### King Diamond: The puppet master

#### 16/03/12 || BamaHammer

I love King Diamond. Even when he releases albums that may be considered below standard, they’re still better than the vast majority of other options from other bands. King’s 2003 release “The puppet master” still stands the test of time in my book, using catchy songwriting to portray a creative ghost story that never gets old, strangely enough. The hooks have never been sharper, the vocals have never been more “King,” and the riffs will absolutely “Rocque” your socks off. You see what I did there? I are genius.

As far as the story goes, I’ll try to knock this out as quickly and simply as possible. The pervading theme revolves around a man, King, I assume, who attends a puppet show in Budapest and is shocked by how realistic the puppets look in size and appearance. After the show, he meets a young woman, Victoria, and eventually falls in love with her. One year to the day of their meeting, Vicky goes missing and King sets out to find her, but eventually discovers that the puppet master and his wife have been killing civilians and magically resurrecting them with enchanted blood to use them as puppets in his show. King and Vicky fall victim to the puppet master and become part of the show. The next Christmas, King (as a puppet) is part of the show as the Little Drummer Boy and drops his drum on purpose to embarrass the puppet master, so he is sold to a puppet shop and nailed to the wall as punishment, vowing to find his love in this life or the next. If that sounds interesting to you, you’re in for a treat.

The production is very organic and classy with the guitars in the forefront of the music. The rhythm tones are loaded with warm midrange that brings every riff alive, and Andy La Cocque’s classic neo-classical neck-pickup leads have a beautiful bell tone quality to them. King’s vocals are loud and sound terrific, though it’s obvious he’s aging just a little and lacks a little bit of the old metallic quality to his falsetto. Overall, King Diamond has not sounded this pristine as a band in a long time, maybe ever.

As for the music, this is King Diamond. If you’re a fan, you know what to expect. It’s heavy metal of the highest quality. If you’re not a fan for some reason, you’re just missing out on some excellent stuff. The album is loaded with tracks that will stick to your brain like glue, and you’ll be shamelessly belting out choruses and singing along in your best ball-busting high-pitched scream within a listen or two. Tracks like “Magic” and “The ritual” are undeniably catchy, and have become instant King Diamond classics for me.

If you’ve never heard “The puppet master,” do yourself a favor and hunt it down. It’ll be easy to find, for sure. You won’t regret it.

- Information
- Released: 2003
- Label: Metal Blade
- Website: www.covenworldwide.com
- Band
- King Diamond: vocals
- Andy La Rocque: guitars
- Mike Wead: guitars
- Hal Patino: bass
- Matt Thompson: drums
- Livia Zita: vocals

- Tracklist
- 01. Midnight
- 02. The puppet master
- 03. Magic
- 04. Emerencia
- 05. Blue eyes
- 06. The ritual
- 07. No more me
- 08. Blood to walk
- 09. Darkness
- 10. So sad
- 11. Christmas
- 12. Living dead