Some heavy metal musicians playact at being dark and intense, and some of them live it. Danish singer King Diamond falls firmly in the latter camp, with a 40-year career of heavy metal authenticity behind him. Diamond is best known as the vocalist for Danish band Mercyful Fate, and specifically for his signature piercing falsetto and impressive vocal range. Mercyful Fate pioneered the genre of black metal, and Diamond’s lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult were more than just posturing; the singer is a longtime adherent of LaVeyan Satanism, a philosophy focused on individualism and amorality.
Diamond’s stage presence is equally distinctive; he wears striking face makeup that has incorporated upside-down crosses and blood-red streaks, and he uses a microphone stand made from femur and tibia bones connected into a cross. He even used to carry a human skull onstage before it was stolen after a show 30 years ago. Although Mercyful Fate has been on hiatus since 1999 (with occasional one-off reunions), Diamond includes plenty of MF songs in his solo shows, like this week’s in Las Vegas, and he’s been releasing music under his own name since 1986, including the landmark concept album Abigail. At nearly 60, he’s still as metal as it gets.
House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, 7 p.m. Nov. 9, starting at $35 plus tax and fee, 18+. 800.745.3000 Ticketmaster
