Mercyful Fate

Don’t Break the Oath (1984)

King Diamond has the rare ability to shape his voice to sound like two distinctly different vocalists and I would go as far as saying it comes across here as a demented, twisted split personality. The two voices are almost two sides of the same coin, a battle between Ego and Id if you will. There is the extremely high pitched falsetto voice (Id), which if shrill, maniacal almost witch-like and at other times ethereal (not in the sense of heavenly but ghostly and of the dark other-side). Then there is the deeper of his two voices (Ego), still probably falsetto but more restrained, not as sung, with a tendency to be bit gruff and scream-y around the edges; it almost comes across as a dark statesman, fatherly, warning of the dangers beyond. These two styles are layered fantastically, like another instrument (or arguably two) and bounce-off each other – creating conflict at times, dark pacts at others, and are a big part of why Don’t Break the Oath sounds like an out of control coven. This is the kind of vocal style that you can build a band around, and believe me they have.

The rhythm section generally consists of two or three main riffs per track plus an additional riff for the crescendo or bridge, generally high octane, razor sharp speed metal riffing.  It is all about quality over quantity here.  The riffs are also often highly melodic or accompanied by short melodic scale runs played over the top.  There are no gimmicks here such as unusual chord selections, dissonance, over the top technicality, and no abrupt time signature changes or progressive elements. The guitarists and bass are focused on providing King Diamond with a solid foundation, full of dark energy, so that his vocals can do their unique thing. In this sense they either emphasise the melodic line of the vocals or play counter-point to it. In the vein of a lot of the heavy/speed metal of the 1980s the two guitarists also have many opportunities to play solos and here the guitarists have two distinct styles – a more blistering ‘blood and guts’ approach and a more melodically refined (dare I say neo-classical) approach.  These contrasting lead styles do complement each other very nicely and at times in the theme of the band there is a distinct feeling that they are two perspectives on darkness – one of uncertainty of fear and one embracing its enchanting beauty.

Mercyful Fate use the old-school approach to creating atmosphere/presence, there is a dark vibe, something intangible, created by a band playing completely in unison, highly aware of what is required as a whole. What really pushes this album to the upper echelons of heavy metal is the melding of the exquisite musicianship with the actual dark / mysterious themes of the album (ie. the coven / witch themed rituals, the dangerous liaisons with the 'other-side' and all number of evil or satanic entities).

Melissa (1983)

Whilst Melissa does not quite match the sharp, focused structures found on Don't Break The Oath, it is still a worthy listen. The quality dual-guitar based melodic speed metal riffing is there in all its splendour, as is the blistering and engaging lead-work. King Diamond's vocals also bear his trade-mark impossibly shrill falsetto style, and whilst they are not as ethereal and do not convey as much as of a demented split-personality as on the follow-up album, he manages to carry the music along with a sense of wild abandon and a lust for evil. 

Structurally this is a bit looser than Don't Break The Oath and there is a bit more long-form writing - especially on the B-Side - such as extended bridges, riff-medley, soft/loud section interaction, extended lead trade-offs, and those sorts of things. For instance, from the middle section of Satan's Fall, with the maniacal laughter, and the intersection of riffs, it has that jammy, almost heavy psych feel of the late 1960s / early 1970s. However it is heavy metal based, and does not have a total basis in blues rock. The song then winds into what is arguably an out-of-place melodic refrain, and becomes for a short period almost like a demented ballad. Almost abruptly it returns again to contemporary speed metal. It is oddities like these that make Melissa both intriguing, and on the other hand, open it to criticism for its loose song-writing. The album itself also has traces of a dark Romantic streak, that was fairly unique to Metal at the time. The closer Melissa has this in the largest degrees, with its loud/soft dynamic interplay, a wandering structure, giving the King the groundwork to be at his over-zealous best, wailing and screaming for his forbidden, long-lost witch lover.

Whilst the album does not always add up to a cohesive whole, there is a decent pacing to the music and a wild energy that moves it along. Like most albums involving King Diamond, this is love/hate material for the vast majority of listeners, there is not much room for middle-ground. I find it to have a certain charm rather than being camp. It is wild rather than over-theatrical and more dangerous rather than bordering on parody. Most of all these guys were some of the best writers of melodic speed metal riffs in Metal.