Review of the Album "Conspiracy" by Danish Heavy Metal Vocalist King Diamond

Conspiracy is the 1989 solo album by vocalist King Diamond and it is also the second part of the fictional story that was told in the album “Them” in the year before. This album’s story is told by the perspective of a now adult King.

From the start of the album as there is this early Megadeth kind of feel to it along with the symphonic metal structure in a way. King has made a deal with “Them” and now the House of Amon belongs to “Them” as King is having trouble sleeping at night. He gives these unseen spirits control of the house in order to see his dead sister Missy again. “At the Graves” has this symphonic yet also a kind of dark feel. There is a section of it that sounds kind of like one of the songs in the game Final Fantasy 4. The lead guitar in this first song resembles the kind that we would have heard from a Judas Priest album in the early years of the 1980’s. Note: as we make a return to analyzing this album in 2024 it can sometimes be a challenge to listen to the music because of the nature of the structure of the songs.

"Sleepless Nights," "Lies," and "A Visit from the Dead"

The beautiful acoustic guitar in the second song Sleepless Nights makes the album Conspiracy VERY solid only two songs into it! The song is about the adult King wanting to see his sister desperately even if the clock strikes midnight. “Lies” tells the story of King seeing his therapist Dr. Landau and telling him lies that all of his nightmares are dead and gone. He cannot even stand Dr. Landau’s breath so he wants to lie to him to get out of the office as quickly as possible. “A Visit From the Dead” is a song about King getting the chills as he is in bed but he cannot move. He sees a spirit and this turns out to be his dead little sister Missy. She warns him that something bad is coming his way and that she will send him a dream. The beautiful acoustic guitar that starts off this song is the perfect way to begin a song with the kind of lyrical themes that this one has because it shows that this King Diamond solo project is more than just horror metal musical notes played on a guitar.

Conspiracy is the last album released by King Diamond in the 1980’s and it may be his strongest album of the decade. “The Wedding Dream” is the song that tells King of the message that Missy was planning on sending to him as King’s Mother is about to marry his therapist Dr. Landau, the man whom King detests so much. As the sun rises in the morning, King has been sweating so much as the nightmare is now gone but he does not understand what is going on.

“Something Weird” is yet another instrumental song with a great symphonic feel to it and it may be better than whatever the band Cradle of Filth has written. As the album concludes with the song “Cremation” King’s mother and the doctor think that they have gotten rid of King forever but King vows to get revenge on them. This wraps up the 1989 album Conspiracy which is the best early solo album of King Diamond’s career.