King Diamond recently addressed the departure of longtime guitarist Andy La Rocque, shedding light on the situation.
The comments focused on the gradual nature of the split. King Diamond dismissed the idea that it stemmed from any single dispute or from La Rocque’s involvement with his side project.
“We are certainly still friends. That’s never gonna change. I think it’s a gradual thing that’s just been going different directions for a while,” King Diamond said. “And it got to a point where it’s just, like, ‘Okay, something has to change. It’s not right.’ I wish him and his wife all the best possible in the world. The whole thing about the other band that he plays with now [Lex Legion], the side project and stuff like that, it was never a part of any reasons for anything.”
He went on to describe how the decision unfolded and how it connected to the band’s evolving touring schedule.
“When it was decided was over two days. [But] it [had] been coming for a while. And it’s not one thing or ‘you said this’ or ‘did this or that.’ It’s not like that. It really is like moving apart a little bit here, a bit there,” he continued. “And I had a feeling recently that when Andy heard the new touring plans and the new plans overall, that it was not something that was, ‘Yay,’ but more like, ‘Oh my God. Are you kidding me?'”
King Diamond then drew comparisons to former bandmates who left for similar reasons, tying the departure to the demands of extensive touring.
“I don’t think he likes touring that much as we’re doing now. I’ve seen that many times before, where [Mercyful Fate guitarist] Michael Denner stopped [playing with the band] because he could not handle touring. There was too much frictions at home whenever he did that. For him, he was missing it too much and all this stuff. I totally understand it,” he said. “I think others — [former King Diamond bassist] Chris Estes was the same. And [former King Diamond guitarist] Herb Simonsen… Most of those people that are not playing or stopped playing with us along the road was for that reason — family. We tour longer now these days, and we are gonna continue going that way because it’s very, very important.”
Finally, he explained how he came to select Gus G as La Rocque’s replacement, crediting recommendations from Mercyful Fate’s Hank Shermann and Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel.
“I talked to Hank [Shermann, Mercyful Fate guitarist] and told him [that I was looking for a new guitarist to replace Andy in King Diamond], and then he said, ‘You should check out Gus G’. And I did not know who Gus G was. [Metal Blade Records founder and CEO] Brian Slagel said to me, ‘Oh, Gus G, man.’ And then I didn’t respond to it because I wasn’t aware. So he was the second one recommending Gus to me. And then when we talked more about it and this and that, then I started listening and doing all the stuff that I got very interested, of course,” King Diamond said. “He’s the first person we talked about for this. We never talked about having an audition or anything like that. We talked about him, and then got in depth about him because it seemed, ‘Wow, wait a minute here. Okay.’ Then I said to Brian Slagel, ‘Can you hook us up? Can you ask him if he would be okay with me calling him?’ or something like that.”
King Diamond’s remarks confirm Gus G as Andy La Rocque’s successor as the band moves forward with its expanded touring plans.
La Rocque’s tenure with King Diamond spanned close to 40 years, making him one of the longest-serving members in the band’s history and a defining presence on its sound since the mid-1980s. His exit closes out one of heavy metal’s most enduring guitarist-frontman partnerships, and it puts fresh context around just how significant this transition is for the band.
King Diamond made the change official on July 24. He announced the split from La Rocque and confirmed Gus G as his replacement in the same statement. The timing lines up with King Diamond’s account of a decision reached quickly once the direction became clear, even as the underlying tensions had been building for some time.
Gus G brings a well-established résumé to the King Diamond lineup. He is best known as the guitarist for Firewind. He also previously spent several years touring and recording as part of Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band, experience that gives him a strong foundation for stepping into a high-profile touring role.
King Diamond’s decision to bring in Gus G also reflects a broader pattern the frontman described in his own comments. Past guitarist and bassist departures from his camp have often traced back to the physical and personal toll of heavy touring. The move to a player with extensive road experience suggests the band is prioritizing that fit going forward.
