During a conversation with The Metal Voice, King Diamond guitarist Andy LaRocque discussed the direction of the band’s new studio album, saying:
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“Right now, I’m actually composing some songs for King Diamond for the next album.
“It’s probably going to be two separate albums, not released with the same package. The next album will be a continuation of the first one, part one then part two.”
When asked about the album revolving around the theme of a 1920’s mental institution, Andy replied:
“Yes, that’s correct. To be honest, I don’t really know too much about the story with exception to the very few lines King told me so far.
“That would be something to talk to King about definitely you know next time you talk to him. I know it’s going to be a complete, new story and it’s going to be about life and death and everything in between.”
Asked about the musical direction of the new studio albums, LaRocque replied:
“I would say so far you know from what I’ve been doing I would say it’s getting back more towards the classical style of King Diamond more towards ‘Abigail’ and the first couple of albums. The fans won’t be disappointed.”
When asked about the release date of the new studio albums, the guitarist replied:
“It’s impossible to say, but I know that King has pretty much the full story in his head already and then he has to write down all the specific lyrics and the details.
“So it’s impossible to say but we’re doing the best we can to finish. So far I have three songs and I’m aiming for five songs and I think King is working on around five songs.”
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When asked about the making of the new live album “Songs for the Dead Live,” Andy replied:
“It took some time for everything to be finished and we had some technical issues that’s why it took so long.
“Also, there are so many video angles and it takes so long to look through all the video material and shots, then there is the audio mix, it’s insane.
“Putting everything together just took a very long time. It’s two concerts, one from the Fillmore show in Philadelphia and also one outdoor show from Europe in Belgium at the Graspop festival.
“We started recording during the US tour back in 2015, we recorded the Philly show and also the Detroit show to have a backup.
“We also recorded our own stuff with GoPro cameras throughout to get all the details like a camera in the coffin, a camera on the guitar, a camera behind the drummer, all the details captured. Then combining everything took a very long time.”
Focusing on the 2019 touring plans, the musician said:
“We’re focusing on trying to get some songs together for the next album and also planning to do some festival shows in Europe this summer with a new set list of course and a new stage show, we’re not doing the Abigail stuff this time around. The show is going to be completely different and hopefully, we’ll get to the U.S. too.”
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When asked about his memories of recording ‘Abigail’ back in the ’80s, LaRocque replied:
“December 1986, I think, we entered the studio so we kind of knew each other pretty good at that time and we played well together since we just finished touring. So we got into the studio with good songs and it just felt great.
“At that the time, I really think we captured a great atmosphere on the whole album that was just something magic with the songs. I felt very creative and the band was on fire, really on fire.”