KING DIAMOND
Downtown, Farmingdale, NY
November 8, 2003
Review By Kieth McDonald
Thanks to MetalBlade for the promo photos
This was the first time that I'd had ever seen King Diamond, even
though I had heard so many great things about his music and live shows. So
it was safe to say that I went to this show mostly out of curiosity. I'm
glad I went. Having heard so many things about him and his Mercyful Fate
shows and the fact that he was playing at a Long Island club promoting his
new album, made it an easy choice.
The club is not huge but it can hold a pretty large crowd. Hearing that
King Daimond was getting ready to hit the stage I quickly made my way into
the venue. As soon as I entered I knew I'd have an even harder time
getting to the stage than I did at the Anthrax show. As packed as that
show was, this show had even more people. I was expecting a type of thrash
metal show with growling vocals. But I was pleasantly surprised to find
that King's music, though still heavy, had many elements of melodic metal.
King's voice was solid with great range. He ran through a set of classics
that included Family Ghost, Spirits, Mansion In Darkness, Sleepless Nights
and Welcome Home. The band, consisting of guitarists Andy LaRocque, Mike
Wead, bassist Hal Patino and drummer Matt Thompson, was solid. But what
was even more impressive was the stage setup as King supplied an
18-wheeler's worth of stuff that included fake pyro and a medieval-type
castle set-up that was very cool. The band provided enough energy to fill
an arena with enough stage set-ups to fill a small theatre, which is very
rarely seen these days, which is too bad. Bands forget how to entertain
people, it seems.
Overall it was an incredible metal show. The show ended with No
Presents For Christmas with the band in their Santa outfits. King showed
why so many fans still support and follow him after all these years. A
show worth checking out when he comes to your town. Worth the money!