King Diamond
Conspiracy

It has been a long time (eighteen years) and King finally returns to Amon house to find some serenity after being in a mental sanatorium. Still shocked by the phone call from that hag of his grandmother, whom he thought was dead, King wants to get to the bottom of the whole affair. Too many unsettling issues remain unresolved about the death of his sister Missy, about his mother's probable unhealthy connection with her diabolical therapist, Dr. Landau, but, above all, about his supposed madness. Days do not pass without King feeling the absence of his sister Missy.

"At The Graves" with its evil stride and its majestically solid tempo changes, as well as the very calibrated use of synthesizer, is an essential gothic heavy metal suite of almost nine minutes that never suffers from a lack of inspiration.

Now, just to see her one last time, King would be ready to do anything, even to allow them, the invisible presences that animate Amon house, to control the house itself provided that Missy comes back to life to talk to him and discover how things really went, to dispel all his doubts. "Sleepless Nights" with its square initial riff and delicate arpeggio is a very dark mixture of blood-red and sulfurous pathos that enchants also thanks to the usual superb vocal work of King Diamond.

Meanwhile, the stress on King is growing, becoming unbearable. The thin balance that he thought he had painstakingly acquired is threatened by Dr. Landau's oppressive aura. The notably edgy and non-linear structure of "Lies", thanks to its always shifting and pressing venomous riffs, almost like ideal blind slashes, warns us of the dark, claustrophobic, almost obsessive atmosphere that shakes King, which is yet another demonstration of the ease with which King Diamond and his musicians artfully create a strong integration between music and lyrics, that as usual permeates the entire work. But let's return to the plot of the platter.

At night, here appears Missy to King, explaining that he is in danger, warning him in the form of a nightmare of what seems to be an evil plot hatched behind his back by Dr. Landau. Indeed, he is ready to marry his mother to take possession of Amon House but first will have to get rid of him. "Visit From The Dead", with its melancholic and noir arpeggio that flows into a captivating speed metal riff and the subsequent unsettling "The Wedding Dream", introduced by an acerbic wedding march, are among the finest moments of the entire platter, with the solo works of LaRoque and Blakk being decidedly timely and expressive, enriching its structure.

Of course, by now Amon House belongs to them ("Amon Belongs To Them" is a very tight metal ride with interesting melodic solutions) and in a sort of delirious discussion King tries to explain himself to his mother who returned home with the psychotherapist, but the doctor calls him crazy and promptly sedates him. Meanwhile, he malevolently convinces a priest that it was King who killed his grandmother, and the minister insists on immediate action, believing he is probably possessed by Satan himself. He thus strives, together with Dr. Landau, to prepare a pyre to burn the boy and free him from evil, after which his remains will be placed in the same grave as his sister. This will allow the doctor and his mother to be the sole owners of Amon House. The instrumental "Something Weird" is the ideal sound bridge between King's current mental confusion and the inevitable and sad fate that is about to unfold before him, powerfully described by the subsequent square "Victimized", in which the massive use of keyboards creates intense emotional tension and by the sinister and claustrophobic semi-instrumental "Let It Be Done".

"Cremation", a heartrending cry of malevolent revenge, with its long acidic solo that nervously shakes it, authoritatively animates it from beginning to end, infects it, and almost seems to creep into your room to unsettle you. It collects King's ominous promise to return from the grave to torture and haunt every moment of their grim existence forever.

It is undeniable that King Diamond is one of the most prolific minds in the metal field in terms of horror themes, as well as it is undeniable the skill with which he has managed, with his usual killer vocal repertoire (which gravitates between delicate and clean tones, guttural sounds, caustic growls, and alluring and hysterical falsettos) and the participation of instrumentalists of the caliber of Denner, Andy LaRoque and Pete Blakk, as well as the timely contribution of Mikkey Dee (in his last collaboration with King Diamond on this record), to turn his worst nightmares into some of the most beautiful pages in metal history. This latest concept album sees a greater use of keyboards and synthesizers that undoubtedly contribute to strengthening the sound, injecting sinister and oppressive charm throughout the work. With the sequel to "Them," however, probably one of the most expressive stages of King Diamond's discography comes to a close.

In fact, a few small creaks prevent it, in my humble opinion, from reaching the heights of the two previous works, although remaining at excellent levels. For example, compared to "Them" and "Abigail," where the thematic structure was deeply rich and embroidered, the impression from the lyrically speaking point of view in "Conspiracy" is that the idea of reviving the previous platter's story may have taken away momentum and thus impact, resulting in its development a bit bland. Consequently, with it, some moments of the album are at least less memorable. A remark also goes to the album's cover, which is the first in King Diamond's solo discography to portray him with his typical mask, something that nonetheless removes charm from the product. Just think in this regard of the covers of "Abigail" and "Them" themselves, which announced their theatricality and dark and horror atmosphere, with their pastel colors, that reek of ancient and obscure.

In any case, "Conspiracy" like "Them" and the magnificent "Abigail" delivers an incredible King Diamond as a composer of horror stories and creator of fascinating metal concept albums that vividly paint gloomy and malevolent scenarios in your mind. Highly recommended to metal lovers of darkness and gothic atmosphere.

P.S.: I dedicate this and the previous review of "Them" to Francescobus, as in unsuspected times he tried to encourage me in writing both, convinced that good things could come out of them. I hope the result and the wait live up to expectations.

See Ya!