The truth is that I was afraid that this gig might never happen due to the fact that there was a last minute change regarding the date as well as the venue, and this showed problems which could result into cancellation... Luckily this never happened here and Italy was the one to see one of the events get cancelled and I was about to see one of the best live shows ever, so up to my expectations and including all the quality standards King Diamond has spoiled us with...

The show began right on time and the first to come out was the Norwegian band Griffin. They played a total of 7 songs, including songs from their latest album Lifeforce (2005) presenting a powerful Heavy_Thrash sound with Progressive elements, but due to the fact that they opened up the show, there only were a few people in the audience who were rather unmoved by the band. They tried a lot to get some response from the crowd, they were highly energetic and did their job very good despite the cold audience. Last song was a cover of Hell Bent For Leather by Judas Priest from the homonymous album (1979, CBS).

Then it was time for Thunderbolt, also Norwegians, with 7 songs from them. They played some off the album Demons And Diamonds (2003) - the homonymous song, as well as Crucified. In the highlights of their performance, they played from their newest album, Love and Destruction (2006), the homonymous song as well as High Fidelity. Good performance; both support bands seemed to love what was happening and the crowd embraced the second act - maybe because they felt a step closer to what they really paid to come see - a Power_Heavy sound. The singer surprised us by stepping off the stage with the microphone in hand, then started mingling with the audience and urged people to sing along... I read some basic stuff concerning the members of Thunderbolt, I was more than certain that next to favorite singer, would be Bruce Dickinson for Tony Johannessen aka Tony Thunder (vocals) ... The resemblance was striking and this was my major objection before even reading that, while listening to them for the first time - no way might this be proved good for them.

The expectation was getting closer and closer to its peak as the lights dimmed and an atmospheric musical loop, like a horror movie soundtrack, created a mist full of energy ready to explode. Diamond knows how to prepare your soul for what it is about to experience at a live show of his. In a blink of an Eye two capped men appear on stage. The crowd roared as they watched Abigail's white coffin carried onto the centre of the stage. The rest of the band assumed positions, the crowd started shouting out Diamond's name rhythmically and seconds later a familiar figure rushed behind the coffin... King Diamond was finally there! You could feel the people around you wanting to scream to the top of their lungs but something was holding their breath. The scenario started to unveil itself as Diamond opened the coffin and lifted Abigail high before gently resting his knife onto her lips and with a whisper of a narrator's voice he sharply and suddenly pushed the blade that pierced through the back side of the baby's scull. That was the signal for the intro of Funeral to hit the venue and for the crowd to go absolutely ballistic! It was like someone on the other side of the matrix had pushed a button and almost one thousand people on the red pill considered as their duty to headbang till their necks snapped. The dream start of every true fan of Diamond was finally happening.

But he didn't stop there. He went on to give us an overdose of the Abigail (1987, Roadrunner Records) album with Arrival, the all-time cult classic Mansion In Darkness, The Family Ghost and the Black Horsemen to follow! By the time the second song had began, on came to the stage Jody Cachia who was responsible for enhancing the atmospheric theatricality of the show - something that in my humble opinion was excessive as King Diamond is more than enough as a performer and actor himself. She played pregnant Miriam when in the album's story she snaps and pushes Jonathan, played by King himself, off the stairs. Additionally, there was an appearance from the album Abigail II - The Revenge (2002, Metal Blade Records) with the song Mansion In Sorrow.

When Come To The Sabbath (from Mercyful Fate's Don't Break The Oath - 1984) started, Diamond having realized the intensity of the crowd which was singing along every last line of the lyrics, he left the fans to shout out the four words of the title on their own. And so they did with such power in their voices and madness in their eyes that he felt obligated to pay a little tribute to the manner they were supporting the show. When the line ...you are the one... came on, King pointed at the fans and dedicated those words to...Them! And yet, we had only seen the beginning since The Eye Of The Witch followed from The Eye (1990, Roadrunner Records) and Sleepless Nights from Conspiracy (1989, Roadrunner Records).

It was time for Jody Cachia to enter the stage once again, this time with a white mask on her face and strings hanging from her wrists, as she was about to impersonate Victoria who has turned into a puppet according to the story of The Puppet Master (2003, Massacre Records). The opening of this album was with Blood To Walk and it continued with So Sad where Livia Zita appeared doing the ethereal backing vocals. To continue, the masterpiece Them (1988, Roadrunner Records) couldn't be missing from the show with the all time classics Welcome Home and The Invisible Guests and with Jody now in the role of Grandma, sitting on the wheelchair and wearing a wrinkled, grotesque mask - I particularly enjoyed that one.

The time came for the band to say the first goodbye and of course for the fans to insanely scream WE WANT MORE; we couldn't let these guys leave just like that, so they came back and played for us something from the old days, Halloween from Fatal Portrait (1986, Roadrunner Records). And at the next moment, just when you thought ok, that's it, what a great night this has been, another song from Mercyful Fate was lurking in the dark - my personal favorite Evil from the album Melissa (1983) and if you ask me, I couldn't imagine of a better way for this live show to end.
In the general observations, I have to point out that the sound was good but could be much better, but the passion and the performance of the band were such that overlapped it.

It's not just the theatrical scenery or the mystifying lyrics to the songs that make you transcend to another, perhaps darker but certainly different, dimension. It's his sight that still pierces right through you like a shiny knife of steel. You can tell that although in his third decade of performing (...singing seems just too poor of a word for King...) he still enjoys what he does. That is enhanced by his uniquely electric connection to his audience.

The rest of the band's members' performance reached the highest standards and successfully supported Diamond's show. Andy La Rocque left us with a touch of magic as expected from a man that has his own chapter in the history of Metal. The crowd paid tribute to Andy more than once when his name shattered the walls of Gagarin and as a reward some lucky ones in the front rows got to play their electric guitars back home with one of his picks.
This kind of show leaves you with a month's hangover and with a great anticipation for the next one...Although, I hope to be proved wrong, I have a strong feeling that this may be the last European Tour for King Diamond...well, what can I say...please prove me wrong...