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King Diamond: Abigail (1997 Remastered Version) Heavy Metal Roadrunner Records June 15th, 1987
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Review
In the history of metal, there are just some albums that are picture perfect the way they are and do not to be screwed around with again for any reason, especially for any sort of anniversary release, or a cheap cash-in. Abigail by King Diamond has been reissued on a gold disc as a remastered version with four bonus tracks. While this rule of thumb is true, at least Roadrunner Records made this album even more kick ass. Abigail is is a conceptual album about a little girl/spirit named Abigail. This horror story release was one of the first to really make an impact on the writing style of metal, and features the classics "The Family Ghost", as well as "The 7th Day Of July 1777, and Black Horsemen". The introduction track, "Funeral", is enough to scare those away who aren't intrigued by tales of the occult, but if you can make it through, you are greeted with catchy and rather complex guitar riffs. Another perk to the album is the vocal work, which does consist of the falsetto styling found on the previous Mercyful Fate albums, but all around performed and recorded better, matching a very haunting environment brought on by the music. It also doesn't help that there are some moments, like near the end of "The Family Ghost" that will make you jump if you don't expect it. The vocals even tread, sometimes, into a gutteral type of style. This, however, is only really noticable with "The Family Ghost". Without using a single interlude, the story starts off and is just a non-stop relentless tale about Abigail, her burial, and her possession. Each song is heavy, catchy, and there is absolutely no filler in here. The only thing that seems a bit odd is during the track "The Possession" when the music all of a sudden slows down to just acoustic guitar for a little bit before going back into the music. Another odd musical moment would be the way "Abigail" closes out, using a keyboard to best represent funeral music, placed loudly over the music itself, and set to fade out with the track. From "Arrival", it's just a non stop rollercoaster from Hell. This exceptional opera-esque horror story is well written, well orchestrated, and is non stop until the final track, "The Horsemen" which starts off like a ballad, and varies in speed from that point up to the traditional faster pace set throughout the entire album. With all of that said, it's time to look at this remastered reissue. It includes four bonus tracks, a studio cut called "Shrine", which is actually a chapter from the Abigail album, which was later removed and used as a b-side. The sad thing is the song is absolutely amazing and easily one of the best tracks recorded for this release. The three rough mix tracks included on this sound just as good as the final mixes, just missing some mastering on the guitars and the echo on the vocals. The remastered version of this release is well worth it. The remastered sound of the album is simply amazing, even though the original production quality of this album was superb for the time of it's release to begin with. The liner notes included in the artwork is a nice read, giving information on the release and the music, but nothing spectacular aside something for those curious about what went into the release. Roadrunner Records may be cashing in, but they made a product even better by making it clearer and added some bonus tracks including a missing chapter that is very hard to come by. It's worth the step up from the original, or as your first King Diamond purchase if your collection is lacking this release.
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