Abigail was a true classic of the 80’s and most would argue that it was the King’s finest hour and when I read on the Metal Blade website that the King was working on a follow to the original I was in tow minds as to the merits of the project but I need not have worried.
King Diamond’s vocal style has always put some people off and this is a shame as his talents for portraying a story with related song’s is truly awesome and as a teller of ghost stories even Stephen King would have to admit he can tell a good yarn with some very neat twists, details of which I wont go into here because I don’t want to spoil it for you. But it’s not just the stories that he is well known for as there are riffs a plenty on this opus as well as some very atmospheric touches which add to the dynamics of all the songs and elevate them form the rest of the pack and if you want proof of this just check out "Mansion IN Sorrow" and "More Than Pain" and both of these match any of the King’s recent output.
This is a welcome return to what is a classic story and if you like King Diamond’s solo output you will love this, will there be an Abigail III, who knows, probably not even the man himself.