Black Metal History Month- Diamond in the Rough, King Diamond's "Them"

Continuing through the iconic catalog of King Diamond. We are at his third solo album. His storytelling becomes more pronounced, and the production is not as dark and reverb-heavy as the previous album. This album features bassist Hal Patino replacing Timi Hansen. Pete Blakk takes over for Micheal Denner, forcing Larocque to really step it up. Mikkey Dee's drumming steps up with the recognisible fill leading into what is King Diamond's most famous song. The shrill call of "Grandmaaaa..." is his calling card for novice listeners. The bass is not as present in the mix as it was on "Abigail" and the drums are taking more of the spotlight. Rightfully so this is the pinnacle of Dee's playing. Andy also makes his mark with some memorable solos. In some ways, the songwriting brought more thrashing to compete with where the music was going, but the songs are still very hooky.

Dee's playing gives a more urgent drive to the uptempo energy powering "Invisible Guests". Despite the darker gothic melodicism giving the album its theatrical nature, the blood-pumping intensity, kept King Diamond from lagging behind bands like Slayer and Testament who were rising in popularity at this time. He was still just as relevant in the conversations regarding the heavy music of the day. King himself reached a perfect middle ground with his vocals, he can play the characters of the story while still singing aggressively, even with his high falsetto wails. Another example of where his metal yodels do not feel as dated as say Fates Warning. 

"Tea" is the first song that slows down into something more melodic and flowing though the verse riff gets gritty as needed with a powerful chug. the song This is also the song that lays the story out without sounding like an awkward musical narrative. "Mother's Getting Weaker" is punchier, with the riffing getting more aggressive to convey the stakes being raised for Mother. The trade-off between his more baritone moan and his falsetto is well balanced, the phrase "just looking forward" finds him in more of a growl, which would go on to inspire bands like Emperor. "Bye Bye Missy" is also one of King Diamond's most underrated songs, it is understandable why he does not play it outside of the story of the album in a live set with "Welcome Home" the real live staple. But the verse riff to this song is great with its crunch. 

"A Broken Spell" does not hit as hard as the previous songs, but was better than the bulk of shit coming out in 1988. "The Accusation Chair" finds them getting heavier. The vocals lock in more with the guitars than the previous song. When his vocals shift into more of a Gullom-like croak at the end of the song it's very effective at carrying the mood of the story. "Twilight Symphony" continues to play off their songwriting momentum. It is also one of the album's stronger choruses. This is technically the album's last song as it ends with more of an outro. I'll give this album a 10, it's almost a 10.5, given the grandiose nature, but these songs in many ways work best as the larger concept than on their own.

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