Well it's official: King Diamond is in Guitar Hero: Metallica. The sovereign soprano has been oft rumored to appear in the latest installment of Activision's top-selling franchise, but today Activision lays those rumors to rest with the announcement of King Diamond's appearance as a playable character. The news comes just weeks before the release of the final game, and just one week after the official word that Lemmy Kilmister would also be playable in the metal-infused spin-off.

I know specualtion of the King's involvement had been running rampant for a while now, but all you "Curse of the Pharaoh" fans can now rest easy knowing the regal rocker will be included. Hell, having royalty like that appear in your living room is probably the best thing that's ever happened to you, so be excited. Prepare a feast, gather up your virgins, and get your shit together because the last thing you want is for 18 to become 9. It's a lyric quote. Trust me.

You can read the full press release below.

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     SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Having united forces with rock 'n' roll legends Metallica for encore performances and recordings throughout the years, GRAMMY(R) Award-nominated heavy metal vocalist and Mercyful Fate frontman King Diamond will take to the cyber-stage with Metallica this spring in Activision Publishing Inc.'s Guitar Hero(R) Metallica(R).

Fans, stagehands and groupies alike will have the opportunity to shred and drum with or wail as the digital King Diamond during performances of "Evil." The song, which originally was recorded in 1983 and is one of the Mercyful Fate songs that comprise Metallica's "Mercyful Fate" medley, was re-recorded by four of the five original band members for Guitar Hero Metallica. The recording session was overseen by guitarist Hank Shermann in the band's native Denmark; after which King Diamond laid down his vocals in Dallas, Texas, and mixed the song with J.T. Longoria.

"It's been absolutely amazing to be a part of this Guitar Hero experience. It was quite a trip to re-record the song 'Evil' almost 25 years after the original recording took place. The end result with four out of the five original musicians turned out so much better than I would ever have hoped for," said King Diamond. "Seeing my animated character take form was totally eerie in a very good way. It's so strange to see yourself animated in such perfect detail - cross bone microphone, Eye necklace and all. This game looks and sounds METAL all the way. HORNS UP!!!"

"Ride the Lightning" with musical icons Metallica and 21 other rockin' acts in an all new Guitar Hero(R) experience - Guitar Hero Metallica. Enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time. Shred on the guitar controller, rip on the drum kit controller and wail on the mic to a set list featuring over 45 explosive hits from Metallica's illustrious career and a wide variety of other legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Alice In Chains, Bob Seger, Foo Fighters, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Queen. Fans will be able to rock as Metallica while performing in venues reminiscent of the band's epic album covers, themes from their music and real world locales.

Guitar Hero Metallica is being developed by Neversoft Entertainment for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system. The Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system versions are being developed by Budcat. The game is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information about Guitar Hero Metallica, please visit guitarhero.com.

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