By Vinnie Apicella

The King is dead… Long live the king! King Diamond, the unstoppable force… the legend, the dynamic bringer of evil gets a much deserved tribute from his many legions of followers in this exemplary collection of the King's greatest gifts to mankind… And even he himself couldn't have thought that after all these years, in the wake of the collapse of the original Mercyful Fate, that breaking on his own could have led to such an immense influence amongst today's Black Metal elite. Not to be undercut however, this latest tribute features not only the likes of Sweden's "Dark Funeral," who do a ripping rendition of "The Trial," or the aggressive Death squad In Aeternum doing "Abigail," but how about Destiny's End, led by former Helstar vocalist James Rivera raining down their windswept storm of traditional metal on the unlikely "Dressed in White?" Some of the highlights here, aside from hearing some of Extreme Metal's most intense performers suck it up and actually condition themselves to emulate the greatness of the original, include Usurper's version of "Charon," from "The Fatal Portrait" release, Aurora, also hailing from the same state of disgrace as the King himself-or Denmark-who do a blazing version "Eastmann's Cure" from the "Conspiracy" album… and if you're questioning why, don't, this one's a searing rendition of an outstanding cut that if it doesn't cure you, it'll kill ya! Fallen Empire however-and yes, I couldn't have said it better myself-does indeed turn some heads on their cover of one of "Voodoo's" supreme offerings, "The Exorcist!" As we skim further below the surface here, many of the obvious choices are of course on display in full black splendor but aside from some of the already mentioned obscurities, it's a venomous mix of old, new and everything in between from the best of underground-literally, rising briefly on their night wings to pay homage to the undisputed leader of black magic and blasphemy… The Devil gets his due after all!

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