Produced by King Diamond, Andy LaRocque and JT Longoria
Released: 2003
King Diamond is one of the most important pioneers and innovators of heavy metal music and as such has developed a reputation among some that makes him almost beyond reproach. It's true that his work with Mercyful Fate and his early solo albums are among metal's greatest works, but he has created some rather patchy stuff over the two decades since then. Abigail II: The Revenge probably rates second only to the awful The Graveyard as his weakest effort in this reviewer's eyes, but on The Puppet Master King Diamond seemed to have rediscovered some real inspiration.
King’s greatest sin over the years has been to allow his story-telling concepts to overshadow the music, resulting in albums that don’t stay long in the memory once they’re over. Thankfully The Puppet Master moves to strongly readdress this, with the band, led by long-serving and under-rated guitarist Andy Larocque, being given some breathing space to churn out some quality songs that show some variation in style now and then to keep things interesting. Another refreshing aspect is King’s obviously restrained vocal performance. Too often in the past he has shifted from mid-range to a growl to one of his ear-piercing shrieks for no apparent reason, often in the middle of a lyric. Here he keeps the histrionics mainly for use as chorus back-ups or added effect where it’s actually needed, and it really works. In a musical sense, this album is unmistakably King Diamond in its idiosyncratic construction but with better riffing and more melody than was apparent on the last few albums previous to this.
Conceptually, the storyline isn’t too far removed from what he has done before, all twisted horror romance and spooky locations, but with the addition of some sorrowful female vocals provided by wife Livia Zita and an enhanced melodic feel, The Puppet Master is one of the King's strongest offerings for many years.
- Midnight
- The Puppet Master
- Magic
- Emerencia
- Blue Eyes
- The Ritual
- No More Me
- Blood to Walk
- Darkness
- So Sad
- Christmas
- Living Dead
Rating: 85%
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