THE BEAST

Legendary Danish heavy metal vocalist   King Diamond   ( KING DIAMOND ,   MERCYFUL FATE ) and his wife, Hungarian-born singer   Livia Zita , are the parents of a three-month-old son, named   Byron .

Zita , who has been performing with   KING DIAMOND   as a backing vocalist since 2003, is unable to join the group on the road for the next few shows as she is taking care of the baby boy, who was named after   King 's favorite singer of all time, late   URIAH HEEP   frontman   David Byron . Filling in for her is   Hel Pyre   from the Greek metal band   AFTERBLOOD .

King Diamond , whose real name is   Kim Bendix Petersen , told the Danish web site   BT.dk   in a 2009 interview that he spoke to   Livia   for the first time around fifteen years ago when she interviewed him over the phone for the Hungarian edition of   Metal Hammer   magazine. "We got along incredibly well. And afterwards I couldn't stop thinking about her,"   King   said.

"We were both going through a hard time in our lives," he continued. "And we clicked. At some point, I asked her if she would send a photograph of herself. We had talked together for months. But I didn't know how old   Livia   was… nor how she looked, and when she told me how old she was, I simply couldn't believe it."

Despite the fact that the 61-year-old   King   is 28 years her senior,   Livia   said that she was not concerned. "Our ages are just numbers," she said. "We are soulmates."

Regarding how their relationship developed,   Livia   said: "We talked at first over the phone. Then he went to Hungary, where he, on our first night together, proposed both in English and in German — so that my father would understand it. I, of course, said yes. He and I are just made for each other."

King , who has lived in suburban Dallas, Texas for more than two decades, told   Metal Hammer   last year that he has "become a lot healthier" since he underwent open-heart triple-bypass surgery in 2010. He said: "I gave up smoking after my heart scare, my wife keeps me on a strict diet that I follow completely, and doctors are amazed at how healthy I am these days. Honestly, I think I am now healthier than I have ever been."

He continued: "I've also found that, since I made a real effort to have a healthy lifestyle, my voice has improved so much. I can now hit notes that were a struggle for me when I was younger. As for my sex life, that's just great now. And I am not saying that because my wife is sitting next to me!"  Via Blabbermouth