Mercyful Fate - Roadrunner Records UK

Mercyful Fate - Melissa - the following is taken from the liner notes of the Melissa reissue. Melissa was the first Mercyful Fate (King Diamond) release for Roadrunner Records. At the time, the line up was as follows: King Diamond - vocals Hank Shermann - lead guitar Michael Denner - lead guitar Timi Grabber - bass Kim Ruzz - drums enjoy this for now...more on the story to come later... With a successful mini-LP and BBC radio session behind them, the Danish black metal band Mercyful Fate ("black metal" being used at that time to describe bands with a heavy sound and blatant Satanic leanings in their lyrics and image) signed a record deal with the Holland-based Roadrunner Records in 1983. The first fruit of that venture was the band's initial full-length album, MELISSA, which was also the first Mercyful Fate effort to get an official release in the United States (the mini-LP on Rave On Records was a highly sought after import, and the BBC session were only available on bootleg tapes). MELISSA got its first North American release on Megaforce Records, the tiny but highly influential U.S. indie that also issued the Stateside debut from Raven, the second release from Manowar, plus first albums from Metallica and Anthrax. Recorded at Easy Sound in Copenhagen with producer Henrik Lund, MELISSA was a better-produced effort than the mini-LP, but still captured the intense heaviness and rollercoaster arrangements that made Mercyful Fate a standout metal band of the early Eighties. Tracks like "Evil", "Curse of The Pharaohs", and the ten-minute-plus epic, "Satan's Fall", became live classics. King Diamond's lyrics, brimming with visions of demonic possession, Satanic sacrifice, undead resurrection, and ancient rituals, combined with his sinister onstage image and over-the-top vocal style to create an undeniably unique and controversial presence in the metal genre. "I remember the studio where we recorded MELISSA very well", says King. "I remember one thing that sticks out about the way Henrik Lund mixed that album. We were not allowed in the room while he was mixing. It was like waiting at the dentist and being next in line. He'd come out and say, 'yeah, you can come in now,' and we'd all walk in and hear the first mix of whatever he'd done, and we'd say, 'no, more guitar,' or 'I can't hear the vocals there,' or any other comments we had. Then he'd say, 'okay, I'll try to correct that, please leave now.' So then we'd go back out, sit outside the door, wait for him to do another mix, then come in again with more comments. It was very irritating!" Some of the material on MELISSA had been heard previous to the album's release. "Black Funeral", in different form, appeared on the METALLIC STORM compilation (one of Fate's earliest appearances on vinyl), while "Evil", "Curse Of The Pharaohs", and "Satan's Fall" were all captured by BBC Radio One for the "Friday Rock Show" (the BBC session can be heard on THE BEGINNING). Some of the songs had their roots in even earlier demo recordings done during the fledgling days when King's first band with lead guitarist Hank Shermann, the Brats, was mutating into Fate. "'Curse Of The Pharaohs' was originally called 'Night Riders' on some old demo, but I changed the lyrics to it," recollects King. "Hank wrote the music, but the words were written by the bass player for the Brats. Once I joined the Brats, we wrote new material that got heavier and heavier, but there were still some songs around that I was singing the old lyrics on. That's where 'Curse Of The Pharaohs' came from". "We really didn't have demos of a lot of stuff back then," add King. "We did for some songs, but others were never recorded on any tape. We just remembered them. And we rehearsed a lot back then - we would be at the rehearsal room three or four time a week." King recalls a bit of trivia from that period of Fate's career. "At that time, the label wanted us to do a cover song, so we tried to do 'Immigrant Song' by Led Zeppelin. But I never managed to even try out the vocals, because we didn't feel like we could make it swing. There might even be some of that on a tape somewhere." Despite the amount of new, rare material being heard on these reissues for the first time, King says there are yet more recordings around that will never see the light of day. "In the early days of Fate, Hank and I went to help Michael Denner record a demo with this little three-piece he had - it was Michael, Timi Hansen on bass, and some drummer named Nick. Some of those songs have been released on RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE, but there's some real funny stuff that we did which I guarantee you will never hear. Some of them actually might be out on a bootleg. I was singing Michael Denner's lyrics, and there was one song called "Truck Driver" that was so far from the kind of thing I was doing. But it was during the recording of that demo that we decided to actually turn that group into Mercyful Fate. Needless to say, we didn't keep any of Michael's songs!" With the release of MELISSA, the musical evolution of King Diamond from his first band, Black Rose, to the Brats, to Mercyful Fate, was complete. He had found the sound, band configuration, image, and production style (Henrik Lund's mixing habits not withstanding) that suited his artistic vision. Mercyful Fate toured Europe and the buzz on the band grew overseas as well. The stage was set for the next-and ironically, final-Fate album, DON'T BREAK THE OATH. -Don Kaye. 14/04/2009 - MACHINE HEAD APPEAR ON THE METALLICA GUITAR HERO Did you know that MACHINE HEAD track 'Beautiful Mourning' from the critically acclaimed THE BLACKENING features on the Metallica Guitar Hero?? No? Well you do ... 11/02/2009 - ROADRUNNER ALBUMS REDUCED TO £4.99 ON ITUNES A whole heap of Roadrunner albums have been reduced to just £4.99 on iTunes! Log in to your account to take advantage now of picking ... 10/10/2008 - ROADRUNNER UNITED 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONVERT DVD TO BE RELEASED What was Roadrunner Records supposed to do after the label corralled 56 musicians from 44 different bands spanning the label's entire 25-year history to release ... 12/02/2008 - LOST AND FOUND Anus.com has recently reported that members of the American Nihilist Underground Society – an organization known for its extensive and elitist Dark Legions metal archives ... 12/02/2008 - TOTAL ANNIHILATION ANNIHILATOR's official web site has been updated with a number of photos of guitarist Jeff Waters with other metal musicians that performed at the Roadrunner ... 12/02/2008 - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER So here is the setlist from the special Roadrunner United show held last night at the Nokia Theater in New York. BIOHAZARD's "Punishment" Evan Seinfeld ... 12/02/2008 - GET THE ULTIMATE EDITIONS Roadrunner's 25 years of existence coincided with the birth of Heavy Music as we know it today. In the label's earliest days, Roadrunner began licensing ... 12/02/2008 - IN THE FIRE All right, you can now hear a 4th song from the upcoming Roadrunner United The All-Star Sessions release, this time one of the songs from ... 12/02/2008 - RR25 RE-ISSUES The first SIX re-issues celebrating 25 years of Roadrunner have moved back until the 17th OCT Details of the first 6 re-issues are as follows: ... 12/02/2008 - THE ALL-STAR SESSIONS- THE FULL MONTE 4 team captains, 55 artists, 45 bands- but who does WHAT we hear you cry?!!!! Here for your salivation is the full run down of ... 12/02/2008 - ROADRUNNER 25 Roadrunner's 25 years of existence coincided with the birth of Heavy Music as we know it today. In the label's earliest days, Roadrunner began licensing ... 12/02/2008 - 57 ARTISTS, 47 BANDS, 19 TRACKS, 1 RELEASE ROADRUNNER UNITED - THE ALL-STAR SESSIONS, 57 ARTISTS, 45 BANDS, 19 TRACKS, 4 TEAM CAPTAINS. 1 GROUNDBREAKING ALBUM Roadrunner Records has put together a groundbreaking ... 12/02/2008 - NAME THAT RELEASE To celebrate our 25th Anniversary, later this year we will be releasing a CD that up until now we have been referring to only as ... 12/02/2008 - MORE ALL STARS ANNOUNCED In celebration of Roadrunner's 25 Anniversary, we are releasing an 'All Stars' album...and more confirmations on this release are in. Press release on the news ... 12/02/2008 - THE METAL ZONE!!!! Roadrunner Records kicks off it's 25th Anniversary celebrations at retail by entering the Metal Zone, well Music Zone, really. We've teamed up with the 59-store ... 12/02/2008 - ROADRUNNER ALL STARS UNITE ROADRUNNER "ALL- STARS" ALBUM, A CELEBRATION OF LABEL'S 25TH ANNIVERSARY New York, NY - Roadrunner Records is in the process of putting together a groundbreaking ... 12/02/2008 - OI TROTTER O.K. I realise the "Only fools and horses" references are probably wearing a bit thin, but it's the only way i can contain my excitement. ... 12/02/2008 - Scare Tactics 10 SOUNDTRACKS TO A ROADRUNNER HALLOWEEN compiled by RR UK's Head Ghoul Click each song title for more details of each one! 1.Murderdolls 'Love At ... 12/02/2008 - A Cradle Update First things first. We know we said last Friday there would be a new Cradle Of Filth tune for you to hear. We lied. Not ... 12/02/2008 - Annihilator, Mercyful Fate, Gorguts... The latest releases in Roadrunner's 2-for-the-price-of-1 classic, rare & deleted album series returns on July 12th, with the following: MERCYFUL FATE 'DON'T BREAK THE OATH' ... 14/04/2009MACHINE HEAD APPEAR ON THE METALLICA GUITAR HERO Did you know that MACHINE HEAD track 'Beautiful Mourning' from the critically acclaimed THE BLACKENING features on the Metallica Guitar Hero?? No? Well you do ... 12/02/2008A Lesson In Roadrunner History Why are we giving you a Roadrunner history lesson? Today, May Day, whilst people riot on the streets of London, our US office has just ... 12/02/2008LOST AND FOUND Anus.com has recently reported that members of the American Nihilist Underground Society – an organization known for its extensive and elitist Dark Legions metal archives ... 12/02/2008A Cradle Update First things first. We know we said last Friday there would be a new Cradle Of Filth tune for you to hear. We lied. Not ... 12/02/2008Scare Tactics 10 SOUNDTRACKS TO A ROADRUNNER HALLOWEEN compiled by RR UK's Head Ghoul Click each song title for more details of each one! 1.Murderdolls 'Love At ... 12/02/2008THE METAL ZONE!!!! Roadrunner Records kicks off it's 25th Anniversary celebrations at retail by entering the Metal Zone, well Music Zone, really. We've teamed up with the 59-store ... 12/02/2008OI TROTTER O.K. I realise the "Only fools and horses" references are probably wearing a bit thin, but it's the only way i can contain my excitement. ... 12/02/2008Two From In September Remember we told you about the new Two From The Vault series? Basically 2 classic CD's for less than the price of 1? A small ... 10/10/2008ROADRUNNER UNITED 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONVERT DVD TO BE RELEASED What was Roadrunner Records supposed to do after the label corralled 56 musicians from 44 different bands spanning the label's entire 25-year history to release ... 11/02/2009ROADRUNNER ALBUMS REDUCED TO £4.99 ON ITUNES A whole heap of Roadrunner albums have been reduced to just £4.99 on iTunes! Log in to your account to take advantage now of picking ... 12/02/2008Two For Less Than The Price Of One For those of you who are conoisseurs of all things HEAVY and with a memory that lasts beyond the past 2 months, then 'The Vault' ... 12/02/2008The Roots Of Roadrunner Roadrunner Records is pleased to announce the launch of an ongoing series of CD releases, henceforth dubbed The Roots Of Roadrunner. On September 22nd, 2003, ... 12/02/2008Annihilator, Mercyful Fate, Gorguts... The latest releases in Roadrunner's 2-for-the-price-of-1 classic, rare & deleted album series returns on July 12th, with the following: MERCYFUL FATE 'DON'T BREAK THE OATH' ... 12/02/2008Special Offers From The Vault 'Two From the Vault' - 2 Ground-Breaking Albums For The Price Of One! Have you checked out the STORE lately? All 'Two From The Vault' ... 12/02/2008Hail Satan Here is something you won't know... All of those in the San Francisco Bay area tonight, surely are going to the Exodus show at the ... 12/02/2008Best Of Your Roots All 7 'Best Of' titles in the Roots Of Roadrunner series are available from Monday Sept 22nd at mid-price (around £10 retail) from HMV, Virgin ... 12/02/2008MORE ALL STARS ANNOUNCED In celebration of Roadrunner's 25 Anniversary, we are releasing an 'All Stars' album...and more confirmations on this release are in. Press release on the news ... 12/02/2008IN THE FIRE All right, you can now hear a 4th song from the upcoming Roadrunner United The All-Star Sessions release, this time one of the songs from ... 12/02/2008GET THE ULTIMATE EDITIONS Roadrunner's 25 years of existence coincided with the birth of Heavy Music as we know it today. In the label's earliest days, Roadrunner began licensing ... 12/02/2008A NIGHT TO REMEMBER So here is the setlist from the special Roadrunner United show held last night at the Nokia Theater in New York. BIOHAZARD's "Punishment" Evan Seinfeld ... Melissa (25th Anniversary Re-Issue) Melissa (25th Anniversary Re-Issue) The Best Of ... The Best Of ... Don't Break The Oath (Re-Issue) Don't Break The Oath (Re-Issue)