King Diamond commented during an interview with Metal Hammer about the claims many people make that Ghost copied the aesthetic of his band Mercyful Fate.
“Some people have compared the two bands, but I never thought about it,” he explained. “I saw them as a Blue Öyster Cult . I’m sure they have a bit of our influence, and it’s a great honor to hear that, but they have their own style. I never felt they were copying us. We have all these guitar solos, and they hardly use any guitar solos on their first two albums.”
He further added that Ghost puts on a “completely different” show from Mercyful Fate, comparing them: “Ours is a horror show, they have jokes that come and go throughout the show. I don’t really like the pop side of what they do, but they’ve certainly done some very heavy songs as well. They do it very well, they’re incredible songwriters.”
King Diamond's last studio album is Give Me Your Soul… Please, from 2007, while Mercyful Fate's is 9 , released in 1999. According to Brian Slagel , founder of the Metal Blade label, the next albums from both bands should be released by 2023. Meanwhile, Ghost released Impera on March 11th.
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