Heavy metal icon King Diamond launched his spring/summer 2025 European tour on Wednesday night (June 4) at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden. The legendary vocalist is currently on the road with his band, featuring a formidable lineup.
The current King Diamond touring ensemble includes King Diamond on lead vocals, guitarists Andy La Rocque and Mike Wead, bassist Pontus Egberg, and drummer Matt Thompson. Providing backing vocals for the tour is Greek vocalist Hel Pyre, known for her previous work as a bassist for Nervosa.
Fans at the Sweden Rock Festival were treated to a comprehensive setlist, featuring a mix of classic tracks. The band performed: “Arrival,” “A Mansion In Darkness,” “Halloween,” “Voodoo,” “Spider Lilly,” “Sleepless Nights,” “Welcome Home,” “The Invisible Guests,” “The Candle,” “Masquerade Of Madness,” “Electro Therapy,” “Eye Of The Witch,” “Burn,” and “Abigail.” Footage of the entire performance is available for viewing.
In a recent conversation with Fistful Of Metal magazine, King Diamond provided an update on the highly anticipated new King Diamond album, clarifying its title and progress. “Well, for starters, the original name that we had picked was ‘The Institute‘. However, that has now changed to, ‘St Lucifer’s Hospital 1920‘, since the start of the U.S. tour. There very well may be a track on the album called ‘The Institute‘.”
He explained the current status and his commitment to quality: “We were supposed to release the album this year, and in fact the album was supposed to be completely finished prior to the live shows, but I just want to make sure that it’s the best material I’ve ever released.”
King Diamond also revealed upcoming plans, stating: “Right now, we are gearing up to film the next video for the single ‘Lobotomy‘, which will definitely be released later this year. Other songs that are completed are an intro track called ‘Under The Surface‘, ‘The Institute‘, ‘The Nun‘, ‘Faceless‘ and, of course, ‘Spider Lilly‘. There’s another track, which I’m not sure is going to be on the album yet, called ‘Deep In The Darkness 1920‘.”
Regarding the compositional efforts, he added: “Andy has been working on at least five tracks, one of which has as monster chorus that we plan to record with a choir.” The upcoming album is envisioned as the first part of a larger narrative: “The plan is that this album will be the first of a trilogy, and I already have all three album titles.”
King Diamond Upcoming 2025 Tour Dates:
- Jun 6: Mystic Festival – Gdańsk, Poland
- Jun 7: Columbiahalle – Berlin, Germany (w/ Paradise Lost & Angel Witch)
- Jun 8: Metalfest Open Air 2025 – Pilsen, Czechia
- Jun 10: Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, Germany (w/ Paradise Lost & Angel Witch)
- Jun 11: O13 – Tilburg, Netherlands (w/ Paradise Lost & Angel Witch)
- Jun 13: Turbinenhalle – Oberhausen, Germany (w/ Paradise Lost & Angel Witch)
- Jun 14: MHP Arena – Ludwigsburg, Germany (w/ Paradise Lost & Angel Witch)
- Jun 16: Alcatraz – Milan, Italy (w/ Paradise Lost)
- Jun 17: Komplex 457 – Zürich, Switzerland (w/ Paradise Lost)
- Jun 20: Copenhell – Copenhagen, Denmark
- Jun 22: Graspop Metal Meeting – Dessel, Flanders
- Jun 26: Rock Imperium Festival – Cartagena, Spain
- Jun 28: Rock Fest Barcelona – Barcelona, CT
- Jun 30: Manchester Academy – Manchester, England (w/ Paradise Lost & Unto Others)
- Jul 1: The Roundhouse – London, England (w/ Paradise Lost & Unto Others)
- Jul 3: Rockharz Festival – Ballenstedt, Germany
- Jul 5: Rockmaraton – Dunaújváros, Hungary
- Jul 6: Open Air Arena – Vienna, Vienna (w/ Unto Others)
- Jul 8: Arenele Romane Open Air – Bucharest, Romania (w/ Unto Others)
- Jul 9: Arena Sofia – Sofia, Bulgaria (w/ Unto Others)
- Jul 10: Rockwave Festival – Athens, Greece
- Jul 13: Zorlu Main Stage – İstanbul, Türkiye
- Jul 31: Beyond The Gates – Bergen, Norway
- Aug 2: Wacken Open Air – Wacken, Germany
- Aug 8: Hellsinki Metal Festival – Helsinki, Finland
