King Diamond Has Serious Plans for 2024

For a while now, we’ve known that King Diamond has been working on a new album. The Danish vocalist said as much as far back as 2021, revealing that both his band and Mercyful Fate were working on new albums. And while that plan still hasn’t come to fruition, we’re getting rumblings from the man himself that hopefully means 2024 will change all that.

While speaking with The Metal Podcast, guitarist Andy La Rocque told in an interview that the band has been hard at work on the new record, to be titled The Institute. Apparently, a number of songs have already been written and they’re hoping to release the full thing next year, followed by a tour.

“We might be able to come out next year for something. I can’t really tell you when or where, but we’re checking the possibilities to really come out with something next year, definitely.

“[We’re also planning] a tour. And with the songs. I mean, we’re working on that. We have songs. I sent King a bunch of songs, like, a year and a half ago, and we started working on them, like arrangement-wise and all that.”

He says that King Diamond had to take a break from writing when Mercyful Fate had their tour, but now they’re back at it.

“Mercyful Fate are gonna record like a single or two, I believe. And as soon as they’re done with that, we’re gonna go back and pick up where we ended with King Diamond, all the King Diamond songs that we have. And then, of course, King’s going to write his share of the songs, too, and all the lyrics and stuff. So it’s a long procedure. But we have started.”

While it’s still even a little too early to call the best albums of 2023, it seems a likely prediction that this is going to be a big record for 2024 — one that fans are already eagerly anticipating.