In a new interview with Sam Acevedo of El Cuartel Del Metal, heavy metal icon King Diamond says a U.S. tour is in the works along with the release of his long-awaited solo album by the end of 2024.

King also confirms the story/concept will be spread through two albums. The first new material King released for the album came out in 2019 with “Masquerade Of Madness. In the interview, King also talks about new Mercyful Fate music, the origin of the band's name, his musical influences, and more.

Last month it was announced that Mercyful Fate and bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint) have mutually decided to part ways, with King Diamond stating: “Our friendship and respect for each other will always remain the same, and we all sincerely wish each other the absolute best for the future.”

Mercyful Fate then announced that their new bass player is Becky Baldwin of Birmingham, England, who toured North America with the band in late 2022

“It is a great honor to now be a permanent member of Mercyful Fate”, said Baldwin. “I can’t wait to join the recording of the new album. When I joined as a stand-in on the 2022 US tour, the acceptance and encouragement from the fans was exceptional. A huge thanks to the band, team and fans for the warm welcome. See you in Chile and Brazil this coming April.”

And now, in a new interview with That Metal Interview Podcast, Baldwin talks about her experience touring with Mercyful Fate in 2022, and her feelings now that she's a full-time member. She also gives us an update on her band Fury, and their future plans and recordings.

On when we can expect new music from Mercyful Fate, Becky reveals: "My guess is gonna be toward 2025, maybe towards the end of 2025. But it depends how it all goes, 'cause King is working on a King Diamond album first, so we've got a little bit of time there. And they'll have to tour that as well, give it the full world tour treatment and everything. But there is something in the works. I've listened to (Mercyful Fate guitarist) Hank (Shermann)'s demos. He sent me, I think about nine songs, a couple of weeks ago and I've been listening through those. So it's on the way. It's all just been in the works for kind of a while, and now things are just starting to fall into place."