Customer Reviews

House of God (Reis)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This awesome musical drama gets to me each and every listen. Here we have King Diamond's most atmospheric story (hands down). Expressed through the story are King's thoughts on religion; we even have a Lovecraftian insanity theme here, i.e. knowing too much about mankind's place in the universe - especially when it shatters your preconceived religious notions - can be too much for a person to handle. I feel I have to be careful when using that word Lovecraftian. Trust me when I say that this is not a tired, cliched story about cultists chanting "Ia!" to summon some beastie. The atmosphere is intense, chilling, and literally leaves me teary eyed when I listen alone at night. The music simply rocks -- great riffs, blazing leads; that King Diamond falsetto we all love (or hate). It all comes together magnificently.

The eerie church setting is only creepier due to the fact that it's a real location in France -- the Rennes-le-Chateau. Yup, above the door is really inscribed "Terribilis est locus iste" ("This place is terrible").

It absolutely puzzles me that any KD fan could give this a one star review. I guess it's conceivable that 80s King Diamond material may simply rock harder to some. However in my opinion, this album is the pinnacle of King and the band's musical and storytelling achievements, not to mention one of my favorite CDs of all time.

I really enjoyed this album from start to finish!!As a Long-time King Diamond Fan I really feel this to be one of the Bands BEST concept story/albums yet!! King's vocals on this album are TERRIFIC!! and the guitar work on this album is AMAZING!!Andy La Rocque is truely a GUITAR GOD!! In my opinion this is some of the absolute BEST guitar work in ALL the recent albums!!( although All the guitar work on ALL the past albums are FANTASTIC!!)This is definately an album that the more you hear it the more you WILL truely LOVE IT!! The album is BEST heard with headphones on (this way you get to hear all the sound effects and really get into the atmosphere). A FANTASTIC story (One of King Diamonds's Best!)Great Cover art too!! I really don't feel 5 stars is enough for the musical Masterpiece that is "House Of God" NEW fan's this is an excellent King Diamond album to check out!!( but be sure to also check out "Abigail","Them" and "Conspiracy" especially!!)The production and sound quality is also Fantastic on this album! Great Album!, Don't miss out on this one!! I really DON'T think you will be dissapointed!! LONG LIVE THE KING!!and LONG LIVE METAL!!(PS:) You will really love track #9 "HELP!" and track #13 "Peace Of Mind" is absolutely beautiful!! Terrific Guitar work!!AAAA+++++!!!!!!!

This ABSOLUTE MUST-HAVE KD disc is on par with Abigail, Them and Conspiracy, though, I know, it's DIFFERENT from them. The story and the music here are more varied than he's done before, so this isn't an Abigail clone (and though I hear a lot of KD fans whining for just that, please remember that King is an ARTIST--and one of the most prolific and brilliant to take up the occult metal scepter). That said, it IS more like Fate than he's done since Fatal Portrait. Yet King has maintained his truly unique Dark Storyteller style. This story is a lot more introspective than, say, Them, with its large cast. One reviewer said it, and it's true--this disc IS scary. The smaller cast actually enhances that--there's nowhere to run from yourself...or from the "puppeteers" who pull the strings of God and the Devil.

If you would like to know the ACTUAL RESEARCH House of God is based on, read "HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL". The book was written by two BBC reporters (known for their conservative reporting, so they were METICULOUS in their research). There is considerable evidence that Jesus DID surive the crucifixion, WAS taken overseas, married Mary Magdelene and began a family. His bloodline allegedly continues to this day.

King writes awesome stories, and until he interprets the facts, late in the disc, he is very accurate. Buy this, listen to it, and you'll agree that where he takes off and creates his OWN story, it only gets better! Five stars--only because six aren't available.

If you know King Diamonds musical style, this is for you! His albums tell errie stories from beginning to end. This album has the feeling of "Them" which I also highly recommend! Great storyline with King making the most of his talent to alter his voice from high to low octaves. The drums and guitars are not too fast, typical of King Diamond but more concise. Overall, a great album for the first time King Diamond listener and for fans of old school metal!

this is an awesome METAL release in general, forget for a second that its KD, this is an all around awesome Metal release, now as far as KD material goes, House of God is a bit more rhythmoc in its power chord use, (ala Fear Factory), also has the classic melodies and cathchiness one expects, heavy as hell, awesome drums on here, great production, the story is the best since "THEM" i reccomend this to ALL fans of Heavy Metal.

King Diamond's effort for the year 2000 is indeed "HOUSE OF GOD". I purchased this album the day it came out and listened to it straight through while reading along with the lyrics. "HOUSE OF GOD" has one of the best and most complex storylines of any King Diamond album thus far. The whole relationship and "love interest" addition was so strange and unexpected that I couldn't believe it was a King Diamond album I was listening to. A King Diamond character with a love interest? It was a VERY nice touch in my opinion. As a whole, I think that "HOUSE OF GOD" is one of King's better and more solid pieces of work. Although "ABIGAIL" and "VOODOO" are still my King Diamond favorites, "HOUSE OF GOD" is very well regarded as well!

"House of God" might be one of King's creepiest and yes, thought provoking concept albums ever. Like "The Eye", it has a very intricate storyline. And like so many of his other stories, he has placed himself into the unknown. It also claims to be true, well, who knows, but it doesn't matter. Musically it's heavy and slick. Drover and Harbour are welcomed additions to the band. And La Rocque has some great songs, along with a long overdue instrumental. Although, musically it echoes songs from "Melissa", "The Spider's Lullabye", "Into the Unknown", "The Graveyard", "Voodoo" and "9", and bands such as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. "Help!" is screaming 90's Metallica. Not that this is bad. But it does have a very rough edge to it, unlike most King Diamond albums, but produced and mixed very well. "House of God" might also be the most dissident Diamond album. Just incredibly creepy!

I'm definitely happy with this new album. The story is pretty cool, with a lot of blasphemous Christian imagery, and a 19th Century setting. The songwriting is very good. Sometimes King's singing seems forced when he's trying to fit the storyline into the song and sqeeze too many syllables in--but, thankfully, there's very little of that on "House of God". The music and the lyrics mostly flow together naturally.

The guitar and keyboard work here is the most impressive instrumental aspect. Andy LaRoque is in good form. I always pay close attention to the drums, and the drumming here is fine. Drummer John Hebert has good chops, but he does very little beyond what the song calls for, which some people would view as a positive, but to me great drumming goes beyond what the song requires and lifts the song above what it is. You can make a good record with a good drummer, but you'll never make a great record without a great drummer. It's probably not fair of me, but I can't help but compare Hebert's drumming to Mikkey Dee's amazing drumming on the great classic King Diamond albums "Abigail", "Them", and "Conspiracy". Of course, it's much easier being a critic than a player.

I give "House of God" four stars instead of five for two reasons: my aforementioned issues with the drumming, and my own personal bias for the brilliant "Abigail", "Them", and "Conspiracy". That said, I definitely recommend "House of God" for your King Diamond collection.

To say the least I never really heard to much about King Diamond. I saw a music video awhile back and I was in the store and saw House of God and thought since they don't have Abigail I'llcheck it out(This was my first King Diamond cd) I got home not knowing what to expect...and suddenly a truly bizarre and creepy intro came on. After listening to this from start to end I thought to myself "Damn where was I through all of his stuff" This cd is killer. The music just rips and the lyrics are well thought-out. Some say his vocals take some getting used to. I never really had a problem with his vocals. Not for the faint of heart but Metalheads are sure to love it.(This does not include Limp Bizkit or Slipknot.)

"House of God" has to be the most "Fate" influenced Diamond album since "Fatal Portrait". It's one of the roughest sounding Diamond opus, thanks to Kol Marshall helping to squeeze some new life into both Diamond and Fate. I always thought of King Diamond as Heavy Metal meets Broadway. Any of King's epics could easily be played and performed, with a big budget and hydraulic moving sets, on the big stage. "House of God" also happens to be one of the most evil Diamond albums. King also explores more into some other afterlife immortals, just like Fate's "Last Rites". King Diamond certainly might not be for everybody, but to put simply, there is no one like King Diamond, or what he does. Kudos to the rest of the band,as well.