King Diamond, who plays Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg, Florida on Oct. 26, 2024. Credit: Photo by Greg Lawrence
Kim Petersen, whose influences include the likes of Black Sabbath and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, is really jonesing to get his first new album in nearly two decades out already.

On his current run of shows (with a stage setup very similar to Alice Cooper’s recurring “nightmare castle” themes), the 68-year-old frontman of Mercyful Fate and his eponymous band debuted two melodic, anthemic tracks, “Spider Lilly” and “Electro Therapy,” loaded with plenty of eclectic guitar spots and Petersen’s breathy falsetto.

Saturday’s show in St. Pete will not only build up hype for the long-awaited album, but is also King Diamond’s first show in the Bay area since a 2005 stop at the late, great Masquerade in Ybor City.

Tickets to see King Diamond play Duke Energy Center at Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Oct. 26 are still available and start at $53.

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This article appears in Oct 24-30, 2024.

Josh Bradley is Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's calendar editor. He started as a freelance music writer in 2020 at the age of 18, and after spending years covering, announcing, and previewing concerts in...