Lex Legion — the new band featuring four of the five musicians from King Diamond’s classic late-‘80s lineup — have released the official video for debut single “Sleep Eternally,” directed by Patric Ullaeus. The group brings together Andy La Rocque (guitar), Pete Blakk (guitar), Hal Patino (bass), and Mikkey Dee (drums) — all of whom appeared together on King Diamond’s Them and Conspiracy albums — alongside vocalist Nils K. Rue of Pagan’s Mind.
La Rocque traced the band’s long origin in an interview with The Metal Crypt: “The story is kind of long because it started back in 2008 when Pete and I talked about maybe doing something together. Maybe just put together an album and start writing some songs. We started to write a few songs back in 2008. We had a few riffs here and there, and then it just turned into nothing because we were kind of busy with other things. Then, many years later, I think this was during the pandemic, Pete continued writing a few riffs, and he played some of the riffs and songs for Mikkey, who thought, ‘This sounds really good. I want to be a part of this.’ Then Pete said, ‘Yes, maybe we should ask Andy too, but I guess he’s too busy with King Diamond and everything.’”
“At the time, during the pandemic, nothing was really happening. They called me and asked me if I wanted to join that project. I said, ‘Sure, man. We’re doing nothing really with King Diamond because we have a pandemic now, and let’s do it.’ During that time, we put together a few more songs, and that’s how it started. Then Hal Patino was also asked during that period. It took us about — I don’t know — many years. If you count it from 2008 up until now, that’s many years. For the final maybe three or four years, we put everything together. In the very end, everything went quite fast. We got a record deal, and everything was really smooth in the very end.”
La Rocque was emphatic about keeping Lex Legion distinct from his other band: “The response has been absolutely overwhelming. I also think it’s important to say here that the songs we write and the songs from my side of it, it’s nothing that — it’s no leftovers from the King Diamond songwriting, if you know what I mean, from the library I have with King Diamond. This is completely different and has nothing to do with King Diamond in that sense. King Diamond is King Diamond, and I write songs for King Diamond, and then I write songs for Lex Legion. I don’t want people to believe that, oh, he has some songs that were intended for King Diamond that he’s using here. No, not at all. It’s not the other way around, either. It’s two very different and separate things.”
A second single, “Gypsy Tears,” is due in May. On the choice of “Sleep Eternally” as the debut, La Rocque said the label and band aligned on the selection, and that listeners who’ve already heard the follow-up have called it even stronger: “People who have heard that say, ‘No, I like the second one even better.’”
La Rocque has described the sound this way: “This is totally unique. No one is writing this kind of music, and there’s a big hole for us to fill. The album is a journey, and every song is like the beat of a movie. I want listeners to travel back. The song style is different [to King Diamond] but still from the same era. The riffs are different, and the arrangements are a little less progressive and a little more straightforward.”
The self-titled Lex Legion debut arrives June 2026 via MNRK Music Group.
