well, you've got his best work already, whatever came after those three albums follow the same pattern.

 

I�ve followed King Diamond (and Mercyful Fate) since the late eighties. I wasn�t very old when I found "Abigail" and "Them" on my local library and loaned the vinyls. Those albums scared the shit out of me, and while it would be a couple of years before I was fully able to understand and appreciate King Diamond, those library loans laid the groundwork for me being the fan I am today.

 

Now I�m probably a bit conservative, but the first five albums stand as something really special in my book and while I don�t think King Diamond has yet released a bad album, none of the albums released after "The Eye" have impressed me in the same way as the early albums. Most are above standard business as usual to me. The thrashy edge that some of the eighties albums contained (especially "Them") is not as dominant as it used to be and I think that�s one of the things I miss the most on later Kind Diamond albums. Those killer riffs have become a bit more restrained.

To answer your question, you need Fatal Portrait, the amazing debut, with such gems such as Dressed in White, which features Andy LaRocque's amazing licks except for the usual godly vocal lines by the King. A power metal masterpiece. Also, Halloween, a heavy metal masterpiece this time (the album is basically an equal dose of heavy/power metal), this is probably the most known song off the album. But every song rules, I'll just mention the opener The Candle, with the beautiful intro and the dark melodies of King's voice stealing the show.  The overall sound can be described as a rawer (and perhaps darker) Abigail.

The other album you need is The Eye. This has a rather thinner sound in the production than the usual, warm, analog sound he had before but it still delivers razor sharp guitar work. If I could find a falw it would be the use of the drum machine. Mikkey Dee had left to join Dokken (of all bands!) after the recording of Conspiracy and he was replaced with Snowy Shaw. He is a magnificent drummer but Roadrunner Records made huge budget cuts to King Diamond on this album. But he did program the drum machine masterfully, you can get the idea of his playing.

A great album as well, The Eye's best tracks include Eye of the Witch and Behind These Walls, both masterpieces, classic KD brilliance. 

It was bad news for Kind Diamond after this record. While the band was for quite sometime the label's strongest prioroty and highest seller, the rise of thrash and particularly the success of Sepultura and Annihilator, made KD a lower priority, lower budgets and to top it off, there was no supporting tour for the album (hence there is only one t-shirt from that era btw).

After that album, things went downhill for a number of reasons. First, Pete Blakk, who was a great guitarist left to form his own horror concept band, Totem. Which did not do well. Snowy Shaw was transfered to the Mercyful Fate reunion band, in 1993. Not that he played on that album either, still a drum machine, although a less obvious one. 

-- parenthesis---

To hear Snowy Shaw's amazing drumming, I highly recommend Memento Mori's Rhyme of Lunacy, a supergroup of sorts, featuring Messiah Marcolin of Candlemass on vocals, Mike Wead (then known for Hexxenhaus and a brief involvement with Candlemass - see Nightfall, then he joined Mercyful Fate in 1996 and King Diamond in 2000! It all connects really) and Snowy. That was Snowy's first studio recording btw.  The music was described at the time as Candlemass meets King Diamond, on drugs! Quite successfully too. Great band, they even got proggier on the second release, Life, Death and Other Morbid Tales. Anyway!

-----/parenthesis----

King Diamond re-surfaced ini 1994, after the successful Mercyful Fate reunion, with Spider's Lullaby, which was quite the disappointment. The most obvious problem is the terribly weak and minimal drumming on the album, esp. compared to the previous stellar playing. Herb Simonsen was not really a very adequate replacement for Pete Blakk and even Andy Larocque seems out of shape. Eventually, I personally grew to like the album for what it is, even though the best track is the self-titled one, which is a funny little piece. 

Things picked up a bit with The Graveyard, although I still think the overall sound suffers notably compared to the 80s productions. Cool story though.

The best album of the post-golden era, in my opinion is Voodoo. Better sound, better playing and a better drummer. The Exorcist is such an awesome song.

From then on, it is a steady decline imo. House of God has a couple of good songs, which would be among the highlights of Spider's Lullaby for example (namely The Trees Have Eyes and The Black Devil) but after that we have what is probably King's worst album (Abigail II, totally unnecessary sequel). The Puppet Master is much better, a good album even. Give Me Your Soul Please is very mediocre imo.

So, there you have it. I wholeheartedly recommend Fatal Portrait and The Eye. I cautiously recommend Voodoo, Puppet Master and perhaps the Graveyard.

And I hope you already own Melissa and Don't Break the Oath by Mercyful Fate. Uber heavy metal classics, fantastic albums and VERY influential. I also really like In the Shadows and Time from the reunion albums.

In my opinion, the problem with post-90 King Diamond is that he divided his inspiration in two bands, without having the amazing team he had in the 80s, especially in the drum department. Like butter spread over too much bread, as that line went!

 

Mikkey Dee

 

I agree that some of his work isn't as good as the best of his work (both MF and solo) but in my opinion it is all worth hearing/having.

Fatal Portrait>Abigail>Them>Conspiracy>The Eye is as good a 5 album run as any in the history of music.

 

...oh and while I didn�t propose to my wife during the shows I�ve seen King Diamond twice:

 

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(16th of July 1995) Alexandra, Copenhagen, Denmark
(7th of March 1997) Store VEGA, Copenhagen, Denmark

 

...on the subject of King Diamond�s health I�m not sure how he is doing after all the heart surgery he has been through in the last year or so. To be frank I�m a bit worried if we�ll ever hear from him again. Anyone has some good news for me?

Second time was in Anaheim, Ca. in 88 during the Them tour. Flotsam and Jetsam opened for him. Another fantastic show. The Them house set was awesome and really kept me sucked into the concert.

I agree with the previous opinions shared here. If you have his first five albums, you really already have the best of his work outside of his first two with Mercyful Fate.

(Still kicking myself for missing that concert in California back in 84 that had Mercyful Fate on a bill with Venom and Motorhead. Jeez....what was I thinking?)

 

Next time I saw them was for the Time tour (end of '94 or early '95, can't remember), and he was in top form and that was just a great show all around.

 

I dig the 80's King Diamond stuff (especially Abigail), but MF's Melissa and Don't Break The Oath albums take the cake by far for me since they were my gateway albums from regular heavy metal to the much darker underground stuff. That song "The Oath" freaked the hell out of me, especially since I had a Catholic upbringing at the time. Rebellion at its finest!

 

As for post-The Eye Diamond, I've only heard Abigail II (yeah, the title sucked me in to see how he was going to progress the creepy story that seemed complete) and didn't care for it at all.

 

I've just rediscovered both 'Fate and King in the past few years, and after first dismissing the more recent stuff like Into the Unknown, Conspiracy, 9, and Time, I took the time with headphones and finally heard them for what they really are: excellent releases! They are more suited to at least semi-concetrated listening, as the subtleties can get lost when just cranking them on the stereo.

 

But of course the 80s material is closest to my heart, magnificent, black traditional metal with superb musicianship and songwriting. 

 

 

 

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What I am trying to say is that compared to the first 7 albums in KD's career, in my personal, informed but also rather biased opinion, only the Greats can be compared, the huge names of metal. A 7 streak is a huge rarity in the entire rock genre, it is not something to be brushed aside lightly. Including the impact factor and the unforgettable place in the metal universe. Iron Maiden, who can also claim such a monstrous number of classics (although the first two MF demolish the DiAnno albums imo - and I like those very much) released No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark. I daresay I'd take the MF albums easily over those. I'd only keep the three obvious songs from FoTD to be honest. And let us not forget the X-Factor and Virtual XI. Spider's Lullaby and Graveyard, eyes closed for me. 

My point of course is not a KD vs IM streak but to point out that such a comparison is absolutely conceivable, on all fronts (albums, individuality, skill, album covers etc) and to further suggest that King Diamond is the only metal artist I can think of who kept his streak on such a dignified level, even though he had spent himself over two bands releasing albums regularly. At least, I can think of no other. In the Shadows and Time are two albums that any metal band would be proud to have released and that is not written lightly like the cliche that follows many a dud... 

Just listen to these melodies. They are so pure King Diamond genius that they still get me after all these years. The beautiful guitar solos simply rise to the occasion.

Respect to Michael Denner for that last solo. 

Seriously guys. Those two belong in the pantheon of ROCK MUSIC.

.......aaaaaand my King Diamond fanboyism display is now over! :)

^My fanboyism never ends. Can�t wait to see King Diamond play CopenHell 2013 in June.