Andy LaRocque, the guitarist for King Diamond, now has the Kill Ritual album in his possession at his Sonic Train Studios in Sweden for the final mixing and mastering. We should be hearing back from him with mixes in the next week or so before he has to head over here to the U.S. for rehearsals with King Diamond for Mayhem Fest in June with Slayer.
For the last three months or so I’ve been working on the Kill Ritual album. What I love about writing is the ebb and flow of ideas and the collaboration between musicians. I must say, it has been very pleasant. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, It’s been a constant surprise to me when someone accepts lyrics that I’ve written. In my head I’m saying, “Yeah, they aren’t going to like this. I’ve overstepped some boundaries.” Only to find out that they actually love them. Awesome! My writing process is a lot like others I’ve come to find out. One night while talking to a friend of mine from a very famous metal band I said that I will usually come up with melody lines to the music, lay those down and then some key words from the gibberish that I’m singing will come out. I can’t write lyrics without music. Not sure what it is but ‘blogging’ or journaling is completely different from songwriting. I HAVE to have the music. It’s almost as if the music speaks to me, tells me what to write. Anyway, after saying this to him I was thinking that he was probably thinking I’m a nutcase, only to find out that he has the same experience.
I look at lyric writing as partially divine intervention, part music, and part experience. I remember when I was with The Constant, in Los Angeles. Frank, the guitarist, had this uncanny way of writing some great lyrics of other people’s experiences. Almost like he was a reporter. I can’t write like that. I shouldn’t say, ‘can’t’ because I don’t believe in that word, I should say, I haven’t. At least not yet. My lyrics come from my experience. One of my most popular songs was a desperate plea. It was me being totally vulnerable and not afraid to say what I was really feeling. I’ve come to believe that people can actually ‘feel’ what you’ve written if you are sincere. Almost as if the energy is transferred to the recording. Have you ever listened to a song where it touches your soul? That is what I try to achieve. Sometimes it hits home and sometimes it doesn’t. Anyway, it’s exhausting at times. I will get so wound up in the writing process that I can’t sleep. Many times Taylor has had to give me ambien to finally just pass out. When I’m not writing I can fall asleep within seconds. You could be talking to me and the next minute I’m snoring. Haha.
The name ‘Karma Machine’ was not my idea for the album title. When Steven, Kill Ritual’s guitarist, told me the name I was like… Dude, you don’t know me yet but this is right up my alley.
Anyway, I can’t wait for you all to hear this album. It’s explosive, insightful, and METAL. Who would have thought that this was my forté? I’m full of surprises lately.
Peace,
D
