page_title: King Diamond (band)
section_title: Later years (2001–2017)
hierarchical_section_title: King Diamond (band) / History / Later years (2001–2017)
caption_attribution_description: King Diamond at Wisla hall in Cracow
context_page_description: King Diamond is a Danish heavy metal band formed in 1985 by vocalist King Diamond, guitarists Andy LaRocque and Michael Denner, bassist Timi Hansen and drummer Mikkey Dee. Diamond, Denner and Hansen had recently departed the group Mercyful Fate, and decided to form a new band under the King Diamond moniker, as it was already known from the Mercyful Fate days. In 1986, King Diamond released their debut album Fatal Portrait. Since then the band have released a total of twelve studio albums, two live albums, two extended plays, five compilations and five singles.
  Since the band's inception, there have been over fifteen musicians in and out of King Diamond, with the only two mainstays being vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Andy LaRocque. In 1987 the band released their second studio release Abigail. Throughout the 1980s, King Diamond released a total of four studio albums. After their fifth album The Eye, the band was put on hold when King Diamond reunited with his former outfit Mercyful Fate. After reforming King Diamond in 1994, Diamond would balance recording and touring with both Mercyful Fate and his eponymous band throughout the 1990s.
context_section_description: In May 2001, King Diamond began recording their tenth studio album once again at the Nomad Recording Studio. Released on 29 January 2002, Abigail II: The Revenge was a sequel to 1987's Abigail album. It was also the first King Diamond album since 1990's The Eye to feature bassist Hal Patino who rejoined the band during the recording process. King Diamond did not tour in support of Abigail II, as Metal Blade could not provide tour support, due to illegal downloading. Despite this, the album went on to peak at number 24 in Finland and at number 42 in Sweden.
  On 21 October 2003, King Diamond released the album The Puppet Master, which charted at number 36 in Sweden. Besides featuring the band, the album also featured additional vocals from Livia Zita, who is also King Diamond's wife. During the supporting tour for The Puppet Master, the band recorded the live album Deadly Lullabyes, which was released 21 September 2004. In April 2006, former bandmate Mikkey Dee (currently with Scorpions, formerly with Motörhead) made a guest appearance at King Diamond's sold-out gig in Gothenburg, Sweden. On 26 June 2007, King Diamond released the album Give Me Your Soul...Please. The album went on to peak at number 25 on the Finnish chart, number 28 on the Swedish chart, and at number 174 on the Billboard 200. The track "Never Ending Hill" also garnered a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" (the group's first). A music video was also made for the album's title track.
  In late November 2010, King Diamond was rushed to the hospital after having several heart attacks. There it was discovered that three of his arteries had been blocked, which meant he had to undergo triple bypass surgery. Following a successful operation, he returned home to rest. Diamond also stopped smoking entirely, changed his diet and began getting regular exercise, according to his wife. On 27 January 2012, Diamond made a special appearance at the "5th Annual Nomad Recording Studio Throwdown", performing three songs: "The Family Ghost", "Evil" and "Burn". On 9 June 2012, the entire King Diamond band played at the Sweden Rock Festival. They were also joined on stage by Michael Denner, Hank Shermann, Mickey Dee and Volbeat's Michael Poulsen. Vocalist King Diamond stated that the band was expected to begin writing new material for their thirteenth studio album in the fall of 2012.
  On 19 July 2014, the band announced that Hal Patino has been relieved of his duties, for reasons very similar to why he was fired from the band in 1990. He was replaced by Pontus Egberg, formerly of the bands Lion's Share and the Poodles. In October, King Diamond announced a new compilation titled Dreams of Horror which was released in November through Metal Blade Records, covering the band's entire career. In December, Egberg became an official member of the band.
  King Diamond took part in the 2015 Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival along with bands such as Slayer (who was chosen as the headliner), Hellyeah, The Devil Wears Prada, Thy Art Is Murder, Jungle Rot, Sister Sin, Sworn In, Shattered Sun, Feed Her to the Sharks, Code Orange and Kissing Candice. The tour ran from 26 June through 2 August. At the 8 July 2015 show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, King Diamond was forced to perform without his signature face paint due to a severe eye infection, in which doctors advised against the use of any makeup. He said that there was no negative feedback from the fans. The band then embarked on a special tour from October to December 2015 with thrash metal band Exodus, where the 1987 album Abigail was performed in its entirety.
caption: King Diamond performing in Kraków, 2001
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