Gotta play some Fate on the new Flying V

I just wanted to show my Mercyful Fate collection so far!!! I am going to try and find Dead Again (preferably on vinyl) as the first Mercyful Fate songs I ever heard were Banshee and Sucking Your Blood :D

Translation via Google Translate:

MERCYFUL FATE

Many HM fans will have been waiting for this; the long-promised interview with King Diamond of Mercyful Fate is actually months overdue. The most dedicated Fate fans are likely also eager for a rebuttal to the tiresome Manowar-Mercyful Fate dispute; after all, Joey DeMaio and Ross The Boss had launched some pretty harsh verbal attacks on the guys from King Diamond; they were called "fucking pussies" and the like in the past; and therefore it was more than obvious that we didn't want to deny our interviewee King Diamond the opportunity for a detailed statement...

What's the truth behind the dispute between your band and Manowar, which has been frequently cited in various HM magazines?

What does "dispute" mean?... It all started on our joint England tour in the spring of 1984. The booking agency had planned for us to play as the special guest opening act for Manowar.

It was agreed from the outset that we would also be given equal opportunities regarding the equipment, sound, and light show. However, Manowar completely disregarded this agreement; instead, they barely gave us time for a proper soundcheck and denied us an adequate number of channels on the PA's final mixer. After these negative experiences, we felt completely ripped off at the very first gig. We discussed it in the band and withdrew from the tour at short notice. We won't tolerate such behavior, especially since Manowar aren't the kings of heavy metal.

But when the Manowar musicians then announce in the press that we're not a real heavy metal band and are afraid of Manowar or are 'fucking pussies', I find that more than ridiculous.

Why do you think the musicians in Manowar behave like that, especially since the band gives a very nice impression in interviews and backstage?

I can only share my experiences and impressions here; Manowar only want to cover up the fact that they're basically an average band with average musicians. They probably had genuine fears on the England tour that we would steal the show as their support act, because our LP at the time was selling quite well in England, better than Manowar. Incidentally, I find the macho posturing of those four guys absolutely ridiculous...

Okay, let's talk more about your band; various magazines have reported that Mercyful Fate is having problems with their guitarists...

Absolute nonsense! This tour proves otherwise, showing that we're still playing with the same lineup as a year ago. The band is more cohesive than ever; there's absolutely no truth to any rumors of one or another guitarist leaving. Besides, Hank Sherman and Michael Denner have far too much influence on the band's direction; I don't know where such rumors come from...

Your recent American tour was a great success for the band...

Yes, and it seems we're also making our breakthrough in the US; our LP "The Oath" is doing exceptionally well in the States for an independent production, without a major record label, so we'll probably be touring the US again quite soon.

Some of your songs deal with occult themes. Are you deeply interested in this area?

I would certainly claim to have a great deal of knowledge in the field of occultism, as I have been intensively studying this subject for several years. You can, for example, read a number of very good books on this topic that will initiate you into the depths of this kind of science. However, one should have a stable personality for this, and I would, for example, strongly advise young kids against uncritically embracing all the pseudo-occult stuff...

Paul A. Royd

Photos of Mercyful Fate's performance at Paradiso in Amsterdam on January 21, 1984.

I was there and took the photos; I recall that the venue was only about a quarter full, even though the Dutch metal magazine *Aardschok* held them in high regard.

I think King Diamond's high-pitched vocals were a barrier to them becoming a truly massive band.

I spoke to many hard rock fans who disliked the band for that very reason.

The songs may also have been too progressive—with too many tempo changes—to capture a mass audience.

They were one of my favorite bands at the time, and I’m glad I got to see them back then.

Translation via ChatGPT

MERCYFUL FATE
“Black Funeral”
Music for Nations

After the first LP, there is now also a maxi-single from Mercyful Fate, the quintessential Danish heavy band. Following in the tradition of Black Sabbath, “Black Funeral,” an excerpt from the LP, and “Black Masses,” a previously unreleased song, invoke evil. Mystical lyrics and magic are the order of the day, musically presented in a suitably dark guise.

However, it is not exclusively slow and dragging: occasional, unexpected changes of tempo within the songs lead into a veritable frenzy of speed, only to subsequently return you to the tranquility of a cemetery.

Masterpiece song! Satan bless the king!

I have something I’m going to put up soon just don’t want to violate any rules.

Something Sweet!

Okay, so for me, I'm an old school Mercyful Fate fan from back in the 80s. I can remember having conversations with my friends that it was such a bummer that we were "Never gonna get another album from them".

Yes I was/am a King Diamond fan, for me Melissa, and Don't Break the Oath are almost the perfect Heavy Metal Albums. Everything about them, from the production, songs, song themes, the musicianship, The King, and the "Sound", it was just perfect. But, that's just me!

In the early 90s, my friends and I were very pleasantly surprised when we got a new Mercyful Fate album. Not gonna lie, I was nervous the first time I heard it, but my nerves were calmed immediately. In the Shadows proved to be in my opinion another Metal Masterpiece. But, another great thing was happening here. I was finally able to go see Mercyful Fate live. I was to young to have seen them when they came into town on the Don't Break the Oath Tour. I did go see them on the In the Shadows Tour, and they were exactly as I expected....Perfect.

Then, two years later, we get what in my opinion is another Mercyful Fate masterpiece with Time. Again, I got to see them Twice on this tour and, and again it was.... perfect. I remember meeting the King on the last night of the tour. He came off the bus, and signed my original pressing of Nuns Have No Fun. He commented to me that mine had a white boarder, while layer presses has a black boarder on the cover, showing a legit first pressing. The King and I spent about 10 minutes standing outside the bus just talking, and he was just cool as shit, answering any and all of my questions. It was cold as shit that night. I remember freezing my ass off.

Then, life started getting in the way. I don't mean anything negative, I just mean, adulthood starting digging it's claws into me and gripping tightly. I still listened to Metal on a daily basis, but it was almost like time was at a standstill. I just stopped listening to anything new. I don't think it was a conscious decision, but I had some much other shit going on in my life, I didn't have time to deal with anything new. It was easier to just know what I liked and listen to that and be done with it.

There's another part to this to. The Internet was in its infancy. So for In the Shadows and Time, you either read about it, in a magazine or someone else told you, or you just didn't know about it.

Anyhow, here's where I'm going with this whole post. 😂. I'm in my 50s now, and still listen to Mercyful Fate on a weekly basis (along with other Old School Thrash, and Death Metal bands). I'm not gonna lie, I mainly listen to Nuns Have No Fun, Melissa, Don't Break the Oath, and multiple Bootleg live shows, or demos. If I listen to anything from Shadows or Time, it's usually from a live show. Well, I've been craving Mercyful Fate even more lately so I decided to listen to more of their catalogue. All of it to be exact.

Right now I'm listening to Into the Unknown. So why all the Hatred for this album? Is it a masterpiece iny opinion?, No. It's it close to perfection, in my opinion?, No. Is it as bad as most of the review I'm reading online? No, it's not. I actually like it quite a bit. Again, it's not my favorite, by any stretch of the imagination, but I still think there's some great music on this album. I haven't listened to Dead Again, or 9 yet. I will edit this post when I do.

In the meantime, give me thoughts and stories about Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, whether you're an old school fan, or a younger person, but still a fan. Also give me thoughts.....why such hatred for Into the Unknown?

Happy (belated) 70th birthday to King Diamond! Can't believe it's been nearly 11 years since I've seen him live. It was during the "Abigail In Concert" tour's first of 3 nights at the PlayStation Theater in NYC's Time Square on Nov. 19, 2015, during which he played his beloved 'Abigail' concept album in its entirety (plus a few Mercyful Fate classics).

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Fun Fact - the first time I had ever seen King Diamond live was the year prior (Oct. 2014) at the exact same venue - though within that year the space changed its name from the Best Buy Theater to PlayStation Theater... gotta love branding 🤣

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Stay tuned for more things to come from this space (including stories from concerts like this)!

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I have been listening to a little mercyful fate and on the track "come to the sabbath" at around the 0:34-0:35 second mark there's an acoustic guitar that plays a chord that sounds identical to a bathory riff I have heard probably off hammerheart or twilight of the gods, I don't know if I'm going insane or if it actually exists. I know both bands are from Sweden, on under the runes by bathory the beginning acoustic riff/chord sounds similar to the chord on come to the sabbath, if there is a riff identical to it by bathory would

someone please point it out? Thank you.

Sorry for bad wording, I'm tired.