An official documentary exploring the world of King Diamond has reportedly been quietly in development for the past three years โ and if thereโs one heavy metal story absolutely crying out for the full cinematic treatment, itโs this one.
Now this could be something special.
An official King Diamond documentary has been in the works for the last three years, promising a proper look inside the career, music and wonderfully sinister universe of one of heavy metalโs most distinctive frontmen.
And frankly, where do you even start?
The voice.
The face paint.
The upside-down crosses.
The haunted houses.
The concept albums.
The stage sets that look like somebody gave a Victorian undertaker an unlimited production budget.
King Diamond was made for documentaries.
๐ฅ Three Years In The Making
The fact the project has apparently already spent three years in development suggests this isnโt some quick collection of old interview clips bundled together over a weekend.
A career stretching back decades gives filmmakers an enormous amount of ground to cover.
Thereโs the birth of Mercyful Fate.
The controversial imagery.
The rise of King Diamondโs solo band.
The classic records.
The musicians who helped shape them.
The tours.
The theatrical performances.
And, of course, the extraordinary voice that has terrified unsuspecting neighbours since the early โ80s.
Thereโs enough material here for considerably more than ninety minutes.
Bring snacks.
๐ From Mercyful Fate To Metal Royalty
Before King Diamond became the centrepiece of his own band, he had already carved himself into metal history with Mercyful Fate.
Emerging from Denmark at the beginning of the 1980s, Mercyful Fate combined traditional heavy metal with progressive songwriting, occult imagery and Kingโs unmistakable falsetto.
Albums such as Melissa and Donโt Break The Oath became hugely influential within the underground metal scene.
Their impact can be heard across generations of thrash, black metal and extreme metal bands that followed.
Plenty of musicians got heavier.
Plenty got darker.
But very few sounded quite like Mercyful Fate.
๐ Then Came King Diamond
After Mercyful Fateโs original split, King launched the band carrying his own name.
And somehow things became even more theatrical.
Fatal Portrait arrived in 1986 before Abigail followed the next year and cemented King Diamondโs reputation as one of metalโs great storytellers.
Rather than simply writing individual songs, King increasingly built entire albums around elaborate horror narratives.
Characters.
Families.
Ghosts.
Mansions.
Possession.
Murder.
General behaviour that would absolutely tank the asking price on Rightmove.
Records such as Them, Conspiracy and The Eye expanded that approach and helped establish the concept-album storytelling that became central to King Diamondโs identity.
๐ฏ๏ธ โAbigailโ Alone Could Fill A Documentary
For many fans, Abigail remains the crown jewel.
Released in 1987, the record tells a full gothic horror story across its running order, complete with characters, supernatural events and enough ominous atmosphere to make listening to it alone at midnight feel like an extremely poor decision.
Musically, it also featured some outstanding performances.
Kingโs vocals were completely unmistakable, while the guitar partnership involving Andy La Rocque became fundamental to the bandโs sound.
Heavy metal had produced concept records before.
But King Diamond approached the idea almost like making horror cinema without cameras.
Which makes the move into an actual documentary rather fitting.
๐ธ The Musicians Behind The Madness
One of the most interesting possibilities for the documentary will be exploring the musicians who helped build King Diamondโs catalogue.
The project has featured numerous hugely talented players over the decades, but guitarist Andy La Rocque became particularly important to the bandโs musical identity.
His melodic lead playing, technical ability and songwriting helped provide the perfect counterweight to Kingโs theatrical vocals.
That relationship became one of the longest-running creative partnerships in metal.
There are undoubtedly decades of studio stories, touring memories and behind-the-scenes moments waiting to be told.
And we want all of them.
Preferably the embarrassing ones too.
๐ญ Nobody Does A King Diamond Show Quite Like King Diamond
Then thereโs the live production.
Seeing King Diamond isnโt simply watching musicians stand under some lights and play the songs.
Itโs theatre.
Massive stage sets.
Staircases.
Coffins.
Actors.
Characters from the albums.
Smoke.
Occult imagery.
King stalking around the stage like the owner of the least welcoming Airbnb imaginable.
The theatrical side of his music has always been central to the experience.
A documentary capable of showing how those productions are designed and built could provide a fascinating glimpse behind the curtain.
Or coffin lid.
Whichever is more appropriate.
๐ค THAT Voice
Obviously, you cannot make a documentary about King Diamond without spending serious time on that voice.
His piercing falsetto remains one of the most instantly identifiable sounds in heavy metal.
For newcomers, hearing it for the first time can be genuinely startling.
For fans?
Itโs home.
King developed a vocal style that could jump between sinister low-register passages, theatrical character voices and those enormous high notes within seconds.
Nobody else quite does it.
And plenty have tried.
Itโs the sort of voice that shouldnโt necessarily work over crushing heavy-metal riffs.
Yet somehow it works brilliantly.
๐ค An Influence Across Extreme Metal
King Diamond and Mercyful Fateโs influence stretches far beyond traditional heavy metal.
Early thrash musicians were devoted fans.
Black metal bands embraced aspects of the imagery and atmosphere.
Extreme-metal artists repeatedly cited the songwriting and storytelling.
Metallica famously celebrated Mercyful Fate through their lengthy โMercyful Fateโ medley, introducing yet another generation of listeners to the Danish legends.
That influence alone deserves serious exploration.
Because King Diamondโs career isnโt simply the story of one eccentric musician wearing face paint.
Itโs part of the wider story of how heavy metal became darker, more theatrical and more extreme.
๐ฌ What Could The Documentary Explore?
With three years reportedly already invested in the project, fans will naturally be hoping the filmmakers dig deep.
Not simply another collection of familiar stories.
We want archive footage.
Early Mercyful Fate material.
Studio sessions.
Old photographs.
Tour footage.
Behind-the-scenes stories.
The creation of the concept albums.
The evolution of the makeup.
The stage productions.
Kingโs songwriting process.
And perhaps most importantly, King himself telling the story.
Because if youโre going to spend decades building one of metalโs strangest fictional universes, you might as well give us the guided tour.
๐ค THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
An official King Diamond documentary feels long overdue.
There are musicians with great careers.
There are musicians with fascinating stories.
And then there are artists who have created an entire world around themselves.
King Diamond belongs firmly in that last category.
From Mercyful Fateโs early occult-heavy metal through Abigail, Them, Conspiracy and decades of gloriously theatrical live shows, there is an enormous story waiting to be put on screen.
And if the documentary has genuinely been developing for three years, hopefully that means the people behind it are taking the time to do the story properly.
Dark room.
Volume up.
Candles optional.
Maybe donโt watch it alone in a creepy old house.
Actuallyโฆ
That sounds exactly like how King would want it.
Long live the King. ๐๐๐ค
