King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956),[1] better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto screams. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist for both Mercyful Fate and the eponymous King Diamond. He also plays keyboards and guitars on studio recordings but uses live shows to focus solely on his vocal performance. Diamond is renowned for his dark lyrical content and his story concepts. He is also known for his distinctive shock stage persona (in particular his black and white facepaint). He has been an influence for other rock and metal artists, including Metallica,[3] Slayer[4] and Cradle of Filth.[5]
This article is about the musician. For the associated band, see King Diamond (band).
King Diamond
Kim Bendix Petersen
Singer, songwriter, musician, producer
Vocals, keyboards
1974–present
Career[edit]
Early days[edit]
King Diamond's first heavy rock band was called Brainstorm (1974–76), with Jeanette Blum (Jean Blue) on vocals and bass, Michael Frohn (Mike West) on guitar and Jes Jacobsen (Jesse James) on drums. Diamond left Brainstorm and began singing with local Danish hard rock band Black Rose. He began experimenting with horror-themed theatrics and shaping a malevolent quasi-Satanic stage persona. He left Black Rose and joined the punk-metal band Brats, where he met Hank Shermann. The two were soon asked to help Michael Denner (also formerly a member of Brats) with his own project, Danger Zone. This band included Timi Hansen, and the musicians would join with Diamond in 1980 to become Mercyful Fate.
Stage presence[edit]
On stage, Diamond uses a microphone stand consisting of a femur bone and a tibia bone in the shape of a cross. He previously used a human skull, called Melissa, on stage. In the mid-1980s Melissa was stolen after a performance in the Netherlands.
Diamond has changed the design of his make-up often over the years. With Conspiracy, he wore a mesh of black and white line war paint, with some red "blood" made to look like a wound coming out of his forehead. With his album The Puppet Master, he used very little white and mainly had black crosses and inverted crosses going up and down his face.
Influences[edit]
Diamond cites Arthur Brown, David Byron, Alice Cooper, Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan, Ozzy Osbourne and Robert Plant as his primary influences.[19]
According to Diamond's biography on his official website, the first two albums he bought were Deep Purple's Fireball and Black Sabbath's Master of Reality.[20]
Religion[edit]
Diamond follows Satanism, which he does not see as a religion, but a philosophy by which he lived even before reading Anton LaVey's The Satanic Bible.[21] Michael Moynihan calls him "one of the only performers of the '80s Satanic Metal who was more than just a poseur using a devilish image for shock value".[22] Diamond has expressed concern that religion has led so many people to kill and destroy each other. He stated that he cannot comprehend why religion has caused so much death and destruction when it is logically impossible to prove the presence or absence of any deity. He states that he has reached a point in his life where he has completely given up believing in anything religious.[23]
Personal life[edit]
Diamond is married to Livia Zita, a Hungarian-born singer who has made appearances as a backup vocalist on the albums The Puppet Master and Give Me Your Soul...Please, as well as during live performances. She is also his business partner, and is currently working with him to compile old footage for two planned DVD releases of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate live performances. She also helped him make remastered editions of the King Diamond albums The Spider's Lullabye, The Graveyard, Voodoo and House of God.[24]
In 2017, they became parents to a son, Byron,[25] born in March.[26][27]
Legacy[edit]
Metallica released an 11-minute medley of five Mercyful Fate songs on their 1998 Garage Inc. cover album. King Diamond has provided guest vocals for live performances of the medley at Metallica's concerts on three occasions: at the 1999 Gods of Metal festival in Milan, Italy (with Hank Shermann on guitar);[28] at the 2008 Ozzfest in Dallas, Texas;[29] and at a 2011 Metallica fan club gig in San Francisco, California (with Hank Shermann on guitar, Michael Denner on guitar and Timi Hansen on bass).[30]
King Diamond has appeared on the covers of many rock and metal magazines, and has influenced many artists, including Metallica's Lars Ulrich,[3] Cradle of Filth,[5] Cage,[31] and Andy DiGelsomina of the Wagnerian opera metal project Lyraka.[32]
American heavy metal band Cage devoted to him the song "King Diamond" on the album Hell Destroyer in 2007.