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The fifth King Diamond L.P. was recorded in Sweet Silence Studio (of Ride the Lightning fame) and released in October 1990. As with Conspiracy, this album pales in comparison to Fatal Portrait or Abigail; however, The Eye was my first King Diamond album, so it holds a fair amount of sentimental value.
It was a cold October night when a girlfriend of mine came by to interrupt my homework. In her bag, she had a handful of CDs, some of which I was either already familiar with and others that seemed entirely uninteresting. One album stood out, however, that being The Eye. For whatever reason, though I loved the old Mercyful Fate material, I'd not bothered to seek out any of King Diamond's 'solo' albums. Upon hearing the opening riffs and vocals of "Eye of the Witch", I was hooked.
The best songs on this record feature very memorable riffs, quite similar to Conspiracy. Nevertheless, with the abundance of keyboards and clean guitars that are utilized throughout the album, The Eye comes off as a but softer than its predecessor. Tracks like "The Trial (Chambre Ardente)" and "Two Little Girls" are fairly weak and are yet another example of how concept albums tend to let the story dictate the flow of things, rather than the music itself. Placing these, essentially, 'throwaway tracks' so close to the beginning of the L.P. really kills the momentum before it even had a chance to build. Some of the other songs don't seem fully strong enough to stand on their own, like "Into the Convent" and "Father Picard". In fact, this is probably true of every track aside from the opener and "Behind These Walls". That said, despite a few speed bumps, the album works really well as a whole. The Eye still possesses a strong '80s Metal feel, due to the style of riffs and the solos. King's voice is also in good condition on this recording, with some quite infectious vocal lines, such as those found in the aforementioned "Behind These Walls" and "The Curse". Special mention should be made of the brief instrumental track, "Insanity". It does so well to create a really sombre atmosphere and its placement on the album works very well.
The Eye marks the end of King Diamond's classic period. The strongest songs on here are probably "Eye of the Witch", "Behind These Walls" and "1642 Imprisonment". Truth be told, The Eye is an album that is much more effective when listened to in its entirety. Though it might be difficult to properly assess this record, due to the nostalgia factor, it would be fair to say that it's a solid release and definitely worth checking out.
