The long wait for new music from KING DIAMOND continues, but fans can rest assured — progress is underway. In a recent interview with Heavy Demons radio show, guitarist Andy La Rocque offered an update on the band’s much-anticipated horror trilogy, the first part of which is titled Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920.
“We started to record things before the last U.S. tour,” La Rocque revealed (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And we still have a lot of things to record, so we’re working on that too, and we’re gonna continue with that as soon as the European tour is over. So, we’ve been really busy with everything.”
La Rocque also gave an in-depth look at KING DIAMOND’s intricate and collaborative songwriting process. “I pretty much come up with a complete demo with a programmed drum track and some keyboards on and some rhythm guitars,” he explained. “I try to make my demos as complete as possible — sometimes even with some solos that we can use on the album — and the right guitar and keyboard sounds too.”
The process varies when it comes to tracks written by King Diamond himself. “[He’s] a little more basic with a few of the things,” La Rocque said. “For example, the guitars — he lets me re-record the guitars. Then I put solo on, and then Pontus [Egberg, bass] puts the bass on and all that stuff. It’s a little bit different, but it’s quite complete anyway.”
From there, the demos are sent to other band members, who record their parts individually in home studios. “Matt [Thompson, drums] has his own recording studio in Dallas,” La Rocque noted. “So when he gets the demo, he just mutes the drums, puts his drums on, and sends it to me so I can fix the drums and set up a good sound. Same with the bass player and Mike [Wead, guitarist] — kind of the same procedure.”
Once the instrumental tracks are finalized, King Diamond records his vocals — but the creative process doesn’t end there. “We can go in and change a few things too,” La Rocque added. “If something needs to be added or changed — a rhythm part, a solo — we can do that whenever. So it’s a pretty creative procedure.”
KING DIAMOND kicked off their European tour on June 4 at Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden, with dates continuing through the summer. Meanwhile, the band recently offered fans a taste of new material with the December 2024 release of the studio track “Spider Lilly,” mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk. It marked the first time King Diamond collaborated with Rizk on production duties.
Back in October 2023, the band also premiered a music video for their 2019 single “Masquerade Of Madness,” directed by David Brodsky and Allison Woest of My Good Eye Visuals.
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