The Spider's Lullabye

Kim Bendix Petersen’s, aka King Diamond, contribution to the world of metal is immeasurable. He is probably the fourth single individual to thoroughly impersonate the metal scene after Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.), Toni Iommi, and Rob Halford. I personally think that the Mercyful Fate/King Diamond team’s impact on metal is bigger than the one of Accept and Iron Maiden, and instead of talking about the Big Five of heavy metal, we can reduce that number to four (the others being Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and Scorpions).

Even a primary schoolboy knows that the first two Mercyful Fate albums are two of the ten finest metal albums of all times, and from then on only greatness could possibly follow be it under that moniker or under the King Diamond cloak. It’s not very clear what caused the rift, but Petersen was on his own by 1986, bringing some of his Fate comrades along as well, and this fellowship produced a string of extraordinary opuses that catapulted them to the very top by the end of the 80’s.

Not a very long way to the top for sure, but the King had to take some time off to think things over during these most transformational for music years. And he came up with the brilliant idea to reform his old love Mercyful Fate in 1993; and by all means the right one which also coincided with the German powerhouse Accept’s decision to do the same. It was amazing to see how fondly the audience remembered the great Danes as the interest was huge prompting the King to extend this reformation beyond the one-album stunt. It turned out that classic heavy metal, when done by the right musicians, was going to live through the difficult 90’s, and Petersen decided to exert himself a little bit by resurrecting his own band as well. Whether for the love of music or for the revenue possibilities suddenly revealed before him, the man saw himself working on two fronts. However, how was he going to keep the high quality under these new circumstances?

Well, at least in the case of the album reviewed here the fanbase had absolutely no reasons to worry whatsoever; this lullaby was every bit as irresistible as the 80’s works of the band although from the old line-up it was only the guitar wizard Andy LaRocque that had remained, the new helping hands all recruited from the obscure US progressive metal formation Mindstorm. A glorious beginning of a new chapter starting with “From the Other Side”, a superb speed metal shredder which masterfully inaugurates a new era for the man as classic metal this will be all the way to the fucking morgue; the dual vocals of Petersen are as convincing as ever his falcetto the dominant side, the duel between the two keeping the drama flowing not to mention LaRocque’s stunning leads. “Killer” is a fabulous pounding invigorator with macabre riffage and more intricate arrangements the band keeping the time and tempo changes coming, creating an almost technical metal atmosphere without speeding up even by a tiny notch. “The Poltergeist” brings in the keyboards and more officiant doomy build-ups which leave at some stage to make room for more dynamic configurations the latter turning into fearsome gallops on “Dreams” with the King following the seismic rhythms with his vocals to a genuinely sinister effect, with mesmerizing vocal lines piling up including the nice chorus.

“Moonlight” is a totally arresting hymn Petersen pulling an absolutely standout performance alongside the supreme main motif, the dramatic cumulatives, the fine melodic lead sections again, and the great poignant finale. “Six Feet Under” is a formidable power/speedster the guys rushing forward with excellent fretwork the leads acquiring more screamy dimensions still not obstructing the nice chorus and the several more melodic developments. The title-track is a short keyboard-dominated semi-ballad with dark funereal atmosphere, and “Eastmann’s Cure” brings back the speed with full force the steel blitzkrieg riffs carving burrows left and right, the respite provided by another catchy chorus which for some reason is performed on a slower, balladic/doomy canvas the latter taking more space in the second half. The keyboards continue the damage on “Room 17” with a lengthy balladic intro later also helped by the leads until the band rise with a wave of hard-hitting guitars which provide a vital breath of life from where the song becomes an eventful 8.5-min progressive odyssey with a pleiad of both melodic and aggressive strokes. “To the Morgue” leads everyone to the… well, as an epitaph with its creepy doomy tensions those slightly dissipated by the melancholic chorus although the riff-patterns remain on a fairly high level with unbearably heavy reverberations.

A job very well done everyone as the band nearly matched the greatness of Merciful Fate’s “In the Shadows”. There was clear distinction between the sound of that album and the Fate recordings which was of utmost importance if Petersen wanted to keep his high profile even in less demanding times like the mid-90’s. It seemed as though he had found the ideal musician in the face of LaRocque, a most dexterous axeman, who was able to elevate any album to an above average status single-handedly. The Mindstorm guys were no slouchers, either, and this team looked well set for bigger glories in the years to come.

The very next year the man hit on both fronts and amazingly managed to retain the magic although Fate’s “Into the Unknown” fared a bit better than King Diamond’s own “The Graveyard”, further consolidating the fact that ever since the reformation the audience were more ready to part with their hard-earned cash for the Mercyful Fate sagas than for the ones composed by the Diamonds. I’m not sure whether this was a cause for disappointment in the King Diamond camp, but the man didn’t show very big enthusiasm in 1998 when both bands released new albums which this time didn’t sound very different from each other, neither being anything too striking; a sad turn of events that coincided with the arrival of the Swedish guitar maestro Mike Wead (Hexenhaus, Memento Mori, etc.) into the Mercyful Fate midsts to replace the second-time departed Michael Denner. His recruitment didn’t generate the desired results and the King now had to sit down and make a choice: obviously riding two horses simultaneously wasn’t going to make him the scene’s dearest cowboy anymore so one of them had to go. He decided that the Mercyful Fate affair had had its fun, and after one more effort (“9”) he put an end to it.

In 2000 the King Diamond team hit hard with “House of God”, an awesome start for the band of the new millennium with classic heavy metal making a strong statement with the revitalized Iron Maiden, with Bruce Dickinson back to the fore, with their brand new opus, the prophetically-titled “Brave New World”; with Rob Halford coming back to metal life with his own band; and Pretty Maids’ brilliant “Carpe Diem”, among other worthy showings. The addition of the Eidolon guitarist Glen Drover gave a big boost to the line-up who now felt confident enough to resurrect the spirit of their magnum opus “Abigail” with “Abigail II: the Revenge” two years later. Albeit a capable instalment on all counts, it naturally couldn’t touch its predecessor’s grandeur, but was still a successful moment from a truly distinguished career that was prolonged with two more albums until 2007. The King by all means has more to give to the metal world, but healthy problems have been impeding his ascension in the past few years. Fortunately, he’s much better as of present, and must be working on more horror tales for the adolescent who will voraciously devour many more riff-ridden snippets of the great man’s imagination.

Well, after having not released anything for five years after 1990's masterpiece "The Eye", King Diamond finally returned in 1995, releasing "The Spider's Lullaby". This product was unlike it's predecessors in several ways: for one, the most obvious change is probably the fact that the storyline no longer follows the entire album. Rather, only the second half of the album follows a storyline, with the first half being made up of individual stories, with topics ranging from ghosts, to demonic children, to murderers, and so on. When one listens to the album, however, he (or she) beings to notice some more changes...

One thing that marked the early King Diamond era (first five albums), was that the music was very over-the-top and theatrical. You could practically see King Diamond's exaggerated facial expressions as he convicted people of witchcraft, tried to convince young men to kill their wives, tried to make conversation with unresponsive grandmothers, and so much more throughout the original albums. Here, his vocal approach is noticeably tamer and less over-the-top, with the music itself being distanced from speed/power metal for the most part, in favor of a more stripped-down, in your face style which makes a greater use of heavy guitar riffs than ever before. That said, the music isn't terribly different. It still sounds like King Diamond, but this album would be the first sign of the direction they would take with the next few albums (mainly "The Graveyard").

There are a handful of great songs on this album. For one, "Moonlight" is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and emotional King Diamond songs ever recorded. Topped off by a mysterious (but amazing and very emotional) story, this song makes use of a chugging main guitar riff, over top of an atmospheric keyboard melody, and contains some of the best lead work on the entire album. In addition, King Diamond's vocal performance on this song in particular is easily among his best. Another great song is "Eastmann's Cure", which is a speedy melodic number which re-kindles the fires of the band's earlier work with an Iron Maiden-esque melodic lead serving as it's main riff. Finally, the album closes with a bang in the doom metal-inspired "To the Morgue". The opening riff to this song is one of the best riffs offered by the entire album (Candlemass, anyone?), and I would dare say that the entire song ranks among the best on the whole album (after "Moonlight"). On top of that, if you're one of those pussies who is petrified of spiders, and cannot stand to see them do not fucking read the lyrics to this song. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Sadly, not every song is so lucky. After a competent and catchy opener with "From the Other Side", the album begins to drop down in quality considerably, with two somewhat forgettable tracks leading into the annoying "Dreams". The main riff to this song is cheesy, and the verse is just downright stupid. It's not a terrible song, but it's hardly what I've come to expect from King. In addition, the album's title track happens to be the first of King's Tim Burton (or Danny Elfman)-inspired numbers, and is easily one of the most boring and uninteresting tracks offered on the album. I don't mind his more keyboard/harpischord-based songs, but he goes a bit over the edge with his voice on this one, especially in a song which doesn't really have a decent or memorable guitar riff to go on. There are no bad songs, but it is clear that they are not all of the same tier.

In summary, this album still shows some clinging elements of King's classic style, but also features the first evidence of the change the band would undergo for the next few albums. It is a good album, but it is neither his best, nor the best of this "era". However, it does show an interesting turning point in his career, as well as a handful of great songs. I would suggest this album more for people trying to complete their King Diamond collection, than to people looking to get into the band (go check out "Abigail", cretin!).

Five consecutive years of home run horror-themed concept albums, and then five years of relative silence. This would be King Diamond's legacy going into the former half of the dreaded 90s, and in a different world, The Spider's Lullabye might have original come out in 1991 and continued the streak. Or at least tried to. That said, the band's sudden absence was not without an understandable reason: Kim Bendix Petersen had reunited with Mercyful Fate for some touring and studio time, which rewarded us with the albums In the Shadows and Time, both of which were surprisingly good, so who could complain? Eventually, Diamond got around to putting together another 'solo' effort, with Andy LaRocque returning and then an entirely new rhythm section consisting of Herb Simonsen (guitars), Chris Estes (bass) and Darrin Anthony (drums).

The Spider's Lullabye is perhaps the last of the 'essential' King Diamond records, or if not essential, then the last of the 'good' King Diamond albums for several years to come. It's got a few issues, especially with the rather lame story (even by the usual Diamond standards, which were not high), and a few duds waiting in the wing...err, webs, but there's enough money riffing here to save it from the flaming pits. Hell, I'm not even sure I could call this album a 'disappointment'. Just about anything might seem lackluster after that 1986-90 period, especially when it ended with The Eye, an unsung masterpiece. As happy as I was that Mercyful Fate had reformed and written some quality material for the first time in a decade, in 1995 I was simply content that Kim was not planning on abandoning his solo material indefinitely, and The Spider's Lullabye is just compensation for the five-year gap even if it was only the calm before the shitstorm abortion The Graveyard, which might have forced me into a deep bout with alcoholism had I not been so busy with the rest of life.

This album is not quite as involved or busy as Conspiracy, nor is it as eloquent and beautiful as The Eye, but it's definitely a manifestation of similar atmosphere to what they were doing in 1990. In particular, the use of the organs as an important backing element to tracks like "The Poltergeist" felt very familiar, and of course the due diligence Diamond gives each of the verse and chorus sequence certainly feels like a natural followup. There is a great deal of versatility in the riffing, from the Sabbath swagger of "To the Morgue" to the rampant melodic speed metal of "Eastmann's Cure" (one of the best songs here), and a distinct lack of narrative interludes or intros to drive the tale. Or tales, rather, since The Spider's Lullabye is only 40% concept album, the final four songs (title track, "Eastmann's Cure", "Room 17" and "To the Morgue") telling the saga of Harry Eastmann, an arachnophobic hermit who ends up in the 'wrong hands', if you will, playing out almost like a Lucio Fulci giallo. The other tunes all feature their own nods to various horror cliches, with "Six Feet Under" providing a sort of 'alternate' ending to Them/Conspiracy.

King sounds really airy here with his falsetto, though when he's singing about things like, well, spiders, it's a little difficult to take seriously. Not that anyone ever did in the 80s, but at least his shrill wailing was a decent match for ghost stories or witch trials. The riffs are still quite strong in general,driving and creative within the hybrid foundation of speed, heavy, power and thrash metal the band had manifest in the prior decade. Tunes like the fattened "Room 17" literally swell with atmosphere like a corpse bloated with spider hatchlings, but there were only a few in particular which I found as immortal as, say, an "Eye of the Witch" or "Burn". The second song, "Killer" slowly builds through chugging and mid-range sneers to this brilliant, cyclic swagger which almost seems like it would fit right at home on a 'pirate metal' record. "Eastmann's Cure", which I had mentioned was one of the highlights of the album, has a lot of unforgettable, driving melodic elements and a gleaming, spectral chorus to it; while I love the atmosphere during the speed metal rush that develops in "The Poltergeist".

The rest of the tracks are all acceptable, and more than fit the mood of their lyrical themes. This is not an album I can't pull off the shelf and listen through in its entirety, but a number of the compositions have a hard time engraving themselves into my mind. The rhythm section here, while competent enough to do the job, simply doesn't seem as interesting as the old lineup with Patino, Dee and so forth. Thus, the music relies so heavily on Diamond and LaRocque and there's just not coming up with the same level of consistent hooks as they once did. That said, while The Spider's Lullabye was the first of their records that didn't seem to mark a poignant evolution (forward or sideways) in the King Diamond sound, it's still a success, especially in the middle of such a dead period for traditional metal aesthetics, when bands were selling themselves down river to alternative rock, groove metal and so forth. The production is pretty straightforward, with some potency to the rhythm guitars that works in the framework of general heaviness, though I do rue the understated majesty of the prior album.

To sum it up: The Spider's Lullabye might seem a rung or so down the ladder from its predecessors, but when compared to its own, miserable followup The Graveyard it could be considered a work of genius. If you enjoyed any of the classics leading up to it, or Mercyful Fate's In the Shadows, then this is worth the pocket change.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

“The Spider’s Lullabye” is my very first exposure to “the King” and his work with any ensemble, and I was impressed right off the bat. “The Spider’s Lullabye” surprised me with it’s melodic accessibility, as well as the unmistakable voice of KING DIAMOND (as mentioned, this was my very first exposure, and his vocal style is quite novel, and likely something that I’ll be coming back to often). I initially found the musicianship phenomenal, while thinking that the vocals were silly and somewhat amateur. After a couple of listens to this and other KING DIAMOND albums, however, I’ve come to understand the really important element of this rather unique metal outfit, which I’m sure most readers are already aware of: while not a particularly adept singer, KING DIAMOND weaves some seriously eerie horror tales and goes to great lengths to achieve a terrific atmosphere in his music. This realization made it much easier to accept the variety of falsetto-shrieking, deep throaty chanting, and rough edged singing/speaking that King spews out over all of his albums.

“The Spider's Lullabye” doesn't involve quite as much vocal schizophrenia, but instead goes overboard instrumentally. Musically, this album is superb, and blends Heavy Metal with many horror/suspense elements near flawlessly. I'm not familiar at all with the guitar work of Andy LaRoque, but I'd compare a fair number of guitar riffs and solos here with those I've heard from Power Metal, and they perhaps even stray into the territory of neo-classicism. The riffing on “Eastmann's Cure” is awesome, and the work on “To The Morgue” and “From The Other Side” is also outstanding. Because of this, I have difficulty choosing my favorite song on this album. “The Poltergeist” is also worth mentioning. It's usually hailed as the best song on the album, and for good reason. While lacking some of the drive found on the other tracks on the album “The Poltergeist” is brimming with atmosphere, including stellar organ lines that fuel the dark and malevolent mood that dominates this song.

Despite my general personal distaste for metal that borders on the satanic and occult (and this album doesn't dabble in either of these much), “The Spider's Lullabye” was thoroughly enjoyable for me, and I'll keep it in my collection without hesitation. This album provides a creepy, head banging, and enjoyable ride straight from start to finish. I might tentatively label the title track as the weakest on the album, but it's only a short stoop from the quality that is otherwise consistent. I don't know the rest of KING DIAMOND'S catalogue at this point, but as an outsider to his music, I found “The Spider's Lullabye” very accessible.

Looking forward to reviewing several other King Diamond albums soon, after this one. Here's hoping they're just as good of an experience!

Originally written for www.metal-observer.com

This is the most melodic release from King Diamond, but is not the main reason why it is hardly ever talked about. It's lack of recognition is mainly due it not being a full concept album and the fact that the story itself is pretty straight forward and uncomplicated as opposed to his previous releases like Abigail and "Them". Still, I think the songs here are beautifully done well and the keyboards are utterly fantastic.

From The Other Side - Now this song starts out pretty average and straight forward up until the chorus hits you....then you have no choice but to keep your ears glued to the speaker. If not for the solo, I'd have to say that the amazingly melodic and catchy chorus is the main highlight here. I find this song to be very similar to The Lake, just because of its wonderful chorus and the fact that it stays nailed to your skull.

Killer - "I am a killer...gonna get what I deserve"....man, King's vocal harmony on that line is godly. It's just about as fantastic as the chorus from the previous song. Yes, that's the kind of vocal harmony that forces the listener to stay focused on the music and just simply be amazed.

The Poltergeist - This song just plain out rules you in everyway. From the spooky, Uriah Heep-ish keyboard intro to the very last distorted guitar note, this is indeed one of King's best songs he's ever done. And this song has the highlight of the entire album, which is during the lead break. What sounds like a squeaky door opening is actually the sound of the guitar, which fools you for a few seconds into thinking it's actually the sound of a squeaky door until it leads into the solo. Man, that is some killer stuff right there! Not something that occurs very often in music.

Dreams - Probably the weakest track on the album, even though it's still a great one. Compare to all the other catchy as fuck tunes on here, it's pretty average, and what makes it even worse is that it's sandwiched between The Polergeist and this one....

Moonlight - Another one of King's best song. No wonder why this got heavy radio airplay back then, even in '95 when metal was no longer big. His vocals on this one are constantly in falsetto form through out the entire song, though incredibly melodic and not quite as intense as in other songs, kind of similar to Lurking In The Dark from Fatal Portrait. I simply can not get enough of this one.

Six Feet Under - Yet, another catchy chorus that stays stuck on you. There really isn't much to say about this one, except that it's great speed metal with a killer chorus. Probably the most aggressive song on the album. The song is about a guy being buried alive inside a glass coffin by his own family while looking up at them, how cool and wicked is that??

The Spider's Lullaby - Now we're getting into the story of poor ol' Harry who is terrified of spiders. This is a very doom-ish tune in the vein of 70s Sabbath, mixed with eerie keyboard work and the insane laughs and vocals of the King. King really goes over the top in trying to sound insane with this one. Actually, the coolest part of the song is the acoustic guitar work that sounds like a spider. I know, what exactly does a spider sound like?? I don't know, but I do know that the guitar definatly sounds like one. You'll have to hear for yourself.

Eastmann's Cure - Another cool speed metal song like Six Feet Under, though a little more melodic and very soft in some places. It switches back and forth a lot...heavy/soft/heavy/soft...etc. As you can tell by the title, this is where Harry goes to Dr. Eastman for cure of his spider phobia, but he'll regret it in the next song.

Room 17 - This song is much longer than it should be, over 8 minutes. I guess you can say it's pretty catchy at first but it's a little too long. If you really wanna enjoy the song, listen closly to the lyrics. Harry is put into a staight-jacket and taken to room 17 where Dr. Eastmann's assistant puts all kinds of live spiders all over poor ol' Harry. Something awful ends up happening to him, and I won't tell you what, but the title of the last song should tell ya...

To The Morgue - Another doomy song, much like the title track, with King chanting "To the morgue, take him to the morgue" in a low, operatic tone. Once again, you'll be able to hear the "spider guitar" work, except this time it's with an electric and not an acoustic. Overall, this is indeed one of King's best songs and a perfect album closer to a bone chilling tale....for those of you who are afraid of spiders.

After a five year absence, in which King Diamond was working on Mercyful Fate again, he returned with The Spider's Lullabye. As potent as ever TSL has one big difference from most other King Diamond records, it's not a concept album. Like Fatal Portrait only (about) half of the songs are a concept. This time, while not his most original story, King tells of a man deathly afraid of spiders. He goes to a sanitarium to be cured but the neglagent doctors end up killing him. The other songs are just kick ass Diamond. Again the line-up shifts. Replacing the incredible Peter Blakk is the great Herb Simonson, replacing Hal Patino is Chris Estes, and filling in for Snowy Shaw (and a drum machine) is the boring Darrin Anthony. Simonson is a great guitarist though not up to Blakk's level, Estes is fine, but Anthony is just boring I still can't figure out why King kept him around for two albums. Another thing with The Spider's Lullbabye is that it's more straight forward and not as musically complex as Abigail, Them, or Conspiracy. But that doesn't hurt the music one bit. The opening track From the Other Side is classic Diamond. The next two tracks, the best on here are Killer and The Poltergeist. Very catchy and featuring great solos by Simonson and the ever-present Andy LaRocque. Another great song is the last non-concept song Six Feet Under. The best of the concept songs is probably the very eeire To the Morgue. While definatly not King's best release it's definatly not bad and deserves more recognition.