King Diamond has undergone triple-bypass heart surgery.

The famed Mercyful Fate/King Diamond band frontman was rushed to hospital on November 29, where it was found that he’d had several heart attacks, and that the only way to unblock three clogged arteries was open heart surgery.

Says his wife/bandmate Livia Zita of his current state of health:

“King’s surgery took approximately seven hours. Everything went well, and King was taken to ICU for recovery. He was walking and eating solid food already two days after the operation, and he was the first one in the history of the hospital who walked on his own power from the ICU to normal care.

“10 days after the ambulance took him to the emergency room, he is at home and is recovering well. It will be a few months before he feels completely normal and is without pain.

“In light of this, he will be taking a break from music and the music business altogether until further notice. He very much wants to write new music, finish the DVDs, and go on tour, but for now, all those things are in the distant future and he’s not thinking about them.

“Please understand that the Kind Diamond band is not stopping, disbanding or anything of the sort. King’s health is first priority, and when everything is going good with him, the music will resume.”