House of God (album)
| House of God | ||||
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| Studio album by King Diamond | ||||
| Released | June 20, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | Nomad Recording Studio, Carrollton, Texas, February-April 2000 |
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| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 51:18 | |||
| Label | Massacre (EU)/Metal Blade (US) | |||
| Producer | King Diamond Andy LaRocque Kol Marshall |
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| King Diamond chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Fangoria |  [2] |
House of God is the ninth studio album by the heavy metal band King Diamond, released in 2000. The album was remastered by Andy LaRocque and was re-released in 2009.
Contents
Plot
The album's storyline is loosely based on the legend of Rennes-le-Château.
A man gets lost in the hills and is surrounded by wolves. Suddenly an old grey wolf with shiny eyes appears, makes all other wolves stay back and leads the man to a small church at the bottom of a hill. The man enters the House of God, in which everything starts to change. The wolf turns into a beautiful woman. They fall in love at first sight and love each other on different occasions in the church, but then the man recognizes the black devil in the church and must face that the girl is kissed by the devil. He starts discussing with "Angel" (the name of the girl) and she tells him her dramatic fate: Angel was chosen by supernatural forces to guard the church, and made a pact with the devil. She has one year's time to find a replacement for herself. If she's not successful she has to die. If she is successful she can leave the frightening place, but will lose her memory. The man sadly lets her go and nearly loses his mind out of heartache and isolation. In his desperation he starts to destroy the church and explores a hidden path which leads to underground catacombs. Spiders and rats reign there and everything is full of human bones. The man hears a scream from the inside of a mummy. He runs back into the church and a mysterious being tells him that there exists no God or devil but everybody's just marionettes. The man's shocked and starts to doubt the sense of life. He desperately asks himself: "Why am I here? Where does life begin or end? Is the universe just a grain of sand on a huge beach?". The man loses his faith in life; he can't accept what he has seen and hangs himself in desperation and pain.
The album begins with a monologue:
"Upon the Cross he did not die, they tortured him, but he survived. Smuggled across the open sea, to Southern France, tranquility. There he married Magdalene, and founded another dynasty. A church was built upon a hill, to serve all of the gods at will."
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Upon the Cross" | King Diamond | 1:44 |
| 2. | "The Trees Have Eyes" | King Diamond, Andy LaRocque | 4:46 |
| 3. | "Follow the Wolf" | King Diamond | 4:27 |
| 4. | "House of God" | King Diamond, Andy LaRocque | 5:36 |
| 5. | "Black Devil" | King Diamond | 4:28 |
| 6. | "The Pact" | King Diamond, Andy LaRocque | 4:10 |
| 7. | "Goodbye" | King Diamond | 1:59 |
| 8. | "Just a Shadow" | King Diamond | 4:36 |
| 9. | "Help!!!" | King Diamond | 4:21 |
| 10. | "Passage to Hell" | King Diamond | 1:59 |
| 11. | "Catacomb" | King Diamond, Andy LaRocque | 5:01 |
| 12. | "This Place Is Terrible" | King Diamond | 5:34 |
| 13. | "Peace of Mind" (Instrumental) | Andy LaRocque | 2:31 |
Credits
- King Diamond - Vocals
- Andy LaRocque - Guitars
- Glen Drover - Guitars
- David Harbour - Bass guitar
- John Luke Hébert - Drums
