The Puppet Master

The Stephen King of Horror Metal is back! King Diamond once again delivers with "The Puppet Master"; a masterpiece of an album that is gruesome, mysterious, full of darkness and includes plenty of twists and turns. Just in time for Halloween! King Diamond uses the same line up as he did on his last release, "Abigail II - The Revenge". It consists of Andy LaRocque (Guitars), Mike Wead (Guitars), Hal Patino(Bass)and Matt Thompson (Drums). Every King Diamond album since "Fatal Portrait" has been a conceptual work of art as a whole. Each album is a listening experience; a book or movie to music; each song a scene or a chapter of something bigger that it makes you anxiously await for each song to end so you can hear what will happen next within the story. The plot behind "The Puppet Master" is not to be mistaken or confused with the cult horror movies of the same name. The story takes place in 18th century Budapest, Hungary involving a puppet show with many interesting characters. On a cold night in December, the main character known as Unfortunate Man goes down to see a Christmas puppet show. He is standing outside after the show and sees a young woman, (who he strangely drawn to),whose name is Victoria. It's almost as if one of the puppet's ghosts is sitting on his shoulder whispering in his ear to go and kiss the girl. The two get along immediately due to their fascination with puppets and end up going out. About a year later everything is going very good until one night Victoria heads down to the puppet show by herself and never returns. The Unfortunate Man goes down to the puppet show to investigate and sees the Puppet Master's wife leaving with a wheel barrel. He follows her only to see her murder a homeless man and put his body in the cart. From this point on the story really intensifies as it takes you through the horrific tale of the Unfortunate Man, Victoria, The Puppet Master, his wife, the puppets and the events leading to the climactic end of the story. The main difference between King Diamond as a solo artist as opposed to his duties with Mercyful Fate is his extended use of keyboards and the falsetto vocals. The keyboards, (strings, bell piano and church organ), are atmospheric, erie and spooky; helping enhance the mood. The trademark schizophrenic vocals are haunting and chilling. The guitar parts and melody lines are much more memorable than "Abigail II - The Revenge" and help represent the different feelings of the characters within the story. "The Puppet Master" also features the female vocal talents of Livia, adding a theatrical dimension to the character of Victoria. The production of "The Puppet Master" is similar to that of "House of God" and "Abigail II - The Revenge". It's a good mix; punchy and not to much bottom end or thin, tinny treble settings.. "The Puppet Master" is proving to be the most listenable release since "The Eye". All we need now is the movie to the music! Prepare to get your soda and popcorn, close your eyes and let your imagination enjoy the story of "The Puppet Master".