KING DIAMOND — King Diamond & Black Rose: 20 Years Ago (A Night of Rehearsal) (review)

KING DIAMOND — King Diamond & Black Rose: 20 Years Ago (A Night of Rehearsal) album cover Boxset / Compilation · 2001 · Heavy Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
2.5/5 ·
Stooge
Though technically not an album by the King Diamond band, Metal Blade released this rehearsal tape under the King Diamond brand in 2001. It consists of a number of originals (and a “Radar Love” cover) recorded by King Diamond’s pre-Mercyful Fate band, Black Rose.

The recording quality is solid for what is essentially a live demo. Most instruments come through with good clarity, and it’s somewhat ironic that it is King’s vocals that suffer the most. You can hear him well for the most part, but some lines come across as a bit fuzzy. And since these songs were recorded live, the band makes the occasional blooper and decides to start songs over again. King’s written track-by-track commentary gives some great context into the recording and how Black Rose was as a live act.

The style of the music is quite a bit different from King Diamond’s solo albums and Mercyful Fate. Organ plays a large role in the sound of Black Rose, and the guitar playing is much more blues-based. They don’t sound like the most original band going, but there are still some entertaining numbers here. “Locked Up In The Snow”, “Holy Mountain Lights”, “Kill For Fun”, and melodic instrumental “Soul Overture” are my favorites from the bunch.

Flaws aside, this album is an enjoyable enough listen, especially for fans of 1970s hard rock/metal and proto-metal. Die-hard fans of King Diamond might appreciate this more than the casual listener, but the songs and musicianship is pretty good overall. It would have been interesting if Black Rose had released a proper album.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Unearthly Litanies of Despair Death Metal
ENGULFED
Buy this album from MMA partners
It Beckons Us All....... Black Metal
DARKTHRONE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Death Is Not The End Doom Metal
GLOSSA
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Way Forward Sludge Metal
BLACK TUSK
Buy this album from MMA partners
Till Aska Atmospheric Sludge Metal
WALK THROUGH FIRE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 2 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed