Formed in Denmark in the early 80’s, Mercyful Fate achieved near
\nlegendary status almost immediately after the release of
\nMelissa<\/i>, the bands’ first full-length release. Led by their
\nface painted frontman King Diamond, the band was one of the
\npioneers of Death or Black Metal. Aptly named, death metal’s theme
\nfocused on more morbid topics, frequently with a satanic theme.<\/p>\n
Feared by parents and despised by bible-wielders, Diamond wrote
\nabout topics that scared people half to death. He didn’t just write
\nabout death or Satan, he wrote about Satanism, sacrifice, grave
\ndefiling, and cemetery births. People couldn’t believe what they
\nwere hearing. Not only was the subject mater scary, but he sang
\nthese songs in a voice that ranged from strident growls to falsetto
\nhighs. Astute lyrics about the occult and stage props that included
\na human skull and a cross constructed from bones made Mercyful Fate
\nquite famous, despite their short initial life span. Mercyful Fate
\ndisbanded after their second album, and Diamond continued on to a
\nsolo career, still maintaining that he was a practicing Satanist.
\nIn the early 90’s the band re-formed, and since then Diamond has
\nsplit time between the two projects.<\/p>\n
Quite frankly, many bands in this segment are hacks. They
\npretend to be skilled at their instruments, and write completely
\nbrainless lyrics. This has never been the case with Mercyful Fate.
\nThese guys can flat out play. Fate’s latest release,
\n9<\/i>, continues with this tradition. Lyrically, Diamond
\ncontinues with the dark themes, but has progressed beyond the
\nshock-oriented, over-the-top story lines of the past. Diamond still
\nwrites about the devil, but he approaches the subject from a
\nseemingly atheist perspective. His stories are still dark, but have
\ndeveloped into what I’d call “mini horror stories.”<\/p>\n
Musically, the band sounds even more solid now than they did on
\nthe early albums. Founding guitarist Hank Shermann still provides
\nmuch of the musical direction, with Diamond taking the music credit
\non the remainder of the tracks. Dueling guitars are everywhere on
\nthis album, with Sherman and fellow guitarist Mike Weed trading
\nsolos on nearly every track. Drummer Bjarne Holm is simply
\noutstanding – his performance is one of the best I’ve ever
\nheard.<\/p>\n
There aren’t many slow spots on this album, but there are a few
\nworth mentioning. “Church of Saint Anne” drags a bit, but Shermann
\nand Weed toss out some great solos, so overall it’s an enjoyable
\nsong. Lyrically, “Sold My Soul” is a bit tired. It’s a theme that
\nwe’ve all visited frequently in the past, but Diamond adds another
\ntwist. The protagonist of the story admits he sold his soul, but
\nthe real rub is that he sold YOURS too! Bummer, eh? The music on
\n“Sold My Soul” is excellent. It’s one that begs to be played at
\nhigh volume.<\/p>\n
The title track is surprisingly boring, not typical for an
\nalbum’s namesake. “I am 9, we are 9” Diamond repeats throughout the
\ntrack, a possible reference to the 9 circles of hell as defined in
\nDante’s Inferno. Still, “9” is a creepy song, and it really makes
\nyou wonder if Charon the boatman might select it for mood music as
\nhe ferries the damned across the river Styx.<\/p>\n
\n9<\/i> is a solid, thoroughly enjoyable release, and fans of the
\ngenre should enjoy it as much as I did. If you find yourself
\nsinging Debbie Gibson while strolling through the office, you’ll
\nprobably want to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":27884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6343],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-39272","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-mercyful-fate","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39272"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}