KING DIAMOND has issued the following update:

"Hail to all of you. King Diamond here. First of all, hope you had a nice Christmas and New Year's Eve.

I'm writing this in order to set the facts straight with regards to the interview I did for a Danish newspaper just before Christmas. When I read the article it became obvious that this particular journalist had an agenda of his own. At least half the article was false, twisting the facts to suit his 'agenda.'

First of all, Livia and I have no plans for having kids in the near future. We certainly love kids but it doesn't fit in our working schedule at this point. I don't know where the journalist got this thing from, but we do appreciate all the nice words you had regarding this subject even though it's not true. Also, Livia and I do not look forward to Christmas like little kids every year. It's a cozy time, sure, but again the journalist's choice of word are completely twisted.

Just for your info, the Christmas tree in the picture is the only Christmas decoration inside or outside our house and it stays up year round cause I don't want to bother taking it down and it looks pretty cool. Check the goat skull right next to the tree. I can see that if I open the door to my private life just a tiny bit, things quickly get twisted out of context, and that's why in the past I have always kept my private life and business very separate.

The second rumour that's floating around, which is that MERCYFUL FATE has started writing new material, I really have no idea where it originated from.

The present status of Mercyful Fate remains unchanged, meaning that we have not started writing new material. For that to happen, Mercyful Fate's recording contracts have to be renegotiated first. We certainly would love for this to happen so that we can finally make our long overdue 'masterpiece'. Both Hank and I are ready to go if that scenario presents itself, and who knows, that might happen this year.

So..... for this year, you will see a double DVD of old private King Diamond video recordings and a double DVD of old private Mercyful Fate video recordings which I am working on as we speak. Andy has finished remastering The Graveyard, Spider's Lullabye, Voodoo, and House Of God, all of which should also be available this year. And then there is 'the big surprise' (not little King babies with horns on their foreheads or Mercyful Fate writing new songs, at least not as we speak) but something that could lead to renegotiations of the Mercyful Fate recording deals. We'll see. Be patient.....

On a personal note, I do feel reasonably confident that the Mercyful Fate masterpiece will see the light of day.

Stay heavy, you are the best!!"