King Diamond "Fatal Portrait" LP

1986 debut album from the Danish heavy metal band. After two classic groundbreaking and influential releases in "Melissa" and "Don't Break the Oath", Mercyful Fate frontman King Diamond would leave the band to assemble his new solo band which would consist of himself along with fellow Fate members in guitarist Michael Denner and bassist Timi Hansen and along with newcomers in guitarist Andy LaRocque and drummer Mikkey Dee (who would later go on to pound the skins for the legendary Motorhead) all resulting in the release of the King's 1986 solo debut release entitled "Fatal Portrait" which proves indeed to be a killer, fresh and fantastic debut and has also paved the way for future KD masterpieces such as "Abigail", "Them", "Conspiracy", and "The Eye", and among others. While the lyrics of Mercyful Fate consisted of themes of Satanism and the Occult, the lyrics here on "Fatal Portrait" instead are based around horror stories with the album's first four tracks: "The Candle", "The Jonah", "The Portrait", "Dressed in White", as well as the album's closing track "Haunted" all being jointed into a single concept story making the music here much more theatrical than on Mercyful Fate's first two releases. This conceptual cycle here would go on to set the stage for the next four King Diamond albums, which would each be wholly taken up by one complete storyline.

Released by Metal Blade Records.