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King Diamond, At the Graves - A Classical Musician’s In-Depth Analysis
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- Опубликовано: 16 авг 2024
- I’ve had a few days to let this musical experience settle in, and there is a lot to talk about regarding King Diamond’s At the Graves! Even if you are NOT a fan of this type of music, you might enjoy this dive into the musical elements which it contains, and if you DO love this kind of music, maybe you will try out some of the Classical pieces which I reference here:
“Devil’s Dance” from The Witches of Eastwick (John Williams)
• John Williams conducts...
Allegro from Symphony No. 10 (Shostakovich)
• Shostakovich Symphony ...
Dante Sonata (Franz Liszt)
• Liszt: Dante Sonata / ...
“Atmosphères” (Ligeti)
• György Ligeti - Atmosp...
“O Fortuna” from Carina Burana (Orff)
• Carl Orff - O Fortuna ...
Link to the original song by King Diamond:
• At the Graves
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
Hi everyone! Please drop under this comment your questions ONLY! I will do my best to answer them all!
I miss the 1-10 rating system on the elements of the piece. Where did they go?
What is your analysis of the guitar solos in this song, "at the graves" do you think the guitarist has interesting musical ideas within the solos?
It would be amazing if you could tell us more about the teaching process Amy, and which are the most important aspects you focus on!
i would compare it to Beethoven 9 symphony but on fast forward. . nothing more than a basic comparison . i am very familiar to classical music but some ideas are dissimilar, even if i relate to the general sound, is the general tone the same? like variations of violence? once again i do not like this music but i recognize the similar TONE. graves deaths decomposition decay rot AND the basic idea of ANGER the fast forward aspect is a psychotic expression . is the idea of psychosis a musical idea? because it invites an easy interpretation .
@@isheetfromaswhole3657 the 9th s very intricate. Why compare?
One note about the voice, which you feel is all over the place: It's a dialogue between the protagonist and the ghosts/beings/whatever. Makes a bit more sense that way.
Yeah, he does that in "Abigail" to great effect too.
Seeing people with classical music formation reacting and respecting music from artists like King Diamond is something I always waited for. After so many years (decades, in fact) seeing this is like a dream come true. Thank you so much for making me feel that, after all, I was really right when I choose this kind of music.
I’m not surprised that there is stuff to be learned. Not liking a particular band doesn’t make them a poor band, it’s just something that is to taste. A band that springs to mind is cradle of filth. I was actually attracted to this video more than to some that I liked, as your excellent analysis allows for a learning experience and enables an appreciation of a song or artist that would normally get passed by. Thank you for this.
the dani filth singing style, i feel sometimes when i hear the live stuff, a form of tourettes? mariah carey belts out the incoherent shrieks, she says she has trouble controlling it, dani's the metal mariah.
@@felderup metal Mariah could be interpreted in so many ways. However looking forward to Dani’s Christmas single if that’s the case.
@@j_vasey near everyone i come across that does country music, i suggest they cover her ghost in the fog, i think it'd be perfect on banjo with a croon. christmas album, definitely worth a shot.
Its so frustrating when people conflate thier personal taste with "it has no feeling" or whatever. Drives me crazy.
@@russellward4624 I had to learn that. I remember saying things as a youngster that now fills me with embarrassment. I think a recent band on this channel brought out both sides of the coin. Overbearingly positive, as well as a derision that was surprising.
Actually King Diamond is a love-it-or-hate-it-thing inside the Heavy Metal scene, too. During all phases of his chareer, the King made extreme music, starting with his very unique and extreme style of singing, to the satanic lyrics and image of his old band Mercyful Fate (I once read in an interview that Metallica were seriously afraid when they first shared the stage with MF), to the Horror atmosphere and intentional inaccessability of KD. He had his most creative times during the whole 80s, which was a time of exploration in Heavy Metal. Musicians tried to explore new areas and extend the borders of the genre. The King never played it save, but he was always the daring and curious kind. As an effect, he became very influencial on the generations of extreme Metal bands that came after him, especially in Black Metal.
First analysis of King Diamond or heavy metal as a whole done by classical musician that isn"t false " ooooh, woooow, yeeeei, oooh my God". I thought she was well prepared and will be biased but no, true great analysis emphasising true value of the song even not liking it. I listen to King Diamond since 1984. and he and all the musicians contributed to really great atmosphere so that one literally see and feels what's going on. Great expressions in the voice registers in order to "make things really happen", every single moment is layered perfectly. However King Diamond's music never gave me unpleasant feelings, opposite I feel heavenly. Thumbs up for correct and unbiased analysis as many others don't do. 🤘👍
That opening melody was repeated NINE times? Haha, that is AWESOME. I bet it was no accident... nor probably was the fact the whole song clocks in at nearly 9 minutes as well.. nor that the album was released in nineteen-eighty-NINE ; 1+9+8+9 = 27 = 2+7 = 9...
If you delve deeper into the King Diamond lore, you will find that the number 9 (including products and factors of it ; 3, 6 ,18, 27, etc) recurs quite a lot, due to the mystical/numerological properties.
The Abigail album showcases this a lot, with "18 is actually 9" being a recurring phrase in the story. Also, King's band Mercyful Fate (which preceded his solo project for only 1 EP and 2 albums in 1982, 1983, and 1984, then was resurrected 1993 and dissolved again in 1999) released an album in 1999 simply called "9".
9 is a big theme for King.
18 is actually 9... It stuck in his mind!
PS Mercyful Fate is on tour right now. Look up "Becky Baldwin Bass" to see a great video of her practicing Come to the Sabbath for the tour.
Also Jimi Hendrix 9 to the Universe.
Anton LaVey stated that the number 9 is The Devil's number.
I listened to Merciful Fate and King Diamond in the 80s and only knew of one other (in my social group ) who liked them. Most people hear some seconds of the tracks and disgard them, too overwhelming and dark. I slowly realized that some of it was quite advanced and I still listen to the records, on vinyl, hi hi. Thanks for an interesting and charming walk through.
Always interesting to hear someone from a different musical background analyzing a metal song. I have loved the song - and the album - since it was released back in '89. I enjoy most of his work (especially as King Diamond) but Conspiracy will always feel a bit special to me. Great album, and both Andy LaRocque and Mikkey Dee are highly regarded players in the metal world. Some may even say legendary. 🙂
I love this woman, I wish she would do more of King Diamond and like bands, she brings out theory and nuance that might escape the casual listener, she's brilliant!
I was like: Is she going there? Really? Great analysis! I'd say one of the best ones so far!
One of my favorite singers. Between his solo work and his band Mercyful Fate is some of the best metal around. Sometimes I’m not so much into the lyrics especially in the Mercyful Fate days but musically you can’t beat it
Thank you Amy. You are giving us incredible knowledge about the music we listen to. I'm happy with your reaction to King Diamond. I thought you were going to be shocked by the heavy sound. The respect you have shown for the composition demostrate that you really love good music. Gracias.
And thanks for the classical music references. The feedback definitely makes this channel a unique and valuable experience for music lovers in general. Thanks again
Wow, what a surprising choice! Love it!
King Diamond has one classical, timeless, one of the all time best metal albums, titled "Them".
A sinister Metal Opera, telling a story from first song to last. His other albums tell stories too, but "Them" works best and is a musical masterpiece!
Highly recommend music lovers with an open mind dedicating 50 min to listen to it beginning to end.
I listened to the links you recommended. I can definitely hear the similarities in the way that the chromatic ideas are applied. Its cool to see the idea applied in distinct styles of music. Thanks for the recommendation and your analysis.
I have a 9 to 6 job, I started practicing piano 3 months ago.
I just want to thank you for teaching music to me. I feel like a student.
Salutes from Brazil.
Helene here….O.M.G. I just listened to Dies Irae…..I haven’t heard it in ages. I actually sang in a performance of this piece decades ago. How utterly thrilling it would be to sing this as a member of that massive choir. It gave me chills. Thanks for that!
I massively appreciate your ability to separate out your respect for a piece of music from whether or not you like it. I have been on a similar journey the past few years with advanced progressive rock. I have come to totally respect the talent and skill….but no….not on my playlist. 😁
I was ready to completely dismiss King Diamond. Because of you, I have at least found respect for it. And I appreciate that…..and YOU.
Wow ! I can’t wait for you to do a similar analysis to another King Diamond classic song “The portrait” or “The candle”. Yes, equally as spooky. He is a spooky artist and we love him for that, haha
Thank you for the last part of this video! I cannot stand people being judgmental because of the music that I listen to. I like to listen to hard and heavy music at times in my life...doesn't make me a bad person especially if it gets me through tough times!!
Such a smart review thank you for this. I'll keep coming back to your channel.
thank you so very much for this, i really appreciate your view on KD, he is danish and im danish, and I grew up with his music, and always like his very Strange and Unique style, so really lovely to hear this in depth analyse of his art
thank you thank you thank you
Wonderful analysis of the song. Especially love the comparison to Verdi :)
About the people complaining about your selection for what songs to analyze, I just feel sorry for them not having the will to learn something new outside their normal comfort zone. And I applaud your open mind to a music genre that you normally wouldn't listen to. It shows a curiosity to explore, and that's something we all should embrace. When we stop being curious, that's when we stop evolving.
Cheers!
Really enjoyed your analysis, I learned something new. I wouldnt probably choose this song for someone as first King Diamond song, they have more melodic songs with memorable melodies and more interesting harmonies, but this song has something very characteristic of this band, that is very expressive voice and many changes and (on first glance disjointed) ideas that are subtely woven together to allow interesting storytelling. Many people dont hear and recognize elements that make their compositions cohesive, so it was exciteing to me to watch someone musically trained dissect one of their songs, - you were very perceptive and catched more of that kind of elements than me. I would love to see more analysis of King Diamond songs but I know that it is better to not repeat songs from the same artist, at least for now, to make more people satisfied and broaden your horison quicker. Anyway it was fun video to watch, most people tend to be snobby against King while not really paying attention to merits in their music, so seeing objective analysis was refreshing. Most of Kings songs have this gothic atmosphere, but the can evoke it in various ways.
Amy ... Wow!!! You are an excellent teacher!! You are open minded and so very intelligent!! Thank you for your informative videos.
Thanks, Amy. This community you've attracted has as much value as your videos. As the aged mother of a son who has always gravitated to horror and darkness in music and film, your fans are doing a great job of fleshing out the context of the bands you dip into. I love your distinction between quality and attraction.
Most of heavy metal instrumentation is not harmonically complex, because it cannot be due to the nature of amplifier distortion. So tension has to be built rhythmically and dynamically, and through the vocals. One song I would recommend, in another vein, is "Fata Morgana" by Fates Warning.
I will check that out. Love the No Exit album. Saw them with Sabbat and Manowar back in '89.
Such a great analysis, thanks a lot! It is much appreciated for putting yourself out of the comfort zone to listen to this sort of music and analyse it as impartially as possible. Many of us have actually started to listen to classical music after listening to heavy metal, as we've felt there is a connection in the structure or the emotion expressed in different melodies. Also, thank you for recommending us the classical pieces!
This is much better than your previous videos. Using your knowledge of music theory to offer a real analysis is the way to go.
Wow, you’ve got me glued for the last hour watching part 1 then this. We’ll done, from a musician.
Your channel is such a treasure! Real first listens and in-depth appreciations. I can’t wait to see where your musical journey takes us.
Did NOT expect to see this one here lol
The candle by King Diamond is more straight forward melodically in so far as music and vocals. It’s Brilliant and haunting. Long live the king. Thanks for the analysis and suggested listening
I think without listening to the entire story of King/ Melissa/ THEM the context of the voice shifting escapes people, there is a lot of dialog between characters in the lyrics of the two albums (Them/ Conspiracy) in particular. I always wanted to see him turn this tale into a film because the story is really intense and it visually gives me vibes of the classic 1950s-70s occult/ horror films I grew up watching.
I am really enjoying these analysis of rock music by someone unfamiliar but musically educated, truly wonderful stuff Amy.
As a longtime King Diamond fan I am thrilled that you gave this a listen. I will not hold it against you if you did not specifically like the song/topic.. we all have our personal preferences. Of course, I would have loved to have had you like the music as much as I do :P hehe To be honest, though.. if we all had the same preferences in music then all music would sound the same... and that would get boring very quickly.
Please do, however, check out a few other songs by King Diamond so you can see his range. Be aware, however, that all of his albums with the band King Diamond are concept albums/stories. Each song continues the story from the last song.
The following are a shorthand list of albums and basic concepts for each.. there is obviously much more than I will type out.. just giving the basics.
Album: Fatal Portrait -- Tells the story of a ghostly girl trapped in a candle flame.. how she got there and how she was freed from it.
Album: Abigail -- Tells the story of a family and their legacy with regard to a deceased relative and the current generation.
Album: Them -- Tells the story of another family mansion and the current occupants with regards to ghostly beings that visit the mansion.
Album: Conspiracy -- Tells the story of what happened after the album Them.
Album: The Eye - Tells the story of a magical pendant/necklace and the fate of those whom possess it.
Album: The Graveyard -- Tells the story of an escaped mental patient and his ultimate fate.
Album: House of God -- Tells the story of a man whom encounters a very sinister church and his ultimate fate.
Album: Voodoo -- Tells the story of a family that moved into a house where a voodoo burial ground is located.
Album: Abigail 2 -- Tells the continued story from the album Abigail. (I am least familiar with this one)
Album: The Puppetmaster -- Tells the story of a man turned into a living(?) puppet by an evil puppetmaster.
Album: Give Me Your Soul.. Please -- Tells the story of a man that encounters a ghostly girl looking for a soul for her brother.
One album I am completely unfamiliar with -- 'The Spider's Lullaby' I believe is the only one which is not a concept/story album.
His new album 'The Institute' (I believe that is it's title) has not been released yet.
You could also check out the other band he is vocalist for -- Mercyful Fate. The albums from that band are not concept albums and the music is actually a little different in style.
In any case.. thank you for listening to him and giving an honest analysis. ;)
Peace
I know KD's entire discography, and listening to Verdi Requiem imagining the choir being a vocal line from King, I was completely shocked by how similar they are. Very interesting!
I’ve never heard of this band, but the overall song was pretty fun to listen to (I thought it was both hilarious and creative), I can see why people would want to go see them live.
Not knowing anything about the two albums, “them” sounds like “all of our ancestors, people that lived and paved the way and had things to say and said them, and those things said, sung, are echoing for us to hear”.
It seems, in the song, the protagonist falls asleep or into imagining a nightmarish meditation about “them” and gets to understand they can’t exist during “daylight” which might mean outside of dreams/imagination/memory, as if to say “they don’t exist in the sensible world, but they are very much alive in our collective memory”.
You two are doing a great job at picking songs and listening/analyzing/presenting them to us. Always looking forward to every new installment.
To sum up the story as a kid King his sister and his mom go to live with his grandmother who does magic spells by putting a drop of blood into a magic tea pot that allows he to interact with the spirits. Missy breaks the teapot to break the spell King & mother fall under and the spirits kill Missy. King kills his grandmother and he's taken to an assylym because they don't believe his story and think he killed his sister. This album starts with his release and he goes to the Graves hoping to reconnect with Missy without the teapot.
As a metal musician - your analysis is spot on. Chromaticism and the tritone are crucial in heavy metal. Slayer even made an album called "Diabolus in Musica", although if you decide to give them a listen I recommend some of their earlier stuff, like the title track to South of Heaven.
Also love how you caught that theme being repeated in different parts of the song.
I was an 80's metalhead but never listened to King Diamond, so this was my first listen as well. Interesting to see someone being exposed to a genre that I think I know a good deal about.. but not be familiar with the songs being reviewed (so far) 🙂. Great content, keep up the good work!
King was also the lead singer in his original band called Mercyful Fate and they were a HUGE influence to Metallica! Metallica even recorded 2 albums in Denmark at the same King Diamond's studio 🎙
@@jeffthejinjer Also, there's the Mercyful Fate medley that Metallica did on Garage Inc. which has some fantastic guitar riffs.
@@StephenCameron yes I forgot about that album!!!
Did you say 9 times in a row? Mmmm it makes sense since number 9 is very significative when it comes to spiritual things and even magic. King Diamond uses it all the time (number of songs in a particular album, syllables, etc. The song "Arrival" from the album ABIGAIL mentions the year 1845 and in numerology if we split it we have 1+8=9 or 4+5= 9 and that song ends with the phrase: "18 is actually 9, it stuck in his mind"
Now coming back to the song you analized the number 9 makes even more sense because 9 in Chaldean is sacred and it represents all you long for in life, so in the song represents the desire to have his sister back again.
(by the way, he has an album with his other band (Mercyful Fate) called 9 and it has 9 songs. XD
In many Diamond's songs and album concepts nothing is just because :))
Congrats for your channel, loved it!
loooove it, and your analisys on the classics, you nailed. Just few days a go i was reading Dante's Divine comedy ..
I do hope King Diamond gets to watch this at some point. I bet no one has ever taken him this seriously. 😉
Edit: what you said about your teaching how to write melodies was really interesting. I have no idea how this is taught generally, but let's put it this way: would you send Alban Berg back home as well and tell him to re-work Wozzeck?
Elizabeth Zharoff (The Charismatic Voice) would disagree. She took KD very seriously.
He's King effing Diamond. He's a Heavy Metal legend. Why the f he should yearn for some outsiders' attention.
Plenty of people take him seriously, that's a pretentious thing to say.
I think King Diamond is a musical genius. He writes a lot of the music and his vocal melodies fit the music perfectly.
I had some sympathy this time as this was my first listen to this piece too. By a third of the way through I wondered if you had been pranked! But this turned out - no surprise - to be very interesting, and once again I learned a lot from you, thank you. I found your suggestion of “O Fortuna” from Carina Burana (Orff) - which I re-listened to right afterwards, especially useful. I think one of the most valuable aspects of your series is the parallels you draw for us to classical music.
I am loving this channel. So interesting!
This was a big surprise to me, I love how you’re analytical about it and don’t really make a black and white decision about whether it is good or not; you’re analysis that it has lots of good things about it. It is obviously down to personal taste. I have recently started to be more analytical about what I hear (mostly after listening to you!); it has enlightened me and my listening to new to me artists.
Though not a fan of the King Diamond song, I found your analysis very interesting and educational.
Very interesting. Would love to see you analyze more King Diamond or Heavy Metal in general
This is so good! Thank you!
I sometimes feel that in rock and especially metal, sometimes you can't overthink stuff. Sure, there can be a story to follow in the lyrics, but to me, it's about a catharsis for your emotions, or the song/story telling is trying to evoke certain feelings out of you. Just my take on it, there's no right or wrong answer when it's so subjective.
This is a sign that I'm getting old...
...when a musician lady makes an analysis of some vinyl record I bought as a 14 year old, in my heavy metal phase.
I bought the first King Diamond record because of it's cover, I liked the style (the gothic story telling), and so I purchased more King Diamond vinyl records with my allowance.
Then I went decades without listening to King Diamond again, as I got bored with this sort of music.
But like the 1982 film "Conan", an Opera masterpiece, that needs to be re-watched in the 21th century, I understand why the Kind Diamond story telling albums need to be analysed, as the original works they were. I still remember the line "Father Picard" in a song from one of those LP's, and I did tape a poster, with a black and white cemitery, in my room, that came as a gift inside the LP.
So, a big thanks to the "virgin rock" lady musician, for taking the time to listen to King Diamond.
Again may I suggest Close to the Edge by YES They were one of the first bands to use more advanced harmonic structures in the Rock genre. It's beautiful.
"Rime of the Ancient Mariner" - Iron Maiden
I have to say that you are a genius to me. I am not a music expert, in any way, but music has been the most important part of my life since the childhood. So, hearing you talking about all of these songs is a true treasure to me. Your reactions and especially reviews are priceless to me. And I don't care if it's rock or metal or any other kind of music, I will impatiently wait for each new video.
King Diamond is really not my cup of tea, it hurts my ears (both vocals and guitars... and the lack of actual melody). And I say that as someone who has spent half of life listening to different metal genres and bands. But hearing you talking about it and explaining the music itself I, deffinitely, can appreciate it and understand it more, even though, as you said, I don't need to like it.
So, thank you, Amy, for sharing your knowledge and thoughts with us! And thank you, Vlad, for the idea and creating this channel! 🖤
That Bird line "or anytime...ever!" made me chuckle.
Great video.Much respect to your knowledge and understanding of music.👍
About the comment when the song really starts after the intro with the 'Rise', I've been listening to the song for years and while I sort of felt what you are saying here, I've never been able to understand where that feeling was from and how it was able to do it musically. For me that was a great moment of understanding! thanks!
As a King Diamond fan from to 80's this is the most accurate breakdown I have heard, you are spot-on! I wish my Parents would have had such insight when I was growing up😁People in my group were generally interested in this music because it reflected the uncomfortable uncertainty we all felt everyday when growing up.
You have earned my respect and a Sub for your wonderful dissemination, thank you!
0:51 King Diamon General info and at The Graves background
2:26 General Thematic Background
5:28 Technical Musical Elements
14:03 Rhythms and the Voice
20:30 Links of Composers with Similar Themes
25:02 Conclusion
This was wonderful
I really appreciate your analysis , passion , and respect for Artistry
What a great analysis!
You should interview king diamond,his very aprochable
A comment on the non-existing melody line in the vocals: so true, it does not really exist, in an explicit fashion at least. However, and it is pretty much typical in King Diamond's music in my opinion, the real melody lines take shape when you put together the guitar and the vocal lines.
How do I see that working?
The melody line picks up a small part of the guitar "riff" and then comes a vocal sequence, and then a short section of the guitar line, and so on, all these coming one after the other so that the melody line can take form and finally emerge from the music. In other words , the gaps between the vocal line are filled in by sections of the guitar line to complete the real melody line. And this concept goes on and on in the song.
In other parts, a variation of this occurs: the melody line is started by the vocals, and then the vocals change to something non-melodic (murmuring, growling, etc.), but the upcoming section of the guitar line underneath picks up the melody line.
I think this is why you feel that the guitars add to the vocals and the other way around: they together are responsible for forming the melody line in the song.
It will be wonderful to see the teacher analyzing some of Ligeti's works, such as Atmospheres or Requiem.
Orion by Metallica.
It has a nice melody .
It's a instrumental.
Written by the bass player of the time. He was classicaly trained .
After KD, Metallica sounds laid-back.
There's a guy who made a video for Orion. Travelling through space, passing stars, gas clouds and shit. It's really nice and lays out a great feeling while listening to this masterpiece.
I love your Opera friends understanding.
@14:06 Think of King Diamond like the original audiobook. He was making these albums like novels.
In that, there are musical nods to THEM and the musical passages you here on that album that they spiced up for Conspiracy.
Much respect! @21:07….
Amongst all the reactions…..this is my favorite one.tho you mite be surprised on how much classical influences there are in early heavy metal
excellenteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! I enjoyed it completely!
If the reactions will stay heavily in the line of Metal, rather than in the weave of other type of bands (King Crimson, Doors, Yes, Stones, ELP, Zappa, Genesis, etc.) then maybe getting a Grammy awarded band in this category, like Jethro Tull, could be a good idea.
Just a joke, Metal is fine.
Thanx for the KING review we love him
You will certainly enjoy dissecting the songs by Iron Maiden that are directly based on classic literature and historical events.
Totally agree with this. I would suggest the song Seventh Son of a Seventh Son as a good place to start.
Empire of the Clouds is a nice song
Thank you for those links in the description box, I am looking forward to listening to those today. You are such a good teacher this video is very interesting. The Forbidden Diablo intervals of medieval/ early baroque period may have been more about the tuning systems being based on “Just Intonation” which would be perfectly in tune in the key Am/C but harmonies would become increasingly more dissonant as you moved away from this key center. I wonder if the forbidden intervals were forbidden or simply just avoided. Great. Analysis and commentary. Thank you
I think this is a great idea, making two separate videos. It makes a lot of sense. Seeing that beautiful harp behind you immediately makes me want to ask for a Joanna Newsom reaction. Almost anything by her would be great, but I've been listening to "Go Long" a lot lately so I'll recommend that one.
This was excellent . Not the choice of King Diamond song that I would have choosen, there is a lot that is a lot more structured (but still a bit chaotic) , BUT the fact that you go so deep with it anyway is awesome.
King Diamond always has very good musicians around him as he also had in Mercyful Fate. On the Conspiracy album from 1989 it was Hal Patino on the bass, Mikkey Dee (later Motorhead and Scorpions) and the great guitarists Andy LaRocque and Pete Blakk. King and producer Roberto Falcao played the keyboards
I love you links for classical references, please keep posting them with your analysis!
You might enjoy reacting a band called ne obliviscaris. Their song "and plague flowers the kaleidoscope" is studied at the Sydney conservatorium of music
It's metal and a bit heavier than previous songs in the channel. But it's very interesting and beautiful (to my ears).
If any heavy music band can be considered as a masterpiece, it have to be this band. It is living with the inevitable, but using power and synchronicity to overcome. Hard to describe, but definitely interesting. If you think about it in the right way, it can be used as a strategy. Quality well done.
Lol , it’s a wild piece lol .
I love all your videos , this one was especially intertwining and
Entertaining.
Looking forward for you to do a dream theatre one .
Suggesting two - a chance of season and metropolis part 1
Again a real great analysis. I´ve never heard of King Diamond before so i did an experiment. I´ve listened to the track ahead to compare our initial reaction. We had the same thougt as the song was over: Interesting. But i will never listen to this again. The experience was for me compareable to Free Jazz. I can appreciate the artistic value but without a perceptible structure i can never enjoy it. As someone who has seen quite some Horror Movies, the intro of the Song triggerd instantly the imagery of such movies in my head. But then the camera switched so fast from scene to scene that you couldn´t get a grasp of what´s going on. It was interesting for me how differently we picked up the Lyrics. Though the line with "the Sun" could suggest vampires i never thought of them. For me the story was: the protagonist wants to bring his missy back and accidentaly brings all of them back. But then he is okay with it because he wants to learn their secrets to gain power. Learning the backstory shifts the perception a little. Thanks for that.
I am really enjoying it to see how you learn to appreciate the expresiveness of the guitar. As a guitarist i would recommend you a very special listening experience. Not to do an analysis, just for personal education. Jimi Hendrix, one of the pioneers of electric Guitar, did on the famous Woodstock festival a live interpretation of the "Star spangled Banner". His performance was a direct comment on the 1969 still ongoing Vietnam War. ruclips.net/video/q3-b3ViNTMI/видео.html
Greetings from Germany
Here is the part of Verdi's Requiem that Amy referred to: ruclips.net/video/cHw4GER-MiE/видео.html
"Dies Irae" is Latin for "Day of Wrath", the last judgement.
My favorite Kind Diamond album!
Great analysis!!!! Thanks for posting!!!!
King Diamond (Kim Bendix Petersen) is fan of horror stories, one of his favorites is Stephen King's "The Shining"
Amy you’re amazing ❤️
I appreciate your overall message that one does not need to like a particular genre of music to have an appreciation and respect for it.
There are bands I do not like but I like a few of their songs. Or maybe there are bands I can appreciate but I don't care for their music.
Everyone looks at me weird when I say that cos they believe you cannot have one without the other, as if the two are linked and cannot be separate.
Fascinating. Really enjoying your channel 👍
Would you do a video about "Am I Evil" by Diamond Head? I think you may find it interesting. Thanks again for your videos.😁👏🏻👍🏻
Thank you. A lot of perspective to follow up on :) I have loved King Diamond since I was 11. And art in high form, my opinion, it is...Dantes Inferno is in my collection of books... I haven't read it ;)
I don't believe that a lot of people enjoy listening to King. I think it makes more sense if one is looking inward from a hard rock perspective. Even so it's not happy music. Kind of morbid, but somehow I just enjoy his falsetto and commitment to the character. I also enjoy the musicianship.
You mentioned odd timings. There's a song called The Eye. I tried so hard to figure out the timing on that. It turns out to be 8/4 alternating with 17/8. Something like that reminds me of Black Dog by Led Zepplin. I really enjoy it.
Plus the second song after At the Graves is Sleepless Nights, which I find very comical (as I do a lot of King's music). Just makes me smile. I don't know why! Haha 😂 Maybe because I have trouble sleeping and I feel a little crazy myself trying to deal with it.
Well talking about Dantes Inferno, you should give Iced Earths epic song called just that, Dantes Inferno a go. Great content you have here. Love it .
Hi, arguably the triton was first heavily used in rock music by Black Sabbath in their song Black Sabbath from the album Black Sabbath (1970). That basically initiated heavy metal. The song is relatively simple but has some interesting ideas and a gloomy mood. I highly recommend.
If, for some reason, you ever get the urge to check out more King Diamond, there's a song on the 1990 album "The Eye" called "Behind These Walls" ... It's got a HARPSICHORD and it's just so cool ... I wish I could come up with a better adjective than "cool". The harpsichord part is kind of manic, in the same way that, say, "Hall of the Mountain King" is, when it gets to accelerando-ing, if you know what I mean.
I know l’m not in the KD topic, but because I like your analysis and comments, I’m curious to hear your opinion about Renaissance, a prog rock band of the 70’s. They we’re the first rock band to included orchestral arrangements in many songs of their albums. With a five octaves female singer (Annie Haslam), they produced a beautiful sound, almost like a film score, where the orchestral arrangements are part of the songs and give grandeur, majesty to their musics. Here’s my songs suggestions: Mother Russia, Running Hard, A Song For All Seasons or their 24 minutes masterpiece Song Of Scheherazade. It’s great to have a musician with your background in the videos reaction world. 👍🤩
I've often searched for theoretical examinations of my favorite metal bands, specifically of KDs works. Maybe it cannot work as well in this medium, but KD offers a lot of what most music lacks in this genre, coming from where this band began. I look forward to more of your analytics. Perhaps Paradise Lost by Symphony X? Touching on your Dante's Inferno bit, i am mostly inspired by Faust. I've almost read all of the way through twice in the past 20 years. I get lost in its structure and revel in it so much i never complete the read, lol...
If you see any documentary about heavy metal or watch an interview with the band Black Sabbath - who are widely considered to be the first 'heavy metal' band - you will learn that heavy metal was originally an attempt to play rock music whilst replicating the feeling that people get when seeing a horror movie in the cinema.
I feel like this is somewhat the case with King Diamond, except that it is in some ways replicating the feeling of being a child and being told a horror story by a hearth in a big, old house. As someone else has written here, the vocals in King Diamond are often a dialogue between a protagonist and an antagonist and in this case I believe it is King and the spirit of Missy. Spirits and the undead are often sung in a menacing, demonic way by King.
Thank you for this great video ! I´ve been listening to King Diamond since 1988 and it is a weird artist with a weird voice and arrangements and... i love his music (Mercyful Fate as well), similar to Stephen King in the Literature. I suggest analise The Wedding Dream from this same album or Amon Belongs to Them. It is horror of course, so you have to be in a certain mood to listen and that´s ok, i listen to gospel songs depending on my mood, so.... Cheers and Keep going with this channel !
14:24 A "groove"- yes! : )
It would be interesting to hear what you make of Crowded House. They don't have complex instrumentation- just your usual band with guitars, drum, keyboard - but lyrically and melodically wonderful.
I would like to hear Amy's opinion on growling style vocals, typical of extreme metal (death metal, black metal ,thrash metal) .
Even if she may not like it, does she see them as effective artistic devices?
I would suggest opeth's " forest of october" from the album "orchid".
Wow! As per your suggestion, I went and checked out Verdi's Requiem and rather than looking for any similarities to King Diamond, I was immediately and pleasantly surprised to find that this must have been the source material for Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Night Castle" album.
That, and the mention of Liszt (TSO also did a piece called "Wish Liszt"), makes me most curious to see if you have checked out any TSO?
I'll give you a short "Liszt" of songs you may find most interesting :
- Wish Liszt
- Night Enchanted
- The Mountain
- Requiem (The Fifth)
- Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24/1990)
Its ok to admit you're in love with King diamond. 😝
I did my own analysis of king awhile back. I always found his lyrics almost to be like a conversation between himself or a demon or character he is portraying