX, USA.

King Diamond "The Puppet Master"

The Puppet Master is the eleventh studio album by Danish heavy metal band King Diamond, released in 2003. A limited edition includes a DVD on which frontman King Diamond tells the story of the Puppet Master. It is a concept album with a storyline telling the tale of a young couple who go to watch a puppet show in Budapest in the 1700s, and end up being turned into undead puppets by the Puppet Master and his wife.

The album opens at the end of the story, with the narrator giving a monologue as he is "hanging" from a wall, snow falling in the night outside. He reminisces about his life before his current predicament, giving small hints as to the horrors he was forced to witness and be subjected to ("Midnight").

The story shifts back eighteen years prior, to a nighttime puppet show in Budapest during Christmas. This particular puppet show is well known for both its life-sized, "grotesque" puppets, and the Puppet Master's inexplicable ability to make them dance without strings in the show's finale. The narrator, one of the audience members, is disturbed by the thought that one of the puppets, the Little Drummer Boy, looked at him as though it were "alive." He also notices the puppet is bleeding ("The Puppet Master").

At the conclusion of the show, the narrator meets Victoria, a young lady who shares his sentiments about the puppet show. The two feel that the show was "magic," which the narrator claims to also see in Victoria's eyes. The two talk and learn more about one another, culminating in the narrator kissing her. The couple begins a life together. However, a year later Victoria fails to return home after going to see another puppet show, and the fearful narrator sets out in the night to find her ("Magic").

In his search for Victoria, the narrator notices Emerencia, the Puppet Master's obese wife, emerge from the theater's cellar with a knife, a sack and a cart. Curious, he follows her. To his horror he witnesses Emerencia brutally murder a homeless man, taking his body back with her to the theater. She is careful not to let any blood spill from the corpse, keeping the knife inside her victim's body. Noticing that the door has remained open, the narrator attempts to follow Emerencia down into the cellar but is knocked unconscious by an unseen assailant ("Emerencia").

The narrator awakens on the floor of the cellar, tied up and surrounded by puppets. His eyes adjusting to the dark, he comes to the realization that the puppets are indeed made from human bodies. Upon scrutinizing one of them, he is devastated to find that one of the puppets has the exact same blue eyes as his beloved Victoria, confirming his worst fears ("Blue Eyes").

The Puppet Master and Emerencia then enter the cellar and begin performing a demonic ritual to convert the narrator into another puppet. First, the Puppet Master speaks an incantation to subdue the narrator's mind, but the frightened narrator "kicks" a shelf, knocking down and breaking a jar, the contents of which are revealed to be human blood. This infuriates the Puppet Master, but the ritual continues. The narrator's soul is taken from him, while his eyes are given "eternal life" due to his untimely breaking of the blood-filled jar ("The Ritual").

He then finds himself strapped to a hospital bed for the second and final part of the ritual. The Puppet Master and his wife stand in front of him with a scalpel. The Puppet Master leans over him and says: "First your eyes... then your skin... we will make you feel born again," and starts to cut out his eyes. The Puppet Master uses an instrument to pull the eyeballs out of their sockets, cutting through the nerves holding the eyes in place. The Puppet Master then puts the eyeballs into a puppet's eye sockets, completing the work. The new puppet is placed on a shelf with the others, while the rest of the narrator's body is disposed of ("No More Me").

The narrator, in his new puppet form, can see and feel, but is otherwise unable to move and cannot sleep. He and Victoria, who is placed on a shelf across from him, can still "communicate with [their] eyes," questioning why they were subjected to this horror. The couple are given injections of blood, which gives them mobility under the Puppet Master's direction, who affectionately refers to them as his "children." After the injections successfully reanimate them for the first time, they are put back on their shelves in the cellar ("Blood to Walk").

The Puppet Master continues to train the narrator and Victoria for his upcoming puppet shows. The injections of blood last a maximum of an hour before their effects wear off; the narrator describes the hellish process as an unending cycle of living and dying, over and over. One night, the Puppet Master decides to try to have Victoria dance without strings, in spite of her fearful protests. As a result, Victoria knocks into the shelves of blood and breaks six of the jars. As punishment, the Puppet Master declares that she must be sent away to another puppet theater in Berlin ("Darkness").

The narrator is heartbroken, knowing he will lose Victoria again and is helpless to prevent it. The two converse for the final time as the narrator comforts her. In desperation, the narrator vows to find Victoria, and if he fails, he will be reunited with her in death. The couple declares their love for one another and they tearfully bid each other goodbye ("So Sad (Ghost's Song)").

The Puppet Master puts on his annual Christmas show, with the narrator starring as the new Little Drummer Boy. Without Victoria, the narrator is melancholic and desperate to escape his fate, even as he is forced to perform. In retaliation, he deliberately falls on the stage, breaking his drum and likely ruining the entire show ("Christmas").

Due to his actions during the Christmas performance, the narrator is sold to another shop, where his puppet body is pinned to the wall, a nail driven through its throat. The story returns to the present time, as the narrator describes how, in the eighteen years since he was sold, a rumor has spread that the Puppet Master's son and daughter will be opening a new puppet theater for children, describing how it will "be a bloody mess." The narrator's appearance frightens those who enter the shop, as they sense something amiss with him and notice his eyes following them. The album and story end as the narrator admits he has never found his beloved Victoria, sadly wondering where she is. Unknown to him, Victoria is heard wondering where he may be as well ("Living Dead").

Track listing

1. "Midnight" King Diamond 1:55
2. "The Puppet Master" King Diamond 4:41
3. "Magic" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 4:57
4. "Emerencia" King Diamond 5:19
5. "Blue Eyes" King Diamond 4:24
6. "The Ritual" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 5:02
7. "No More Me" King Diamond, Matt Thompson 3:16
8. "Blood to Walk" King Diamond 5:32
9. "Darkness" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 4:37
10. "So Sad" King Diamond 4:38
11. "Christmas" King Diamond 5:18
12. "Living Dead" King Diamond, Andy LaRocque 6:04

"Christmas" contains an excerpt from "The Little Drummer Boy" written by Davis – Onorati – Simeone. Arranged by King Diamond.

Chart positions:

Sweden: 24 (highest peak ever in the Swedish charts)

Recording information:

Mixed at King's House.

Mastered at Nomad Recording Studios.

Recorded at Los Angered Recording, Gothenburg, Sweden, Nomad Recording Studios, Dallas, TX, USA, Solnasound Recording, Sweden and King's House, Texas.