King Diamond facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
King Diamond
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King Diamond performing in 2022
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kim Bendix Petersen |
| Born | 14 June 1956 Hvidovre, Denmark |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, musician, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, guitar |
| Years active | 1974–present |
Kim Bendix Petersen (born June 14, 1956) is a famous Danish rock musician. He is better known by his stage name, King Diamond. He is known for his powerful singing voice, especially his high-pitched screams.
King Diamond is the main singer and songwriter for two bands: Mercyful Fate and his own band, King Diamond. He also plays keyboards and guitar when recording music. However, during live shows, he focuses only on his singing. He is famous for his dark song lyrics and the stories he tells through his music. He is also known for his unique stage look, especially his black and white face paint. Many other rock and metal artists, like Metallica and Slayer, have been influenced by him.
Contents
King Diamond's Music Journey
Starting Out in Music
King Diamond's first heavy rock band was called Brainstorm, from 1974 to 1976. After that, he sang with a hard rock band named Black Rose. He then joined a punk-metal band called Brats, where he met Hank Shermann.
Soon, King Diamond, Hank Shermann, and Michael Denner (who was also in Brats) formed a new project called Danger Zone. This band included Timi Hansen. In 1980, these musicians came together to create the band Mercyful Fate.
Mercyful Fate Band
After releasing their album Don't Break the Oath in 1984, Mercyful Fate went on tour and played in the U.S. for the first time. After this, King Diamond decided to start his own solo career. He took two bandmates, Timi Hansen and Michael Denner, with him.
Mercyful Fate got back together in 1992. King Diamond continued his solo career at the same time. The band recorded five more studio albums. In 1999, King Diamond and Hank Shermann performed a song called "Evil" live with the band Metallica. During this show, King Diamond did not wear his famous makeup.
In 2000, King Diamond decided to pause Mercyful Fate and focus on his solo music. However, on August 1, 2019, Mercyful Fate announced they would reunite for a European tour. In June 2022, Mercyful Fate released a new song, "The Jackal of Salzburg." In August 2022, King Diamond confirmed that the band was working on a new album.
King Diamond's Solo Career
King Diamond has also worked with other musicians. In 2004, he sang on a song called "Sweet Dreams" for Dave Grohl's heavy metal project, Probot. In 2005, he sang on the Roadrunner United – The All-Star Sessions album. He also appeared on the Cradle of Filth song "Devil Woman" in late 2005.
In April 2006, King Diamond performed with Mikkey Dee, the drummer for Motörhead, at a show in Sweden. King Diamond released his album Give Me Your Soul... Please on June 26, 2007. A song from this album, "Never Ending Hill," was nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Best Metal Performance" category.
On August 9, 2008, King Diamond joined Metallica at Ozzfest in Texas. They performed a mix of Mercyful Fate songs. He also sang a cover of the Pantera song "A New Level" with other musicians.
In 2009, King Diamond became a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero: Metallica. Players could unlock him by completing Mercyful Fate's song "Evil."
On December 7, 2011, King Diamond appeared on stage with Metallica again. This was in San Francisco to celebrate Metallica's 30th anniversary. In June 2012, King Diamond performed his comeback concert at the Sweden Rock Festival. He also appeared on the TV show That Metal Show in September 2012.
He sang as a guest on Volbeat's 2013 album, Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies, on the song "Room 24." In August 2013, King Diamond performed at the Open Air Bloodstock Festival in the UK. In 2015, King Diamond's band participated in the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, which was headlined by Slayer.
Other Appearances
King Diamond was a special guest voice in four episodes of the cartoon Metalocalypse in 2006. He voiced characters like the Blues Devil and Ronald von Moldenberg.
King Diamond's Stage Look
When King Diamond performs on stage, he uses a unique microphone stand. It is made from a femur bone and a tibia bone shaped like a cross. He used to use a real human skull named Melissa on stage. However, Melissa was stolen after a show in the Netherlands in the mid-1980s.
King Diamond often changes his makeup design. For his album Conspiracy, he wore black and white lines on his face, with some red "blood" that looked like a wound on his forehead. For his album The Puppet Master, he used less white makeup. Instead, he had black crosses and upside-down crosses on his face.
Who Influenced King Diamond?
King Diamond says that musicians like Arthur Brown, David Byron, Alice Cooper, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Ozzy Osbourne, and Robert Plant were his main influences.
According to his official website, the first two albums he ever bought were Deep Purple's Fireball and Black Sabbath's Master of Reality.
King Diamond's Family Life
King Diamond is married to Livia Zita. She is a singer from Hungary. Livia has sung backup vocals on his albums The Puppet Master and Give Me Your Soul...Please. She also sings with him during live shows.
Livia is also his business partner. She helps him put together old videos for future DVD releases of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate live performances. She also helped make new versions of some of his albums. In 2017, King Diamond and Livia had a son named Byron.
King Diamond's Impact on Music
The famous band Metallica released an 11-minute mix of five Mercyful Fate songs on their 1998 cover album Garage Inc.. King Diamond has joined Metallica on stage three times to perform this mix. These performances happened at the Gods of Metal festival in Italy in 1999, at Ozzfest in Texas in 2008, and at a Metallica fan club show in San Francisco in 2011.
King Diamond has been featured on the covers of many rock and metal magazines. He has influenced many artists, including Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Cradle of Filth, and the band Cage. The American heavy metal band Cage even wrote a song called "King Diamond" for him on their 2007 album Hell Destroyer.
Discography
- Fatal Portrait (1986)
- Abigail (1987)
- Them (1988)
- Conspiracy (1989)
- The Eye (1990)
- The Spider's Lullabye (1995)
- The Graveyard (1996)
- Voodoo (1998)
- House of God (2000)
- Abigail II: The Revenge (2002)
- The Puppet Master (2003)
- Give me your Soul...Please (2007)
Awards
- 2008 – Grammy nomination in the "Best Metal Performance" category for the song "Never Ending Hill"
See also
In Spanish: King Diamond para niños
