review by: ~Vargscarr~

King Diamond. Anyone who's familiar with any of his work knows what to expect - the man is one of the best examples of a musician true to his art and his genre. Starting his career in the late '70s with the Deep Purple/Alice Cooper influenced Black Rose, and since releasing a never ceasing stream of albums either with Mercyful Fate or his eponymous project ever since; he knows what he likes to play, and hasn't deviated from his calling to produce some of the very best (and weirdest) technical occult/horror themed Heavy Metal accompanied by his unique vocals ranging from the highest falsetto shrieks to gnawing, incomprehensible belches when the mood calls for them.

Love him or hate him, his music is undeniably consistent in terms of intent; but even the most devout fan must admit that his back catalogue has its ups and downs. However, since no two King Diamond/Mercyful Fate fans can agree on much beyond the fact that everything the two bands produced in the 80s is stunning, it's very difficult to take recommendations of his latter work seriously.

For my part, while I think literally every King Diamond album is worth owning; I find The Eye - beloved of many - deeply weak, though saved by a handful of great tracks. The same can be said for the less generally well regarded Graveyard as far as my taste goes; though the album sandwiched between these two, The Spider's Lullaby, which has a reputation as the worst example of all of the King Diamond band's output, is one of my favourites. Some like pink salmon, some like brown squid. Most are agreed that 1998's Voodoo was a nice return to a more aggressive form and features some excellent songs, but the album was over-padded out with filler tracks towards the end, and was never a measure of the flawless studio albums of the '80s, which were succulent as a well cooked pork loin and twice as filling, unless you were homeless and needed real food.

House of God was the first King Diamond release of the new decade, and featured a very back-to-basics style of songwriting, and a very odd guitar sound barely qualifying as Metal at all so little was it distorted. The drumming however was weak - not enough to spoil the album, but about as basic as was humanly possible. Like linoleum or the colour grey, it was adequate but unimpressive. However, the songs were stunning; and most importantly consistently great from beginning to end. It was no Them; but for my money it was King's best release for years.

So after this vast and rampant introduction, and now you know exactly where I stand on previous King Diamond releases, how does Abigail II compare? Well that all depends on what you're comparing it to. As far as I'm concerned, it's musically superior to House of God. The music is catchier as well as being more complex (for example King told me a while before the album's release that in one part there are three guitar solos playing simultaneously) and the vocals measure up with memorable harmonies and wonderful use of King's full range. Although I feel House of God has a certain charm that this album lacks (so far), it cannot be denied that this is technically the best music King Diamond has made since Conspiracy - the drummer has clearly used Mikky Dee's work one the first four King Diamond albums as inspiration for a number of his cymbal patterns; and though some have said the drums sound triggered (listen for the slightly mechanical - though wonderful - double bass pedal work) the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned; and the fact that I can't tell for certain proves how little this suspicion effects enjoyment of the music. Andy LaRoque is the Star Wars trilogy of Heavy Metal guitar players.

Of course Abigail II isn't as good as Abigail, Them or Conspiracy - but did anyone honestly expect it would be? The point is it measures up as a sequel, proving itself only slightly less good than the original Abigail than Conspiracy proved itself as a sequel for Them; which is high praise indeed. No, it doesn't sound like an '80s King Diamond album; but it does have that same distinct feel to it possessed by House of God, which links these albums of the '00s to the original and best of the 80s; that indefinable quality that King somehow lost or failed to capture on his '90s releases.

Some seem to think this album is a huge disappointment and far less good than House of God. Personally, I can't understand this viewpoint. To my ear, if you like one you'll like the other; and though I could accept some people saying these two recent releases aren't worth owning when compared with the Fatal Portrait to Conspiracy albums, I will say I think they're the closest thing a fan is going to find to those original releases from the entirety of King's subsequent output (after Mercyful Fate's In the Shadows). Oh, and the 'female' vocals of eighteen year old Abigail heard when the character cries after the rape and laughs after regaining her insanity and feeding said rapist broken glass are in fact King Diamond with his voice altered to sound feminine - I can only say that armed with this knowledge the more one hears them the more disturbing they become, like listening to Aghast or looking at Nico McBrain's face.