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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Return Of The King" !!!! - King Diamond That Is......, December 31, 2004
King Diamond has always been one of the most creative forces in heavy metal music. He has been this way for the past 20 years. Fortunately for the fans of his music we have an excellent example of the last tour he did. The CD is called "Deadly Lullabyes - Live" and this double CD piece showcases the King at his very best. The short North American tour was to support his latest CD entitled "The Puppet Master" which is a killer release with one of the creepiest stories King Diamond has ever come up with. It is worth looking for in addition to the live CD. Both can be found on Metal Blade's website.
I would say that the part that I enjoy most about the CD is the fact that there is a good amount of his newest CD but not the entire piece. Some bands focus too much on the new stuff and avoid their older material. This CD differs as it also includes a nice long assortment of his solo material from the years. King Diamond does not do any Mercyful Fate material in this set, and as I discovered he normally will not perform it. He has far too much solo material, and there are so many key tracks that he cannot avoid playing in his set. To be honest, I would rather hear him do the Fate material with the members of Fate and leave his solo material to his killer band. For this CD and tour the lineup was as follows: Andy LaRoque & Mike Wead (Guitars), Hal Patino (Bass), Matt Thompson (Drums), Livia Zita (backing vocals) and of course King Diamond as Master Of Ceremonies.
Track Listing:
CD1: Funeral, A Mansion In Darkness, The Family Ghost, Black Horsemen, Spare This Life, Mansion In Sorrow, Spirits, Sorry Dear, Eye Of The Witch, Sleepless Nights.
CD2: The Puppet Master, Blood To Walk, So Sad, Living Dead - "outro", Welcome Home, The Invisible Guests, Burn, "Introductions", Halloween, No Presents For Christmas.
The production for a live album is done very well. No instrument overpowers any other. King of course stands out the most and one would expect this. It was produced by Diamond and LaRoque, so the focus does not get lost and messed up by some external producer. The booklet inside is nicely laid out with many full color photos of the shows across the tour. All members are featured and one can see the various costumes worn by the Actress who performed along side the band while they played. Her hard work will be better appreciated when the DVD is available.
This CD comes with the highest of recommendations for fans of the King or just those who are looking for a great live metal album. The best part of this release is that a live DVD of the performance will also be available soon. As someone who attended the concert tour when it hit NYC, I can only say that you will be impressed. Simply listening to the CD gave me the chills once again as King Diamond is an excellent performer who delivers without fail time and time again. I am on my second listen to this piece and I know a third will follow fast.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deadly Lullabyes Kills., September 21, 2004
I caught a show from the recent King Diamond tour and was quite excited to hear that a live album would be made from it. My excitement was warranted; this album doesn't disappoint! The quality of the recording is top-notch, and King's vocals are mint. After all these years, he can still hit those high notes without any problems at all. The set list doesn't cover all of King's wide variety of albums, but the songs chosen were good ones, and performed perfectly. "So Sad" was special to hear live; Livia holds her own and compliments King's vocals beautifully. This is a must have for any King fan, but would also serve as a great introduction for new fans.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is one killer live album, November 17, 2004
I agree with the other reviewers about this album: it really rages!
First of all, the sound is just superb. The mix is just right; you can hear all the instuments clearly, and they all sound great. King's voice comes through perfectly, the guitars crunch and wail with authority, and the bass and drums show a lot of power. It's not overproduced -- you can still tell it's a live album -- but the quality is definitely there.
Unsurprising to long-time King Diamond fans is the world-class musicianship to be found here. King sings very well live, sounding much like he does in the studio and hitting all the notes with very good accuracy. Rather than just going through the motions, he really seems to put his soul into every note. Hal Patino (bass) and relative newcomer Matt Thompson (drums) both do a great job and impart their own unique signatures to the older favorites on this work, and it comes off really, really well. And the guitars! Geez, do they shred! Long-time guitarist Andy La Rocque and newer addition Mike Wead both tear up those fretboards like you wouldn't believe. Great technique, lots of feeling...man, you just have to hear it. Also, since Wead wasn't in the band when the studio versions of many of these songs were recorded, his lead parts are often somewhat different from the originals -- but every bit as good.
If you are a King Diamond fan, I shouldn't have to tell you to get this album as quickly as you can. It really is mandatory. If you're not familiar with the King, this would also make a good introduction to his unique brand of operatic, melodic metal.
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by King Diamond 
