Red Mosquito

Does King diamond refer to this:

The King of Diamonds represents a shrewd businessman who executes deals, runs companies, and grows wealth with good decisions. He is an excellent negotiator because he is cunning and fearless in his decision-making. At times, this king can get a little hot-headed when things don’t go his way. If he loses, he can become resentful and bitter. This may spark his desire to seek revenge on anyone who has wronged him.

I am just glad that this thread is slowing down a bit. I feel like my head was spinning yesterday with the euphoria followed by the backlash and the backlash to the backlash…basically what has happened every album cycle I can remember since Riot Act.

Force Of Nature wrote:Does King diamond refer to this:

The King of Diamonds represents a shrewd businessman who executes deals, runs companies, and grows wealth with good decisions. He is an excellent negotiator because he is cunning and fearless in his decision-making. At times, this king can get a little hot-headed when things don’t go his way. If he loses, he can become resentful and bitter. This may spark his desire to seek revenge on anyone who has wronged him.

What's the source for this? This makes all the sense in the context of the rest of the lyrics.

E.H. Ruddock wrote:Each time I hear it I dig the solo at the end more and more.

Yeah, I always focus on Ed first and form initial opinions on what he's doing for the song (and for me). I love Mike, but his solos don't usually become highlights for me early on. But it's the pre-chorus and the solo that make this song for me right now.

Force Of Nature wrote:Does King diamond refer to this:

The King of Diamonds represents a shrewd businessman who executes deals, runs companies, and grows wealth with good decisions. He is an excellent negotiator because he is cunning and fearless in his decision-making. At times, this king can get a little hot-headed when things don’t go his way. If he loses, he can become resentful and bitter. This may spark his desire to seek revenge on anyone who has wronged him.

Good insights, but, don't you rip this small victory from me. I want to believe.

Why is it strange these days that people have to pay for other peoples' mistakes? What's different about these days, particularly? Couldn't it be argued that it might actually be relatively better than previous days, a la a book like The Better Angels of Our Nature?

tree_ wrote:Why is it strange these days that people have to pay for other peoples' mistakes? What's different about these days, particularly? Couldn't it be argued that it might actually be relatively better than previous days, a la a book like The Better Angels of Our Nature?

take it to the N&D thread

Mike's solo sounds distinctly "live" to my ears.

scrub12 wrote:Apple says it was written by everyone, including Watt.

I believe this is status quo now for old lazy rich PJ

E.H. Ruddock wrote:Each time I hear it I dig the solo at the end more and more.

Agreed! That fact hit me last night after my last listen. The immediacy is stunning.

tree_ wrote:Why is it strange these days that people have to pay for other peoples' mistakes? What's different about these days, particularly? Couldn't it be argued that it might actually be relatively better than previous days, a la a book like The Better Angels of Our Nature?

Haha just imagining all of these new and irregular posters on the board who are experiencing the tree account for the first time

along with the tremolo guitar, there also seems to be some sort of gated fuzz on it too. The sound cuts and i fucking love it. I have an awesome fuzz pedal that does the same thing and its one of my favorites to play with.

"It's strange these days" just feels like where a zoned out, wandering mind might go while waiting to order breakfast, not a yell-into-the-void, fist pump rock anthem lyric.

"Everybody else pays for someone else's mistake" is unnecessarily wordy, especially for a repeated chorus line, when Ed would particularly benefit from limiting his word count.

Strat wrote:along with the tremolo guitar, there also seems to be some sort of gated fuzz on it too. The sound cuts and i fucking love it. I have an awesome fuzz pedal that does the same thing and its one of my favorites to play with.

Strat...help me out. Don't know the technical name for it, but, are you familiar with the guitarist Buckethead? He popularized a custom button on the body that enabled him to cut the signal in and out, almost like a Tom Morello/DJ effect.
Eddie Van Halen had the same on Van Halen's final tour in 2015. I think that's what I'm hearing here.

Maybe Mike had a custom made in honor of EVH?

Long-Winded Road

Strat wrote:along with the tremolo guitar, there also seems to be some sort of gated fuzz on it too. The sound cuts and i fucking love it. I have an awesome fuzz pedal that does the same thing and its one of my favorites to play with.

yeah I've been trying to ascertain exactly what this is, I love it too

tree_ wrote:"It's strange these days" just feels like where a zoned out, wandering mind might go while waiting to order breakfast, not a yell-into-the-void, fist pump rock anthem lyric.

"Everybody else pays for someone else's mistake" is unnecessarily wordy, especially for a repeated chorus line, when Ed would particularly benefit from limiting his word count.

all of PJ's best "fist-pumping arena rock anthems" are not quite that, there's always a caveat about them

oneway23 wrote:

Strat wrote:along with the tremolo guitar, there also seems to be some sort of gated fuzz on it too. The sound cuts and i fucking love it. I have an awesome fuzz pedal that does the same thing and its one of my favorites to play with.

Strat...help me out. Don't know the technical name for it, but, are you familiar with the guitarist Buckethead? He popularized a custom button on the body that enabled him to cut the signal in and out, almost like a Tom Morello/DJ effect.
Eddie Van Halen had the same on Van Halen's final tour in 2015. I think that's what I'm hearing here.

Maybe Mike had a custom made in honor of EVH?

Yea its something like that. I have a custom built fuzz pedal and when the gate and fuzz are cranked it sounds like....fireworks failing to go off. really squeezes that note. I love the sound.

i think thats whats going on with that tone as well. Its probably throughout the entire riff but you can really hear it post chorus 1 due to lack of other instrumentation.

That’s what I was thinking too

tree_ wrote:"It's strange these days" just feels like where a zoned out, wandering mind might go while waiting to order breakfast, not a yell-into-the-void, fist pump rock anthem lyric.

"Everybody else pays for someone else's mistake" is unnecessarily wordy, especially for a repeated chorus line, when Ed would particularly benefit from limiting his word count.

I thought this part was kinda brilliant. I guess my taste in rock anthems isn't as sophisticated as tree's.