I don't know how and why, but seeing all those bands re-uniting and/or doing their own revival tours, I had a feeling that King Diamond would eventually do just that for Abigail.
 
And we got our tickets for tonight's show the minute it was announced last summer.
 
I've been a fan of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond ever since I first heard Don't Break the Oath when I was 12 or 13, and even though I lost interest in the newer stuff and my tastes changed in the early 90's, I've always remained fond of those first few albums.
 
Musically, I always thought that both Mercyful Fate and King Diamond were much better bands than most other metal acts. But Diamond's voice is an acquired taste, and not for everyone. It bugged me a bit at first too, even if I loved the songs. 
 
I've always told my wife that someday I'd have her singing some of that stuff, and we're looking forward to performing one or two songs with one of our bands. She did not know much about him, but I've been exposing her to his music for a few months. I'm glad that I get to see Abigail live with her. :)
 
 

Yeah, I was into KD in the 80's big time. I remember when I first listened to Mercyful Fate. My brother had Melissa and Don't Break The Oath. I wasn't really into it. Mostly KD's voice, I think. But then Fatal Portrait came out, and I was hooked. Andy LaRocque(big Rhoads fan!) was probably my favorite guitarist at the time, besides Randy, of course. And Mikkey Dee was just a monster on drums. The music was so brilliant, I found myself not bothered by KD's voice. After a while I even got to like it. Abigail, Them, and my personal favorite, Conspiracy, all masterpieces in their own right. I feel like they peaked at Conspiracy, at least for me, they did. When Mikkey Dee left after Conspiracy, I definitely noticed. Andy was still brilliant, and King was still, well, King, but the chemistry was gone. The Eye was still a good album, but didn't compare to their previous albums. The Spider's Lullaby, The Graveyard, and Voodoo continued the downward trend. House of God was the last KD album that I bought. I gave up on them after that. I got rid of all of it in 2005 after I became a Christian, but for me, those first four KD albums will always be regarded as some of the best music the 80's produced, and Andy LaRocque is still one of my all time favorite guitarists. Have fun at the concert tonight!!!

Thanks! I'm sure we will.
 
Same here - even though I appreciated albums after that, Conspiracy is pretty much the last one I really got into. They really had an amazing band. Those first 4 albums are just incredible. I too remember the first time I heard Fatal Portrait - I was absolutely blown away. It still has a warm spot in my heart, even though the following were better in some aspects.
 
 

And... I dare say that this was arguably the best rock concert I've been to. Amazing band, great visuals and a set list to die for.
 
They had me at the first song, Welcome Home, and followed w/ classic after classic, and even threw in a couple of Mercyful Fate songs for good measure (Melissa and Come to the Sabbath). The most recent song they played was Eye of the Witch, so I was more than familiar with the entire setlist.
 
And then the whole Abigail...
 
Incredible band, and Diamond himself was in great shape. I wasn't expecting him to do so well, but he was stunning - he nailed all those classics. 

Cool! Glad you had a good time. I had heard that King quit smoking after his heart attack a few years back. I'm sure that helped from a vocal standpoint. Anyway, I'm sure it was a great show!

Are you ready for this?  I have NEVER even heard of either King Diamond or Mercyful Fate before!  (Let alone their songs.)  Which, of course, is why I love forums like this where I can discover all sorts of new things that aren't really new. 
 
I guess I'll have to go check them out now! 

Leadfoot
Cool! Glad you had a good time. I had heard that King quit smoking after his heart attack a few years back. I'm sure that helped from a vocal standpoint. Anyway, I'm sure it was a great show!

I don't know much about him from a biographical point of view - I didn't know he'd suffered a heart attack. But I seem to recall watching a web interview not that long ago where he was smoking... It surprised me, actually.
 
OTOH, I know first hand that some odd things can happen to your voice when you quit smoking. If I earned my life as a singer, my career would have come to an end in 2008 when I quit smoking. I have yet to recover control over my voice, and what used to be my range of choice and comfort zone has been obliterated.

craigb
Are you ready for this?  I have NEVER even heard of either King Diamond or Mercyful Fate before!  (Let alone their songs.)  Which, of course, is why I love forums like this where I can discover all sorts of new things that aren't really new. 
 
I guess I'll have to go check them out now! 

Hope you enjoy it. As mentioned, his voice might take some getting used to. But if you like metal, from a musical point of view, I think you're in for a treat. :)

I watched a couple songs(Halloween and The Family Ghost) from a gig in SF on November 2nd. His voice was spot on...It sounded like 1987 all over again. Not too shabby for 59 years old.

Abigail and Them are my favorites.
Conspiracy and Fatal Portrait are a close 3 & 4.
 
When I'm in a KD mood, I'll play all of those back to back to back to back.
...and toss in Mercyful's Into The Unknown after that.
 
Lyrics & vox are kinda hokey, but he's a good story-teller.
Guitarwise, everything is very good '80's style riff/chord based metal - better than a lot of stuff out there.
 
All the guitarists he works with are no slouches either.