As previously announced, King Diamond has revealed the title and theme for the first studio album in 12 years, titled The Institute. For a preview of this upcoming record, a new single titled "Masquerade of Madness", has been unveiled today.
"'Masquerade of Madness' is one of the first King Diamond studio songs in a long time. It will be featured on a future two album horror concept story, of which the first part is titled The Institute," King Diamond said in a statement. "The style is very classic King Diamond with lots of dynamics and limited amounts of compression to achieve very natural sounding vocals and instruments throughout the song. You’ll find some complex orchestrations, including the typical choir works you’re used to hearing from King Diamond, and a special thought process bringing vocals back to the forefront: 'All vocals are lead vocals.'"
He added, "Both Andy and I are presently working on several different songs with high potential for the upcoming album; all of which are absolute killers. We will continue this work when we’re back from our North American tour in December, during which you can hear the live version of 'Masquerade of Madness'. For now, we hope you’ll enjoy the brand new studio version of 'Masquerade of Madness'."
The Institute will arrive next year via Metal Blade Records.
Mixed by Andy Larocque and King Diamond at Sonic Train Studios, "Masquerade of Madness" can be heard below.
Catch King Diamond on the road now in North America with Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats and Idle Hands (see below for dates). Limited Meet & Greet packages with King Diamond are available for the first time ever on this tour at: kingdiamondcoven.com – reserve yours now!
King Diamond tour dates
w/ Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Idle Hands
Nov. 8 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium Nov. 10 – Philadelphia, PA – The Tower Theater Nov. 11 – Baltimore, MD – The Lyric Nov. 12 – Montreal, QC – M-Telus Nov. 14 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Nov. 15 – Cleveland, OH – The Agora Theatre Nov. 16 – Louisville, KY – The Palace Theatre Nov. 18 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Nov. 19 – Minneapolis, MN – Palace Theater Nov. 22 – Denver, CO – The Fillmore Nov. 23 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex Nov. 25 – Seattle, WA – The Paramount Nov. 26 – Portland, OR – The Schnitzer Nov. 27 – Vancouver, BC – The Queen Elizabeth Nov. 29 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield Dec. 1 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern Dec. 2 – San Diego, CA – Magnolia Dec. 3 – Anaheim, CA – The Grove of Anaheim Dec. 4 – Phoenix, AZ – Comerica
