ALBUM REVIEW: 20 years on King Diamond's The Spider's Lullabye gets re-mastered and re-released

IT's 20 years since King Diamond unleashed his vocal histrionics on the semi-concept album 'The Spider's Lullabye' and on November 27th those who missed it first time round  - or those who want to hear a fresh mix - will have the chance to lay their greasy mitts on it.

But, with a plethora of re-issues from the Scandinavian enigma and others of his ilk, is it worth you shelling out?

First up, it's worth reminding ourselves what a great album this is - second only to KD's 'Abigail' in terms of high concepts, terrifying imagery and tight playing.

Lyrically it is a diverse set of ideas, with the likes of 'Moonlight' and 'From The Other Side' telling vignettes of terror. From there the theme of anacraphobia takes flight on the last four tracks as the character Harry suffers a grisly fate..

The guitar work from Andy LaRocque and Herb Simonsen in 1995 still stands up to the test of time. Listen to many shredders of today and the influence (particularly of LaRocque) is apparent.

So, all agreed this is a good album? Yes, well with that as a given LaRocque re-mastered this originally in 2009, and now it is being re-released/re-issued by Metal Blade.

This time the re-issue comes with 'bonus tracks' in the shape of four demos. It's being released on CD and a double translucent red vinyl set with a poster on limited edition issue.

Another cynical ploy to pull money from fans pockets? Probably, but for a new generation of metal fans looking to find where the influences derived their inspiration then it might be worth a few quid, despite the occasional slices of added cheesiness.

Review by Jonny