Kim Bendix Petersen

King Diamond never ceases to amaze and delight fans with enchanting, spectacular rock performances. The Danish heavy metalist became famous for his original vocals and shocking stage image. As the vocalist and frontman of several musical groups, the performer has become an icon among fans of heavy music.

The singer was born on June 14, 1956 in Copenhagen. The rock star's real name is Kim Benedix Petersen. Childhood and adolescence in the biography of the musician were spent in the commune of Vidovre. As a schoolboy, the child often skipped lessons and was not very diligent. At the same time, the young Dane received good grades. Photographic memory helped the teenager in this - he immediately remembered the material he read.

King Diamond looks badass without all the makeup.

In his youth, Kim discovered rock. His "teachers" were the bands Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page's virtuoso playing prompted the student to buy his first guitar. At the same time, the young man liked football, and he even thought about becoming a professional athlete. At a local football club, Petersen was named Player of the Year. But still, the music won the "primacy" in the performer's life.

Nothing is known about the rocker's personal life in his youth. Kim is now married to Hungarian singer Livia Zita. The performers became partners not only in the family, but also in creativity. The woman took part in the recording of The Puppet Master and Give Me Your Soul ... Please as a backing vocalist. In 2017, the musicians had a son named Byron after the legendary vocalist from the group Uriah Heep.

Inspired by the hits of British hard rock bands, the young man gathered his first team at school. There are no records of the young group, it is only known that the young musician named his first brainchild King Diamond. In 1973, the guy graduated from the Stockholm Conservatory, where he studied violin.

In the same year, Petersen joined Brainstorm. The main repertoire of the Copenhagen rock project included hits from Black Sabbath, Kiss and other bands. The participants did not create their own works, and soon the team broke up. After Kim was invited as a guitarist in Black Rose.

Young rockers sought to imitate the style of Alice Cooper, performed popular tracks from British bands, and also presented their original compositions to the public. Here the Dane also tried himself as a vocalist. Also at concerts, the guy began to experiment with the staged part of the performances - he came up with original makeup, appeared on stage in a wheelchair.

King Diamond & his wife Livia Zita.

Despite the success with fans, the project fell apart after 2 years. History has preserved only one demo tape, created at a rehearsal: after 20 years, the singer decided to release it. Petersen's work continued with the punk band Brats. At the time of the arrival of a new member, the collective had already released a debut disc, and also managed to sign a contract with a well-known recording studio.

However, the collaboration with the label soon ceased: the representatives were not impressed by the musical material that the rockers demonstrated. The group disbanded, but Kim, along with other colleagues, created the project Mercyful Fate, which brought success. The audience immediately appreciated the original artistic content of the band's songs, thematically related to the occult.

At that time, the guy, who had already taken the pseudonym King Diamond, was fond of the works of the mystic Anton LaVey, in particular, The Satanic Bible. He seemed close to the author's call to follow human instincts, not to give up the evil feelings and emotions that exist in a person along with good and positive ones.

The young man tried to transfer Anton's ideas about occultism into the texts of compositions. However, the little experience of writing played a cruel joke with the "creator" - music critics noted that the early tracks are distinguished by their straightforwardness and primitiveness. An important part of the performances, the singer gave makeup.

Like the first compositions, the stage image was quite simple: the performer painted a mask with an inverted Satanic cross on his face. But over time, the "decor" became more complicated, taking on more bizarre and frightening forms. Later, the image was complemented by a black cloak and a microphone stand, created from crossed human bones.

In 1982, the band released the album Melissa, which immediately became a high-profile event in the world of hard rock. After the release of the album, the frontman began to appear on stage with the "Melissa skull", allegedly belonging to the girl who became the heroine of the disc. In an interview, King Diamond told how he got such an unusual props.

The guy found out that an old professor teaches at the Copenhagen Medical University, who, due to absent-mindedness, often left bones from a skeleton in the audience after classes. This discovery allowed the musician to enrich himself with "terrifying attributes" for concert shows.

By the mid-80s, creative differences appeared in the team, which caused the group to cease to exist. In 1985, the singer put together a new project, naming it after his own creative pseudonym. Progress has appeared in creativity - the music has become more "harsh", powerful, and the lyrics have become more complex, gained depth.

Now, instead of superficial "scary" stories in the compositions, exciting epic narratives were unfolded. In the albums Fatal Portrait, Abigail, House of God, Conspiracy, the tracks were combined into a harmonious storyline, with which the characters were also associated. Petersen performed the roles of several characters at once, including women. This artistic approach was reminiscent of the metal opera genre.

I always liked this photo (1981) very much. From left to right: Michael Denner, King Diamond, Ole Frausing, Timi Hansen, Hank Shermann. :)

Stage performances have also become more complex. To surprise and "terrify" the audience, the frontman came up with unusual performances and stunts. One of them almost ended in tragedy. According to the script, King was closed in front of the audience in a coffin, and then set on fire. At this time, the musician had to get out through a special exit, and a previously prepared skeleton remained in its place.

However, due to the vapors of the hot mixture, the vocalist felt ill even before the assistants had time to close the coffin. With the last bit of strength, the man tried to show that there was a serious threat to life. If the number had continued, an explosion could have occurred due to a technical overlay.

Together with the group, Kim replenished the discography with hits, shot videos, and also collaborated with other rock projects, in particular with Metallica. Since 2007, there have been reports in the press about the deteriorating health of the metalist, undermined by creative stress and touring. In 2010, he underwent heart surgery and after a break returned to work in the group.

In 2013, Russian fans of the Danish team were able to see the idol at a concert in Moscow. The performance took place at Stadium Live. In an interview, the vocalist repeatedly emphasized that he only works on large stages due to the peculiarities of enchanting programs with decorations and special effects.

In 2020, the musician continues to perform with the team, the tour on the official website is scheduled for several months in advance. On Instagram, King Diamond shares photos and videos from concerts and rehearsals with fans.

1986 - Fatal Portrait 1987 - Abigail 1988 - Them 1989 - Conspiracy 1990 - The Eye 1995 - The Spider's Lullabye 1996 - The Graveyard 1998 - Voodoo 2000 - House of God 2001 - Abigail II: The Revenge 2003 - The Puppet Master 2007 - Give Me Your Soul ... Please

Kim Bendix Petersen 's estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below.

Let's check, How Rich is Kim Bendix Petersen in 2020?

Kim Bendix Petersen Net Worth 2021

Kim Bendix Petersen 's revenue is $1.9M in 2021. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Kim Bendix Petersen and could vary in the range between $878.9K - $1.9M.

Kim Bendix Petersen Net Worth 2020

Kim Bendix Petersen 's revenue is $1.2M in 2020. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Kim Bendix Petersen and could vary in the range between $545.1K - $2M.

Kim Bendix Petersen Net Worth 2019

Kim Bendix Petersen 's revenue is $1.2M in 2019. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Kim Bendix Petersen and could vary in the range between $660.7K - $1.5M.

Kim Bendix Petersen Net Worth 2018

Kim Bendix Petersen 's revenue is $1.6M in 2018. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Kim Bendix Petersen and could vary in the range between $519.2K - $1.5M.

Kim Bendix Petersen Net Worth 2017

Kim Bendix Petersen 's revenue is $1.7M in 2017. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Kim Bendix Petersen and could vary in the range between $871.6K - $1.1M.

Kim Bendix Petersen Net Worth 2016

Kim Bendix Petersen 's revenue is $1.1M in 2016. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Kim Bendix Petersen and could vary in the range between $692.4K - $1.4M.

Kim Bendix Petersen Net Worth 2015

Kim Bendix Petersen 's revenue is $1.7M in 2015. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Kim Bendix Petersen and could vary in the range between $624.2K - $1.8M.

It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Kim Bendix Petersen. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and an approximation for next year. See above to learn how much money does Kim Bendix Petersen make a year.

The range above shows an estimation based on evaluation generated by public information about sponsorships or other sources found on the internet. It's summarized data from Kim Bendix Petersen' projects existing in AidWiki's repository. It's an approximation of the revenue compiled by AidWiki and may not correspond with the real amount.