Christopher Douglas Estes (born June 8, 1971) is a former

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...

bass player (1994-1999). Originally from

Dodge City, Kansas Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier to ...

, Estes moved to

Denton, Texas Denton is a city in and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, United States. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the 27th-most populous city in Texas, the 197th-most populous city in the United States, and the 12th-most populous ...

in 1991 to attend the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal Schoo ...

as a Jazz Studies major. During his time at

UNT The University of North Texas (UNT) is a Public university, public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private Normal school, teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 y ...

he met Darrin Anthony Stull and joined his unsigned

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

band Mindstorm. During the next three years Mindstorm played the Dallas club scene and eventually caught the attention of Danish singer King Diamond (Kim Bendix Peterson), who had recently moved to the DFW area and was looking for new members for his solo act. In early 1994 three members of Mindstorm (Estes, Darrin (Anthony) Stull, and

Herb Simonsen In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

) were officially asked to join

. During his tenure with

, Estes recorded three albums and took part in three tours, in addition earning writing credits on the album ''

Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...

''. Returning to college in 1997 and attending classes between studio sessions and tour, Estes eventually earned a degree in Computer Science. In the summer of 1999, Estes received word that the studio session for ''

House of God ''The House of God'' is a satirical novel by Samuel Shem (a pseudonym used by psychiatrist Stephen Bergman), published in 1978. The novel follows a group of medical interns at a fictionalized version of Beth Israel Hospital over the course o ...

'' had been postponed. Burdened by immediate financial needs, Estes reluctantly resigned his position in

. Estes lives and works in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the University ...

as a computer programmer. Estes continues to write and perform music as a hobby in his free time.

Discography

*'' King Diamond – The Spider's Lullabye'' (1995) *'' King Diamond – The Graveyard'' (1996) *'' Fakkulty – Southern Hostility'' (1996) *'' King Diamond – Voodoo'' (1998)

Photographic art

*'' Mercyful Fate – Into the Unknown'' (1996) *'' King Diamond – The Graveyard'' (1996)

References

People from Dodge City, Kansas 1971 births Living people American heavy metal bass guitarists American male bass guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians {{US-bass-guitarist-stub