It seems next year will be quite busy for King Diamond according to his guitarist Andy LaRocque
Andy La Rocque, the guitarist of KING DIAMOND, shared insights with “The Metal Podcast” regarding the ongoing songwriting sessions for the highly-anticipated new album. This upcoming release, titled “The Institute,” marks KING DIAMOND‘s return to the studio after a 17-year hiatus and is currently projected for a 2024 release through Metal Blade.
Notably, the album will be presented as a two-LP horror concept story, with the second installment scheduled for a subsequent release date.
Andy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The last tour we did was in the U.S. And we jumped off that tour in December 2019. And that was right before the pandemic broke out. So since then we haven’t been on the road — I mean, not a single show. We’ve been composing some songs and I’ve been trying to survive with bands in the studio, because that’s what I do.
“When I’m not out with KING DIAMOND, touring and writing music for KING DIAMOND, I’m a music producer — mostly metal, of course, as you can imagine… I’m constantly working with things, you know, I mean, I’m writing riffs for KING DIAMOND all the time, and what does not fit for a KING DIAMOND song, it ends up like something else in my library of songs.”
He added: “We might be able to come out next year for something. I can’t really tell you when or where, but we’re checking the possibilities to really come out with something next year, definitely.”
When asked to clarify wether he meant a tour or new music, Andy replied: “A tour. And with the songs. I mean, we’re working on that. We have songs. I sent King [Diamond, KING DIAMOND frontman] a bunch of songs, like, a year and a half ago, and we started working on them, like arrangement-wise and all that. And then MERCYFUL FATE came in between kind of; they did their summer tour in Europe and also a U.S. tour.
“And then they’re gonna record like a single or two, I believe. And as soon as they’re done with that, we’re gonna go back and pick up where we ended with KING DIAMOND, all the KING DIAMOND songs that we have. And then, of course, King‘s going to write his share of the songs too, and all the lyrics and stuff. So it’s a long procedure. But we have started.”
You can check out the full interview at this location.
KING DIAMOND earned a Grammy nomination in the “Best Metal Performance” category for their track “Never Ending Hill,” which was featured on their 2007 album, “Give Me Your Soul … Please.”
The album “Give Me Your Soul … Please” had an impressive debut, with 4,500 copies sold in the United States during its first week of release, securing the No. 174 position on The Billboard 200 chart.
In January 2019, KING DIAMOND treated fans to a captivating DVD/Blu-ray release titled “Songs For The Dead Live” through Metal Blade Records. This exceptional collection showcases the full performance of the band’s iconic 1987 “Abigail” album, performed twice and in two distinctly different settings: once at Belgium’s Graspop Metal Meeting in June 2016 and again at Philadelphia’s Fillmore in November 2015. These memorable performances feature KING DIAMOND‘s current lineup, which includes guitarists La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg, and Thompson.
