King Diamon. Halloween. What more do I really need to say?

The answer, I’ve decided, is not much. I had the privilege of photographing the Boston stop of King Diamond’s current North American tour, and if that proves to be my final show of 2024 – and it’s looking like that will be the case as the calendar continues to fill up – the year has certainly ended on the highest of notes. I’m going to keep the word count relatively brief and let the images tell more the story because seeing the King live is something we should all have on our bucket list. It was the best. Halloween. Ever.

This show was at Roadrunner, a venue west of the city that I had not previously shot at before, and I gotta say that I was a fan overall! Apparently the capacity is 3,500? Which… damn! There was plenty of space to move around (including the photo pit), things like bars and merch tables were out of the way, it was clean, no noticeable issues with the sound, and… yeah! No real complaints. So that’s out of the way. Moving on. Night Demon and Overkill kicked off the night, with my familiarity of both being quite minimal somehow. Night Demon… I was into it. Rocking the King Diamond-inspired corpse paint on Halloween (like many in attendance – it ruled) was an awesome touch. They just brought the perfect type and amount of energy. Including a cover of Misfits’ “Halloween” was a welcome surprise as well. Overkill on the other hand… I was into less. They didn’t do anything wrong – it’s not their fault! – it all just tracks with how I’ve managed to go this long without really getting into what they’ve been doing. But! There was a distinct leveling up in the crowd’s response, and they did sound pretty damn good. My response to that set is all just chalked up to them not being my thing. Shit happens!

You may recall my reflection on the 2014 King Diamond performance at Wacken that I shared a handful of weeks ago. Right. So this? Looking specifically at this King Diamond set on this particular night? This was better. Being so close to the absolute spectacle that is a King Diamond show was a completely different experience, and the opportunity to photograph it will go down as one of my favorite moments in covering shows… ever. I mean the man is an icon. One of the most distinguishable faces and personalities in heavy metal, going back through history. And here we were, on Halloween 2024, and he sounded and looked incredible. The theatrics and props were top-tier. He sounded perfectly on point throughout this much-appreciated extensive set. Always in motion, utilizing every level of the stage setup, ensured there was always something to witness visually, not just hear. You simply didn’t want to look away in fear of missing one of these moments. Did some of these scenes overlap with the Wacken set in 2014, like “Welcome Home”, of course! But thank Satan they did, as I got to view them in far more detail this time around. What else can I say? It was perfect. Check out the images below if you feel like seeing some of the moments that stuck out to me. For some more samples, jump on over to our Instagram if you feel so inclined.

And that’s about all I can really think to say on the matter. Yes, I am pulling the “you had to be there” card from here. Spending the night at Saint Lucifer’s Hospital contributed to what was the best Halloween I’ve celebrated in a long, long time. If not ever. Between the performances themselves of course, and also just being among the Halloween energy – everyone in costume (specific nods to those in King Diamond corpse paint and those decked out as Saint Lucifer’s Hospital nurses) just embracing the night and season – it was such a memorable evening. A show, and a night, for the books, for all time. The tour is still ongoing, so if you happen to be in its path over the next couple of weeks you should probably make that happen. Here’s the ticket link.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb