On tour now completely annihilating the United States, King Diamond and friends have been tearing their way across the country leaving their satisfied metal fans in the dust.

A chance encounter with the tour in Orlando, FL, left me taken aback. Located in downtown Disney at the Hard Rock Live, metal fans were crawling the venue. Doors opened at 7:00pm and the show began around 8:30pm. Behemoth was the first to perform. At the beginning of their set, the crowd was scarce and few. Many people were sitting at the bar, while the rest were browsing the merchandise booths. Not too many people were interested in what they had to say - or scream, rather.

Second to go onstage were The Black Dahlia Murder. More and more people were approaching the stage at this point. As BDM started to play, mosh pits were opening up and the crowd was becoming increasingly fierce. After an 8 song set, Black Dahlia Murder finished, leaving the crowd in a soft roar with a few fists in the air.

Death metal entrepreneurs, Nile, were next to perform. At this point, the floor was so packed I couldn’t have walked through the crowd to leave if I wanted to. Fans were almost careening the stage to be closer to lead singer, Chief Spires. As I was looking around, many of the faces at the front of the stage were singing to every lyric that Spires had to give. Nile looked to be the crowd favorite.

To finish the show, headliners, King Diamond raised curtains. Props surrounded the stage as each band member walked to their places. A large rod iron gate separated the fans from the musicians. There were severed body parts, sharp tools and gadgets on shelves behind the drum set. There was a baby crib, plastic doll, and a dagger in the front center of the stage. Diamond then appeared on stage in all of his theatrical glory, face painted and clothes torn, and proceeded to stab the baby and start his first number. I couldn’t believe how much the crowd had grown since the first act. It was a packed house.

King Diamond, Behemoth, Nile, and The Black Dahlia Murder are still touring the states and have more shows to come in the future. This is a show all metal-heads should not miss.

Official King Diamond Website
Official Nile Website
Official Black Dahlia Murder Website
Official Behemoth Website

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