Voodoo

Because Louisiana has a long tradition of haunted folklore and hidden black magic, it’s the perfect location for one of King Diamond’s album-length horror fantasies. Recorded in the middle of a mid-career renaissance, 1998’s Voodoo shows the band breathing life into their classic concepts. Set in 1932, the narrative follows a white family as they move into a colonial house on the Mississippi River and subsequently go to war with the house servants, who practice voodoo in a nearby burial ground. Evil mayhem ensues, and if you're at all familiar with King Diamond you shouldn’t have trouble guessing which side comes out on top. The atmospheric Southern location stokes the band’s creative juices, especially on the title song, which mixes skittering percussion with King Diamond’s monstrous riffs. There's a great diversity in musical styles, from the terrifying thrash of “LOA House” to the keyboard-driven arena rock of “Sending of Dead” and the Goth-tinged terror of “Sarah’s Night.” Even the interludes, like “Unclean Spirits,” are well crafted. The centerpiece is unquestionably “One Down Two to Go,” simultaneously King Diamond’s most tender ballad and their most explosive onslaught.