King Diamond Abigail II: The Revenge

Personnel: King Diamond (vocals, strings, harpsichord, keyboards); Andy LaRocque (guitar, strings, harpsichord, keyboards); Mike Wead (guitar); Kol Marshall (strings, harpsichord, keyboards); Hal Pinto (bass); Matt Thompson (drums); Alyssa Bisenberger.

Producers: Kol Marshall, King Diamond, Andy LaRocque.

Personnel: King Diamond (vocals, strings, harpsichord, keyboards, background vocals); Andy LaRocque (guitar, strings, harpsichord, keyboards); Mike Wead (guitar); Kol Marshall (strings, harpsichord, keyboards); Matt Thompson (drums).

Audio Mixer: Kol Marshall.

Recording information: Los Angered Recording, Gothenburg, Sweden (05/2001-08/2001); Nomad Recording Studio, Dallas, TX (05/2001-08/2001).

Editor: J.T. Longoria .

Photographer: Alex Solca.

Abigail II: The Revenge, King Diamond's tenth full-length solo album and sequel to his 1987 classic, Abigail, unfortunately doesn't recapture much of the magic of the original, but instead continues the consistent but less inspired professionalism of most of his latter-day work. What separates King Diamond's great records from the mediocre ones is not storylines, but songs; his best have memorable melodies, detailed atmospheres, and imagination (listen to the first four or five records for evidence of this). Abigail II naturally has all the sonic hallmarks of classic King Diamond and, of course, the music is beautifully executed. It's just not as memorable as the old stuff, and is nearly indistinguishable from its predecessors. Still, hardcore fans won't be disappointed. Also includes some cringe-inducing dialogue and "acting." ~ Andy Hinds