When I use the word 'Satan,' it doesn't stand for a guy with horns. To me, that word means the powers of the unknown, the powers of darkness.
King Diamond
I never talk openly about my political beliefs.
I don't believe in one God, and I would be the last person to say there is one because there is no real proof there is a God, and there has been no one person to prove to the world there is a God.
Texas is more laid back, like Denmark is. So it was easier to adjust to that than to Los Angeles or New York for me.
I don't need five Ferraris in my garage to feel great; that's not what matters to me.
King Diamond was always more satanic than Mercyful Fate. And I'm not saying anything bad about Mercyful Fate - I love that band but sometimes people forget that King Diamond is the satanic philosophy through and through.
I lived in a house in Copenhagen that was uber-haunted for many years, with flying teacups and things like that; there was a time when I saw glasses rising off the table, and I took it as a sign of something saying, 'Hey, we're with you.'
I often mention Alice Cooper. I don't wanna sound like Alice Cooper or be confused with him at all, and I certainly don't think we are.
Me and my parents would watch old 'Frankenstein' and 'Dracula' and all those old black and white movies - as a kid, I'd lie in bed thinking that they would come out at night.
I see myself as a spiritual person, but I don't think anyone should claim proof of a god. No one can prove it. That's why I don't claim to know whether there are one, many or no gods.
I welcome the powers of the unknown.
I have not thrown my money away on unnecessary things in my life, so I'm okay.
I once, when I was in the middle of making the move from Europe to the U.S., I started trying to put 'Them' and 'Conspiracy' into a novel. I got into three chapters in, and those who've seen that little bit said I really need to finish it, but time is an issue.
Taking walks sometimes bring back memories of my childhood because a smell might trigger a memory.
I don't take anything for granted anymore, I'll tell you that.
In Denmark, you have thirteen or more political parties, so it's not too difficult to find a party who reflect your views.
I don't believe in heaven, and I don't believe in hell as a place with flames where people are burning and having eternal pain. I don't believe in that at all. I believe in a place I call 'beyond.'
When you hear 'From the Other Side,' it's like being on an operating table. Suddenly, you're on the ceiling looking down at the doctors who are fighting for you. Are you gonna get a second chance or not?
'The Shining' has always been my favorite horror movie. It is scary and incredibly psychological without relying on blood and gore. Jack Nicholson's performance is absolutely mind-blowing. And the mood and the feel is definitely metal.
One day, I found this book at a used bookstore with 'Satanic Bible' written on the cover, and I thought maybe I should read it and see what it is. I thought it was like a religion, but then I read the book, and what was in it was pure life philosophy - and it was a life philosophy that described how I felt at that point.
I was a made an eternal member of the Church of Satan by Anton LeVey himself in 1988.
My dad was a freedom fighter in Denmark against the occupational forces - the S.S. and the Gestapo and all that.
When you have a nightmare, you think, 'What caused this?' And then you can sometimes get the same scenario two or three nights, back to back. Or something really bad happens, and you feel absolutely sad and do not want it to be real. You don't want to fall asleep and get sucked back into that same dream.
I have this dream where I get chased through a park by Nazis in the Second World War. They finally catch up to me in an apartment somewhere, but I don't know what happens next.
I don't take tomorrow for granted.
I went to basic school for 10 years, and then I went to college.
You are not worshipping anything when you are a Satanist.
What I really like to do with my music is these concept stories, and I always like to have some life philosophies in the lyrics.
I've always been fascinated by horror.
I don't take for granted that I wake up. I appreciate it when I do, those times when it still happens.
I am very inspired by the Seventies.
I don't like being away from home.
When we are on the road, we do a real horror show - and it's pure entertainment. That's it.
I lived in L.A. for a year and a half, and it was too different for me from Denmark.
I don't force anything onto other people, because you'll never get a good satanist out of forcing somebody to be one.
I don't like award ceremonies.
People from all walks of life that you might find as a King Diamond fan - you don't look a certain way; you don't have to say certain things. It can be anyone.
I am an entertainer and don't believe I should use this position to preach to anyone about who they should be voting for. Others might disagree, but that's the way I feel.
I have a braided metal wire going down the middle of my chest underneath my skin. I saw it on an X-ray of it; it looks like a piece of jewelry.
Led Zeppelin is what made me buy my first electric guitar: the Jimmy Page guitar sound.
I was lucky that I had parents that had had supernatural experiences, so I could talk to them openly without them looking at me as some lunatic.
I hate touring. But being onstage is one of the absolute best things I know in my life. And it is so good, it makes up for all the bad.
I am actually a trained lab assistant.
I was interested in music since I was 14 years old. What really got me started was the first Led Zeppelin album... absolutely.
If you sing the way I do, I get about one-fifth of the oxygen that the other guys in the band get. It doesn't make anything easier.
