Riff Tone

The Candle

King Diamond

Guitarmetal1980s

Original Gear

GuitarGibson Les Paul Custom (likely 1970s-early 1980s, as used by Andy LaRocque on 'Fatal Portrait')

AmpMarshall JCM800 (studio recording, 1986)

PickupsHumbucker (likely DiMarzio Super Distortion or stock Gibson humbuckers, as per era and genre conventions)

Amp Settings

gain5

bass5

mid4.5

treble7

reverb2.5

presence5.5

Effects & Signal Chain

No effects used for this tone

Notes

Studio recording, 1986. Gear is based on Andy LaRocque's known setup for 'Fatal Portrait' era. No evidence of pedals in the riff section; all distortion from amp. Settings from a King Diamond/Andy LaRocque style lesson using JCM800 model, which matches the era and genre.

Tone Character(10)

tight and percussiveaggressive palm mutingsaturated high-gain rhythmfocused midrange punchcrisp treble edgecontrolled low endslight room ambienceclear note separationmetallic bitearticulate attack

Difficulty

The riff requires fast, accurate alternate picking and tight palm muting at a high tempo, demanding precise right-hand technique and timing.

Sources

Mercyful Fate & King Diamond Style (part 1) Lesson

Create an account to adapt this tone to your gear

Create Free Account