Eye of the Witch: The Finest Moments of King Diamond & Mercyful Fate - Part 4 of 7

"Eye of the Witch," while simply a great song from a great King Diamond album, also introduces the album's namesake amulet which, perhaps more than any other King Diamond invention (except Melissa?), crosses across multiple other albums, popping up in stories on The Spider's Lullabye and Abigail II: The Revenge. This self-referential cross-pollination of the band's own mythology is part of what makes King Diamond's music so very compelling. That and, well, the music.

The Eye offers a King Diamond record around a substantial concept thought not necessarily a linear story. Instead, several tales of persecution of French witches and perversions of the Church are presented, largely based on factual accounts from between the 15th and 17th centuries. The "Eye of the Witch," an enchanted amulet, allows the album's narrator to witness the past atrocities and also serves as a device propelling the story as it passes from one unfortunate soul to the next.

"Eye of the Witch," with absolutely chilling keyboards, opens The Eye and outright commands attention, replicating for this listener the finest climactic moments of Dario Argento's horror films (and a nod has to go to the immortal Goblin here). A brief, simple song, "Eye of the Witch" is also terribly effective, hooking the listener immediately, segueing from the aforementioned keys to a driving riff and forceful verse in King's lower register with a brief, operatic chorus. Repeat. Fewer than four minutes later, you're off on a blood-soaked, sin-filled rollercoaster ride across of the finest classic heavy metal albums of the 90s, with a few immortally epic King Diamond lines resonating:

thunder bring the rain

penetrate my brain

I am no more the same

Absolutely fucking massive.

Up next: Melissa