3 out of 5 Stars!

A killer album musically, if you love the darkness of Black Sabbath riffs and themes. A wretched album vocally, however…King Diamond has a relatively “okay” voice when he actually “sings,” but unfortunately he reaches for the rafters even when unwarranted, continually screeching in falsetto like a castrated tomcat and turning each track into a banshee-wailing mess. Definitely takes a lot of getting used to, and I truly never could get used to it. Even listening to him today, all these years later, is like having dozens of sharp nails raking a chalkboard.

So, the music gets a “5” and King Diamond gets a “1,” bringing the album to a respectable “3” rating overall. This was the first and last album I purchased from this band, since KD’s voice left my eardrums bleeding and gave me a churning stomach waiting to spew. I would have also purchased many of his solo projects, since the music was definitely above average for the metal genre, were it not for him and his vocal gymnastic nonsense.