When I was about eleven years old, my aunt and uncle had a friend named Chris that was the only guy I knew at the time who liked videogames AND heavy metal -- the guy was pretty much a total badass. When he sat me down and played King Diamond's Abigail for the first time, my mind was more or less totally blown. Somewhere between a rock opera and a horror novel, my original impressions of both the album and the artist stuck with me for years down the line.
When the rumor popped up that King Diamond might be more involved in Guitar Hero: Metallica, I was thrilled to say the least -- I never thought I'd see the day that the guy made it into a videogame. Today the news went public that Diamond will be in the game for the Mercyful Fate song "Evil" (Diamond was the frontman for Mercyful Fate before going solo).
I wasn't planning on buying Guitar Hero: Metallica, but now I think I have to because I HAVE to see this. All hail the King!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HEAVY METAL FRONTMAN KING DIAMOND TO JOIN THE DIGITAL CAST OF GUITAR HERO® METALLICA®
SANTA MONICA, CA – February 23, 2009 – Having united forces with rock ‘n’ roll legends Metallica for encore performances and recordings throughout the years, GRAMMY® Award-nominated heavy metal vocalist and Mercyful Fate frontman King Diamond will take to the cyber-stage with Metallica this spring in Activision Publishing Inc.’s Guitar Hero® Metallica®.
Fans, stagehands and groupies alike will have the opportunity to shred and drum with or wail as the digital King Diamond during performances of “Evil.” The song, which originally was recorded in 1983 and is one of the Mercyful Fate songs that comprise Metallica’s “Mercyful Fate” medley, was re-recorded by four of the five original band members for Guitar Hero Metallica. The recording session was overseen by guitarist Hank Shermann in the band’s native Denmark; after which King Diamond laid down his vocals in Dallas, Texas, and mixed the song with J.T. Longoria.
“It's been absolutely amazing to be a part of this Guitar Hero experience. It was quite a trip to re-record the song ‘Evil’ almost 25 years after the original recording took place. The end result with four out of the five original musicians turned out so much better than I would ever have hoped for,” said King Diamond. “Seeing my animated character take form was totally eerie in a very good way. It's so strange to see yourself animated in such perfect detail - cross bone microphone, Eye necklace and all. This game looks and sounds METAL all the way. HORNS UP!!!”
“Ride the Lightning” with musical icons Metallica and 21 other rockin’ acts in an all new Guitar Hero® experience – Guitar Hero Metallica. Enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time. Shred on the guitar controller, rip on the drum kit controller and wail on the mic to a set list featuring over 45 explosive hits from Metallica’s illustrious career and a wide variety of other legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Alice In Chains, Bob Seger, Foo Fighters, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Queen. Fans will be able to rock as Metallica while performing in venues reminiscent of the band’s epic album covers, themes from their music and real world locales.
Guitar Hero Metallica is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system versions are being developed by Budcat. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB. For more information about Guitar Hero Metallica, please visit guitarhero.com.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.
Damn, they should just put out a Guitar Hero edition for King Diamond himself. I always wanted to belt out the lyrics to "The Family Ghost"... "BEWARE OF THE SLIIIPPERY STAAAIRS! YOU COULD EEEASILY FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!"
@vonneuton -- I wouldn't call myself a fan so much as that I just have incredibly fond memories of the guy. Also, Abigail makes me laugh sometimes because its so serious but also unintentionally funny, you know?
@Collette -- I think it's mostly due to Diamond's shrill falsetto voice. I mean, the guitar riffs are awesome and the album's story is very creepy indeed, but whenever he breaks into his vocals, I have a frickin' chuckle-fit.
I dunno.. his newer album "The Puppet Master" is pretty good. He's a great musician. I also find myself laughing at his singing at times. I think we're meant to laugh at it... Here I thought I was going to see that a few of you liked some good metal. \m/
@Collette: I'm in the same boat... when I was learning guitar, my friend pulled out some of his King Diamond tapes and had me play some of the solos to practice, and it kind of stuck as something awesome. In the strangest way possible.
I also love Metal and videogames, therefore everyone should recognize me as a badass also <_<. Although to be honest, I can never take King Diamond seriously.
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10:20 AM on 02.23.2009 
