You may recall, 2020 saw a resurgence of sorts from the master of 80s Horror Metal, as King Diamond came back in force towards the end of 2019 with the announcement of The Institute (Any time now, btw!). In addition to the revelation of the new record, he re-issued everything from 1986 to 1990. Note, these are re-issues, not remasters, and that’s by design: King Diamond said that Metal Blade Records acquired all of the old Mercyful Fate & KD records, as he felt that the original sound was far better than the remastered versions from a bit before 2020. I listened to almost all of the re-issues back then: so much so, that I had 5 of them at no. 2 that year. To make things easier, I’ll be looking at just two so that April isn’t clogged up with all of them. To start things off, let’s take a look at King’s inaugural solo record......so light a few candles, keep an eye on that creepy painting on the wall, and take a look at my review for Fatal Portrait. Let’s begin!
Background
Upon leaving Mercyful Fate due to having musical differences with Hank Shermann (Real name René Krolmark), singer King Diamond, guitarist Michael Denner, and bassist Timi Hansen decided to get another band going. Using King’s name for the group in order to get better deals, and acquiring the services of drummer Mikkey Dee (Formerly of Dokken fame if I recall correctly) and guitarist Andy LaRocque, King Diamond the band would form in early 1985, and in July of that year would go into the studio to record their first album, Fatal Portrait, and released it in March of 1986. Ironically, Andy LaRocque was not given any writing credit on the record, as he actually joined the recording sessions at the last minute, and according to him it was due to the band's second guitarist at the time not working out in the studio. In fact, him recording a solo for Dressed In White acted as his audition for joining King Diamond.
Fatal Portrait would go on to sell over 100,000 copies in North America alone. As for how the album got it’s name, it comes from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Wilde describes the titular painting as "the fatal portrait" several times throughout the book.
Basic Description
Solo Horror Emergence.
King Diamond definitely had it somewhat easy when releasing Fatal Portrait. He already established himself when in Mercyful Fate, and thus already had some credit in the Heavy Metal world. However, it wasn’t just him that carried the weight, as he had Michael Denner & Timi Hansen from his previous band with him, and new members drummer Mikkey Dee and guitarist Andy LaRocque injected some new blood into the veins. This mix of old & new end up creating an album that while it’s identity isn’t 100%, but still ends up being 100% just in terms of pure quality alone.
Best Track
Halloween is just an addicting little song. From the first few guitar notes, it sinks it’s hooks into your ears & doesn’t let go! The drumming from Mikkey Dee is solid throughout the whole track, and the guitar and bass from Andy LaRocque, Michael Denner, & Timi Hansen is like lightning and thunder outside of a haunted house (Hint Hint). Of course, the most recognizable thing about the tune is King’s voice, which comes across as a little more refined when compared to Mercyful Fate’s first two release. He’s still shrieking and howling like a banshee, but he’s had some time to add more range and smooth things out ever so slightly. Though it’s not part of the album’s story, Halloween is a fun & creepy song that actually great at any point out of the year!
Halloween
Worst Track
As great as Fatal Portrait was, it’s lone fault lies in it’s lack of focus. The story that King is telling is regulated to the first 4 tracks, and the concluding one, making this one of the terribly weaker stories that he’s told. Everything in between the storytelling is more of generic horror, regardless of it’s quality or not. This makes the experience oddly bipolar in nature, which would fortunately be fixed a year later in 1987.......but no spoilers!
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:
Fatal Portrait
Overall Impression & Rating
Fatal Portrait was a damn good start for King’s solo career. Sure, it’s not the strongest story of his career, but like I said earlier, it showed that he was just as good outside of Mercyful Fate as he was within in. The instrumentation from everybody in the band was great, and King’s voice might have actually improved since his days with his former group. It might not be massively essential, but this is still one portrait you’ll definitely want to look at!
Fatal Portrait gets an 8 out of 10 for it’s storytelling, but a 10 out of 10 for everything else.
And that was my look at Fatal Portrait. Perhaps not quite as potent as what the horror master would create later, but it’s still filled with great instrumentation & vocal work, and showed to the fans he did have ideas on tales to sing about. Luckily for the people that listened, he would return with a story that encompassed the entire album, and with improved vocal work & instrumentation as well! However, before we get to that point, Easter is just a few short days away, so join me then for what will be my most surprising & potentially controversial review I’ve ever done. Until then, take care!
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