{"id":47893,"date":"2020-06-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/features\/a-dangerous-meeting\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T07:31:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T07:31:33","slug":"a-dangerous-meeting","status":"publish","type":"feature","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/features\/a-dangerous-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"A Dangerous Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the suggestion of a new King Diamond album forthcoming, as well as a reissue of all King Diamond and Mercyful Fate albums which used to be on Roadrunner (and which have been long out of print), it seems to be the right time for a \u201cworst to first\u201d list for both.<\/p>\n

For this particular list, I\u2019m only focusing on Mercyful Fate; King Diamond will follow soon after. Since there are precious few albums in Mercyful Fate\u2019s discography, I am choosing to include EPs, as well as select compilation albums, as long as they include a significant amount of material which was previously unreleased. (This means that The Best Of Mercyful Fate<\/i> was not considered for this list, nor was A Dangerous Meeting<\/i>, as the latter is a \u201cbest-of\u201d for both Mercyful Fate and King Diamond.)<\/p>\n

A quick note: This is being written prior to the re-release of the early albums, so the reviews are based on the original releases.<\/p>\n

11. Time<\/i> (1994)\"mercyfulfate_time_150\"<\/b><\/p>\n

The fourth full-length release (and second after the reunion) does one thing right in that it does bring back the occult themes in some of the songs (\u201cAngel Of Light,\u201d \u201cWitches Dance,\u201d \u201cMy Demon\u201d). The bad news is that, unlike the earlier albums, the \u2013 dare I say it? \u2013 novelty seems to have worn off, almost as if they were including the themes because they were expected to, and didn\u2019t have their black hearts completely into it. Even with the more evil undertones, this one just feels like it was a reject from Diamond\u2019s solo career. Worth Checking Out: \u201cAngel Of Light\u201d<\/p>\n

\"mercyfulfate_vampire\"<\/b><\/a> 10. Return Of The Vampire<\/i> (1992)<\/b><\/p>\n

I understand that people were clamoring for new Mercyful Fate material after their breakup in 1985 (and just prior to their 1993 reunion), but this true bottom-of-the-barrel scraper is the epitome of the saying, \u201cBe careful what you wish for.\u201d Featuring early versions of songs which were still very much in development (\u201cOn A Night Of Full Moon,\u201d \u201cDevil\u2019s Kiss\u201d) to what was now the third presentation of some tracks in the span of five releases (\u201cA Corpse Without Soul,\u201d \u201cCurse Of The Pharaohs\u201d), this album was truly unnecessary. Worth Checking Out: \u201cBurning The Cross\u201d<\/p>\n

9. Dead Again<\/i> (1998)\"mercyfulfate_deadagain_150\"<\/b><\/p>\n

For an album (the first without long-time guitarist Michael Denner) featuring much better production work than its predecessor, this disc is just boring<\/i>. Granted, it shows that Diamond was a very capable vocalist throughout the 10 songs, and they do take some chances with the 13-minute long title track, but overall, it just feels like, creatively, they were running on empty, and the few moments where they dip into occult-based themes just fail to project the kind of terror their earlier albums did. Worth Checking Out: \u201cThe Lady Who Cries,\u201d \u201cDead Again\u201d<\/p>\n

\"mercyfulfate_unknown_150\"8. Into The Unknown<\/i> (1996)<\/b><\/p>\n

This could<\/i> have been a decent album (and, in fact, was their most successful album commercially), had it not been for piss-poor production. While Don\u2019t Break The Oath<\/i> had a fault by making the guitars sound tinny, it at least was able to balance the rest of the music into something very listenable. These songs all sound like they were mixed far too high in the treble range, causing them to have a very choppy sound throughout the album. That, along with the fact that after the opening snippet \u201cLucifer,\u201d there is precious little occult-based material (which, after all, was the band\u2019s bread and butter) are what keep this album\u2019s ranking as low as it is; perhaps if it were remixed, it could really show its true power. Worth Checking Out: \u201cInto The Unknown,\u201d \u201cUnder The Spell\u201d<\/p>\n

7. Mercyful Fate EP<\/i> (1982)\"mercyfulfate_s-tep_150\"<\/b><\/p>\n

Also known as Nuns Have No Fun<\/i>, this four-track birth cry from Mercyful Fate pretty much sets the bar for what their career would be \u2013 at least, prior to their 1985 breakup. Hard-driving and deliciously evil, the band pulls no punches in either their musical or lyrical delivery, though Diamond\u2019s falsetto vocals seem to be stronger than his normal range. Worth Checking Out: \u201cA Corpse Without Soul,\u201d \u201cNuns Have No Fun\u201d<\/p>\n

\"mercyfulfate_9_200\"<\/a> 6. 9<\/i> (1999)<\/b><\/p>\n

As of this writing, the most current release from Mercyful Fate represents the closest they have come to a full-on return to the Satanic and occult imagery that made their first two studio albums as dark and frightening as they were. It also shows the band embracing thrash metal at times, with the double-bass drum work pounding forth a more exciting feel overall than one might have felt on any of the reunion albums. While it still suggests that one of the original purveyors of black metal might still be trying to catch up with the other bands who picked up the demonic football and ran with it, this was one of their better efforts. Worth Checking Out: \u201cLast Rites,\u201d \u201cBurn In Hell\u201d<\/p>\n

5. In The Shadows<\/i> (1993)\"mercyfulfate_intheshadows_150\"<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

The long-awaited reunion album features much better musicianship, vocals, and production than Mercyful Fate\u2019s early works, but they make the mistake of moving away from the demonic themes of their early songs. Instead, these tracks \u2013 while good \u2013 feel like they were leftovers from Diamond\u2019s solo career which didn\u2019t have enough in their stories to flesh out into full albums. Worth Checking Out: \u201cThe Bell Witch,\u201d \u201cShadows\u201d<\/p>\n

\"mercyfulfate_bellwitchep_150\"4. The Bell Witch EP<\/i> (1994)<\/b><\/p>\n

This release is less noteworthy for the two strong tracks it features from their then-current album In The Shadows<\/i>, but more for the fact this is the first release to actually feature Mercyful Fate live in concert, albeit for four tracks. Yes, I could belly-ache that this is now the fourth<\/i> time that \u201cCurse Of The Pharaohs\u201d has been featured in seven releases. But, seeing that as of 2020 this is the closest thing we have to a live Mercyful Fate album, I\u2019ll gladly take it. Worth Checking Out: \u201cIs That You, Melissa,\u201d \u201cCome To The Sabbath\u201d<\/p>\n

3. The Beginning<\/i> (1987)\"mercyfulfate_beginning\"<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

This release is essentially an expanded version of the then-out-of-print Mercyful Fate<\/i> EP, with a few additional tracks. The three tracks recorded for \u201cThe Friday Rock Show,\u201d if anything, proved that the band could recreate their magic in a live setting, but aren\u2019t terribly different from the versions found on Melissa<\/i>. A final track, \u201cBlack Masses,\u201d was the B-side to the \u201cBlack Funeral\u201d single. While some people might have seen this as a \u201cscraping of the barrel\u201d effort (which really wouldn\u2019t come until Return Of The Vampire<\/i>),\u00a0 it did offer people who hadn\u2019t been able to get their hands on the original EP a way to finally hear it, and the extra tracks do add just enough to the mix to push it ahead of the original. Worth Checking Out: \u201cNuns Have No Fun,\u201d \u201cCurse Of The Pharaohs\u201d<\/p>\n

\"mercyfulfate_melissa\"<\/a> 2. Melissa<\/i> (1983)<\/b><\/p>\n

The band\u2019s first full-length release clearly shows that they had tightened up as a unit, releasing a surprisingly powerful first \u201ctrue\u201d statement. Diamond\u2019s vocals, in particular, are much stronger here than they were on the previous EP. Even though this disc is barely double the length of the EP\u2019s length time-wise (and has seven tracks to the predecessor\u2019s four), it remains one of the most powerful metal albums ever recorded. Worth Checking Out: \u201cCurse Of The Pharaohs,\u201d \u201cBlack Funeral,\u201d \u201cMelissa\u201d<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t Break The Oath<\/i> (1984)\"mercyfulfate_oath\"<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n

Quite possibly one of the most perfect metal albums ever recorded. Again building on what they learned in the writing and recording process for Melissa<\/i>, Diamond and crew lay down track after track of sheer perfection. If there is any area of complaint, it\u2019s that the guitars sometimes have a tinny sound to them\u2026but if they had been processed any different, they might not have had the kind of bite they do on this album. Worth Checking Out: \u201cA Dangerous Meeting,\u201d \u201cNight Of The Unborn,\u201d \u201cThe Oath\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mercyful Fate Albums Ranked Worst To Best<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48687,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tags":[],"feature_type":[32],"class_list":["post-47893","feature","type-feature","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","feature_type-feature"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature\/47893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/feature"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature\/47893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47893"},{"taxonomy":"feature_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature_type?post=47893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}