KING DIAMOND (Denmark) - THE DARK SIDES (E.P. 1988) (Roadrunner Records)

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KING DIAMOND is a Danish Heavy Metal band from Copenhagen formed in 1985.
When MERCYFUL FATE split up KING DIAMOND established this band, along with Michael Denner and Timi Hansen.
The three had recently departed from the group MERCYFUL FATE, which fell apart due to musical differences between Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann.
As a band, KING DIAMOND is essentially something between a solo project of the eponymous singer and a continuation or spin-off of MERCYFUL FATE.
The reason behind the use of KING DIAMOND name was to "get better deals" and the fact that the name was already known from MERCYFUL FATE.
To round-out the line-up of the KING DIAMOND band, the group hired drummer Mikkey Dee and guitarist Andy LaRocque.
The band was put on hiatus around 1992, when KING DIAMOND (along with Denner and Hansen) reformed MERCYFUL FATE.
He reformed the KING DIAMOND band in 1994, and would balance recording and touring with both MERCYFUL FATE and his eponymous band for nearly a decade, until the former went on hiatus again in 1999.
In May 2001, KING DIAMOND began recording their tenth studio album once again at the Nomad Recording Studio.
In late November 2010, KING DIAMOND was rushed to the hospital after having several heart attacks.
There it was discovered that three of his arteries had been blocked, which meant he had to undergo triple bypass surgery.
In 2018, KING DIAMOND began work on its thirteenth studio album, which would be divided into two parts to connect with its theme.
The first part of the series was later revealed to be titled "The Institute".
It was planned to be released in 2020 with a North American tour taking place in the fall of 2019; however, its release date was later pushed back to 2022, then again to 2023 and then to 2024 or 2025.

THE DARK SIDES is a 12" Compilation E.P. originally released November 1st, 1988 through Roadrunner Records.
This E.P. contains five tracks (and an outro), released on previous albums, but are mostly unrelated in their stories (as King's albums were concept albums)
The album cover featured KING DIAMOND with face paint that resembled KISS bassist Gene Simmons' "Demon".
Simmons claimed that King's face paint was copyright infringement and sued him.
The lawsuit was eventually dropped when King changed his design.

Tracklist
Halloween 04:14
Them (Instrumental) 01:58
No Presents For Christmas 04:21
Shrine 04:23
The Lake 04:13
Phone Call 01:38

Music & lyrics by KING DIAMOND.

Track 1 previously released on FATAL PORTRAIT.
Track 2 instrumental track, previously released on THEM.
Track 3 previously released as the A-side of NO PRESENTS FOR CHRISTMAS single; later as a bonus track on the 2007 remastered version of FATAL PORTRAIT.
Track 4 previously released as the b-side of THE FAMILY GHOST single; later as a bonus track on the 2007 remastered version of ABIGAIL.
Track 5 previously released as a b-side of HALLOWEEN single and as a bonus track on CD versions of FATAL PORTRAIT.
Track 6 previously released on CD versions of THEM.

Cheers & Stay Black 'n Brutal!!!

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