Artist: KING DIAMOND
Album: FATAL PORTRAIT REMASTERED (CD)

Release date: 1986/ 1997
Media type: CD

Fatal Portrait is the debut album by the heavy metal band King Diamond. The album was released in 1986 on Roadrunner Records. It is the only King Diamond album to date in which guitarist Andy LaRocque does not receive writing credits. Fatal Portrait was produced by Rune Hoyer. Along with The Spider's Lullabye, this is one of the band's only albums which is not a whole concept album.

Five songs on this album (first four and Haunted) form a short story. Narrator sees a face in "every candle that [he] burns". This face speaks one word to him: Jonah. So he finds an old book, speaks a rhyme and frees the spirit of candle. It's the spirit of a little girl named Molly, who tells him her story, that happened seven years before. Mrs Jane kept her 4-year-old daughter Molly in the attic until she (Molly) died. Before, Mrs Jane painted Molly's portrait and put it above the fireplace, so that Molly would become immortal, however, Molly made the portrait speak to her mother, so that Jane would know about Molly's pain. Mrs Jane then speaks a rhyme and burns the portrait. A free spirit of Molly returns to haunt her until she goes insane.

TRACKLIST:

1. "The Candle"   King Diamond 6:38
2. "The Jonah"   King Diamond 5:15
3. "The Portrait"   King Diamond 5:06
4. "Dressed in White"   King Diamond 3:09
5. "Charon"   King Diamond, Michael Denner 4:14
6. "Lurking in the Dark"   King Diamond 3:33
7. "Halloween"   King Diamond, Michael Denner 4:12
8. "Voices From the Past" (Instrumental) King Diamond 1:29
9. "Haunted"   King Diamond, Michael Denner 3:54

Remaster bonus tracks:
10. "No Presents for Christmas"   King Diamond, Michael Denner 4:20
11. "The Lake"   King Diamond 4:11

LINE-UP:

King Diamond - lead & backing vocals, All guitars on "Voices from the Past"
Andy LaRocque - lead guitars
Michael Denner - lead guitars
Timi Hansen - bass
Mikkey Dee - drums