intothewellsabyss

Jun 20, 20238 min read

𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱 — 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗼𝗱 (2000)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

23 years ago this week, the “Black Devil” was “Upon the Cross” which was hung above the “Passage to Hell” in the “House of God”.

On June 20, 2000, King Diamond released his ninth full-length solo studio album, “House of God” via Metal Blade Records (USA) and MASSACRE RECORDS (Europe). It is the only album to feature guitarist Glen Drover and bassist Paul David Harbour, and the last to feature drummer John Luke Hébert.

Background:

When MERCYFUL FATE was put on hold in 1999, King Diamond began recording the album “House of God” at the Nomad Recording Studio in Carrollton, Texas, with their new bassist Paul David Harbour, who had replaced Chris Estes. Released on June 20, 2000, the album peaked at number 60 in Sweden. After the album's release, guitarist Glen Drover, drummer John Luke Hebert and bassist Paul David Harbour were replaced by Mike Wead, Matt Thompson and Hal Patino respectively.

“House Of God” Plot:

The album's storyline is loosely based on the legend of Rennes-le-Château.

It begins with a dirge-like monologue;

"Upon the Cross he did not die, they tortured him, but he survived. Smuggled across the open sea, to Southern France, tranquility. There he married Magdalene, and founded another dynasty. A church was built upon a hill, to serve all of the gods at will." ("Upon the Cross")

One night centuries later, a weary traveler becomes lost in the woods, in an area ominously called "The Devil's Hide", despite being familiar with the place. Unfortunately, he and his horse are soon surrounded by hungry wolves, watching from the forest ("The Trees Have Eyes"). Suddenly, a she-wolf with shining blue eyes appears, making all other wolves back away. Instinctively trusting this wolf, the traveler follows her to a small church at the bottom of a hill. Upon seeing it for the first time, the traveler notices a dark inscription on the door: "THIS PLACE IS TERRIBLE." ("Follow the Wolf")

The traveler enters the church, the titular House of God, in which everything starts to change from decrepitude to great opulence, full of food and drink. The wolf transforms into a beautiful woman and introduces herself as "Angel", promising to love the traveler forever. The traveler falls in love with Angel at first sight, and the two make love to each other frequently in the church ("House of God"). However, within days the traveler begins noticing small, odd behaviors from Angel, including her kissing a small, black statue of a sinister devil "sitting by the altar". He also mentions seeing two distinct pulpits, both depicting demonic images ("Black Devil").

Time passes. One day, while he is with Angel in the confession booth, she breaks down in tears and tells him her dramatic fate: a year prior to meeting the traveler, Angel was contracted by supernatural forces to guard the church; she reverts into her wolf form any time she leaves the grounds of the church and can only take human form within the building. Worse, Angel has one year to find a replacement for herself as guardian of the House of God. If she is successful, Angel will be freed from her contract and be permitted to leave the church as a normal woman once again, but with no memory of her time there. However, if she cannot find someone to take her place, she will die at the year's end, which will happen within one week. In sorrow, out of love for her, the traveler signs the pact in order to save Angel's life, allowing her to be free even though she won't remember him ("The Pact", "Goodbye").

After her departure, the traveler nearly loses his mind out of heartache and isolation. The monotony of each day and the knowledge of being trapped for eternity unhinges him, and in his desperation he starts to destroy any mirror he can find around the church ("Just a Shadow", "Help!").

The traveler then witnesses the opening of a hidden trapdoor beneath the altar leading to the catacombs. Compelled by forces he cannot explain, the traveler descends ("Passage to Hell").

Following a mysterious light to a subterranean chamber, he encounters a crumbling statue of the Virgin Mary and breaks it open. Inside he discovers the mummified remains of a crucified, glowing corpse bearing "a crown of thorns". Hearing an unearthly roar, in horror, the traveler realizes that this is the body of Jesus Christ and flees back up into the church ("Catacomb").

Upon his re-emergence, the traveler is followed by what he describes as a myriad of winds and lights; "contorted faces and bodies". Claiming to be unconcerned with living or dying anymore, the traveler questions these entities, who inform him that he has learned "the lie, the lie about the Cross". While they tauntingly will not reveal why they are keeping the corpse of Jesus, the Entities state that they are the forces behind the ideals of God and Satan. The Entities survive on the beliefs inspired by the eternal battle between Good and Evil, though the Entities themselves are far higher beings beyond these concepts. They advise the traveler to simply "live [his] life the best [he] can, and leave the rest to [the Entities]", but after these revelations he loses his faith completely and denounces God. Now knowing what he perceives to be the truth of the world, the traveler cannot accept what he has learned and hangs himself in desperation and pain. As he leaps, he yells out, "THIS PLACE IS TERRIBLE", the inscription on the door of the House of God ("This Place is Terrible").

House of God was remastered by Andy La Rocque and re-released in 2009.

Critical Reception:

AllMusic’s Jason Anderson chastised the album, stating; “Long time guitarist and co-songwriter Andy La Rocque joins Diamond, drummer John Herbert, guitarist Glen Drover, and bassist Dave Harbour on “House of God”. Each member delivers fine performances, but the opportunities to stretch out are rare as Diamond pastes his obtuse prose (more like an album-length short story than poetry or song lyrics) all over mediocre riffs and flat arrangements. Creative ambition and a dark quirkiness are decidedly core elements to Diamond's appeal, but these qualities often require catalysts to be transforming. A certain amount of intellect and humor are needed to support what can be otherwise bland music. Sadly, there is little in the way of interesting writing or fiery musical performances to enhance House of God, a lesser King Diamond release.”

While one reviewer at Sputnikmusic praised “House of God” by stating; “House Of God” is easily Diamond’s best offering since the ‘80s. While it might not stack up to Metal classics “Abigail” and “Them”, the story may be better than both of them. The guitars are amazing, and they really add to Diamond’s unique storytelling. The lack of power from the bass and drums and the dragging middle section really bring it down from being a classic, but it still stands out as one of the better selections in Diamond’s catalogue. On an unrelated note, if you’ve never seen Diamond live, it’s not something to be missed. The stage performance beats both Marilyn Manson's and Alice Cooper’s, and the music live is just as good, if not better than, the albums (unfortunately, no songs from House Of God made the current setlist).

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “House of God” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/house-of-god/336178222

Click this link to follow Kind Diamond on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kingdiamond

Click this link to follow Andy La Rocque on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/andylarocque.official/

Click this link to follow Glen Drover on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063611835964

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

————————————————————————

About Rennes-le-Château or Rènnas del Castèl:

Rennes-le-Château or Rènnas del Castèl, is a commune approximately 5 km (3 miles) south of Couiza, in the Aude department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. In 2018, it had a population of 91.

History:

Mountains frame both ends of the region—the Cévennes to the northeast and the Pyrenees to the south. The area is known for its scenery, with jagged ridges, deep river canyons and rocky limestone plateaus, with large caves underneath. Rennes-le-Château was the site of a prehistoric encampment, and later a Roman colony, or at least Roman villa or temple, such as is confirmed to have been built at Fa, 5 km (3.1 mi) west of Couiza, part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis, the wealthiest part of Roman Gaul.

Rennes-le-Château was part of Septimania in the 6th and 7th centuries. It has been suggested that it was once an important Visigothic town, with some 30,000 people living in the city around 500–600 AD. Until 1659–1745 the area was not considered French territory, being part of the Catalan Country since 988. However, British archaeologist Bill Putnam and British physicist John Edwin Wood argued that while there may have been a Visigothic town on the site of the present village, it would have had "a population closer to 300 than 30,000".

By 1050 the Counts of Toulouse held control over the area, building a castle in Rennes-le-Château around 1002, though nothing remains above ground of this medieval structure—the present ruin is from the 17th or 18th century.

Several castles in the surrounding Languedoc region were central to the battle between the Catholic Church and the Cathars at the beginning of the 13th century. Other castles guarded the volatile border with Spain. Whole communities were wiped out in the campaigns of the Catholic authorities to rid the area of the Cathar heretics, the Albigensian Crusades, and again when French Protestants fought against the French monarchy two centuries before the French Revolution.

Fables, Stories & Conspiracy Theories:

In the 1950s and 1960s, the entire area around Rennes-le-Château became the focus of sensational claims involving Blanche of Castile, the Merovingians, the Knights Templar, the Cathars, and the treasures of the Temple of Solomon (booty of the Visigoths) that included the Ark of the Covenant and the Menorah (the Jerusalem Temple's seven-branched candelabrum). Since the 1970s, the area's associations have extended to the Prieuré de Sion, the Rex Deus, the Holy Grail, ley lines, sacred geometry, the remains of Jesus Christ, including references to Mary Magdalene settling in the south of France, and even flying saucers. Well-known French authors like Jules Verne and Maurice Leblanc are suspected of leaving clues in their novels about their knowledge of the mystery of Rennes-le-Château.

Christiane Amiel has commented: “No new theory has ever succeeded in entirely replacing any of the previous ones and, as the researches have intensified, so the various lines of investigation have accumulated and crossed in a system of ramifications in which criticism of one line of approach simply gives rise to others”.

“Today the vogue is for analyzing and checking the most minute details, for comparing and contrasting rival theories, for reviving old and unexplored lines of enquiry in a new guise, and for an unbridled pluralism which mixes together erudition and extrapolation, and makes recourse to geology, history, prehistory, esotericism, religious history, mysticism, the paranormal, ufology and other fields.”

Rennes-le-Château conspiracy theories continue to be a popular ingredient in a publishing industry that is growing exponentially, and are the subject of press articles, radio and television programs, and films. Websites[48] and blogs devoted to the acknowledged historical mysteries present at Rennes-le-Château and environs exist in many different countries; authors' interviews can be accessed on podcasts.

Criticisms:

Archaeologist Paul Bahn considered the various hypotheses pertaining to the village of Rennes-le-Château as "beloved of occultists and 'aficionados' of the Unexplained". He groups the mysteries of Rennes-le-Château with those of the Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis, and ancient astronauts as being sources of "ill-informed and lunatic books". Likewise another archaeologist Bill Putnam, co-author with John Edwin Wood of The Treasure of Rennes-le-Château, A Mystery Solved (2003, 2005) dismisses all the popular hypotheses as pseudo-history.

Laura Miller, contributor to The New York Times books section, commented how Rennes-le-Château "had become the French equivalent of Roswell or Loch Ness as a result of popular books by Gérard de Sède."

Christiane Amiel commented in 2008 that the treasure of Rennes-le-Château "seems to elude all the investigations that people make into it. Like the fairy gold which, in the popular fables, turns into manure as soon as a human being touches it, it remains impalpable. It can only exist as long as it remains on the distinctive level of the dream, between the real and the imaginary."