| This article does not cite any references or sources.For similarly named bands, and other uses of the name Fate, see Fate.King Diamond
Mike Wead
Hank Shermann
Bjarne T.Mercyful Fate is an influential Danish heavy metal group who are often cited among the influences in the black metal, thrash metal, power metal, and progressive metal genres.They are also credited as a pioneering band of the first wave of black metal.Soon, Shermann, Denner, Diamond, and Denner's bass player Timi Grabber realized their potential as a unit and started performing as Mercyful Fate.The band experienced the usual member changes for a new band, as Denner left (and later returned).In addition, the drummer position was a revolving door, but Kim Ruzz finally established himself as the drummer.Later on in the year, Mercyful Fate recorded their first material, Nuns Have No Fun, on vinyl for the Dutch label Rave On.The release included heavy and evil material that would later inspire the black metal genre (although Venom are as equally considered as the forefathers of black metal).Following the EP, the band released Melissa in 1983 and Don't Break the Oath in 1984, which are now considered by many to be classics in both the power metal and black metal genres.Following the tour (which saw them play in the United States for the first time) in support of Don't Break the Oath, Diamond split ways with Mercyful Fate in April 1985 as a result of frustration over creative differences with Hank Shermann.With him, Diamond brought band mates Hansen and Denner to pursue a solo career under his own name.Diamond's solo venture continued the tradition of Mercyful Fate, but with a more progressive, conceptual twist to it.Reunion
In July of 1992, the band reformed and signed a contract with Brian Slagel's Metal Blade Records.All the original members without Kim Ruzz (replaced by Morten Nielsen) reformed and released In the Shadows in 1993."Return of the Vampire", with Metallica drummer and Mercyful Fate enthusiast Lars Ulrich playing on the track.In the years since, the band have released four more albums, with the last being 9.Following the release of 9, King Diamond disbanded Mercyful Fate and continued his solo career.Following the split, Shermann, Denner, Holm and (King Diamond Bass player) Hal Patino formed Force of Evil, which incorporates many of the themes of the original Mercyful Fate.In an interview with Metal Israel in 2005, King Diamond elaborated on the band's split and the possibility of a new album, claiming that "it's impossible for me to live off Mercyful Fate...Diamond claims that Mercyful Fate still has a contract and could record another record, but it would have to be done only as a hobby and when he is not touring, because he cannot make any money off the Mercyful Fate record and has to support himself through his solo venture.Melissa
"Melissa" is the name of a skull King Diamond used to carry on stage, and also a fictional deceased witch that appears in three songs.He used the femur bones to make his trademark microphone handle.The skull was apparently stolen during a show in the Netherlands.The skull was inspiration behind the album Melissa, and the title track of the album is very different from the rest of the album, as it is much slower than the other songs (which are speedier and more aggressive).The story builds itself up around the emotions of the protagonist, who first feels sadness and uncertainty, hope for her to still be alive, and then rage over his loss.The song ends with a whisper that hints Melissa's spirit is still with the protagonist.The second song Melissa appears on is on the album Don't Break the Oath in the song "Come to the Sabbath", once again at the climax of the album.Though she is not the focus of the lyrics this time, because of her mention the song is known as a "Melissa song".The final song Melissa appears in is on Mercyful Fate's reunion album In the Shadows on the song "Is That You, Melissa?".The coven objects, saying that it is against the rules.The subject of the song is argued by some; one side says the lyrics are not a continuation of the Melissa story but a tribute by the band to their past, while the other side sees it as the end of the Melissa story.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.See Copyrights for details.Table, Td body, div, p, strong, td, ."Are you sure you want to delete this comment?"This is not a MySpace login page, please do not enter your MySpace login information (email address or password).Do you wish to continue your form submission?"Id + " Link: " + targetLink.Id + " Text: " + targetLink.Sorry for any
outdated materials.Welcome to the page devoted to one of the two best bands
of the world, Mercyful Fate
(King Diamond is the other
one).Mercyful Fate (read more)
676,389 plays scrobbled on Last.Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band, and helped inspire black metal (by playing a form of speed metal that introduced black metal elements).The band was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1980 from the ashes of Hank Shermann's band Brats' and King Diamond's band Black Rose.Shortly thereafter, in the Spring of 1981 they helped out a fellow Dane, Michael Denner, with demos for his band Danger Zone.Soon it was apparent that Shermann, Denner, Diamond and Denner's bassplayer, Timi Grabber, fit well together as a unit and those players performed under the Mercyful Fate moniker for the first time in Denmark.There were the usual member changes for a young band; Denner left and then returned and drummers came and went, but finally Kim Ruzz established himself as the drummer.Mercyful Fate's musical style, combining musical influences from artists such as Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, and Judas Priest, and incorporating the theatrics of such showmen as Alice Cooper, utilized a dark, atmospheric, aesthetic in conjunction with elements of the NWOBHM and thrash metal movements that would go on to strongly influence the black metal subgenre (as would contemporaries such as Venom, Bathory, and Celtic Frost.Both albums featured the distinctive sound of Shermann and Denner on guitar, the unique rhythm section of Grabber (aka Timi Hansen) and King Diamond's wickedly evil falsetto vocals.My favorite riffs from my top 50 Last.STOP DIGRESSING MOTHERFUCKING CUNTS.Mercyful Fate is cheesier than a pizza with extra cheese, but there's just something I love about this band.People say King Diamond's vocals sound like a joke, and while they are quite hilarious, they've done so many awesome songs like Nightmare and Gypsy.The epitome of underrated in my opinion.What the fuck was I doing not listening to this band years ago.How is it they only have 600,000 or so listens!?They should at least have a million by now!You folks who like Mercyful Fate, check out Mortuary Drape, particularly their older material.If you'd like to add some events for Mercyful Fate then you can do so on this page.We're conducting a survey and would like your input.Web Site Support
Last.Not many bands can claim to be as influential as Mercyful Fate.Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir to international metal gods Megadeth and Metallica.When vocalist and Mercyful Fate mastermind King Diamond is asked about the bands he has inspired, he immediately gets proud.Mercyful Fate are true innovators, whose omnipotence will continue well into the next century. |
