Mercyful Fate is an influential heavy metal band that formed in Copenhagen,… Read Full Bio ↴Mercyful Fate is an influential heavy metal band that formed in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1981 from the remaining members of Hank Shermann's band Brats and King Diamond's band Black Rose. In early 1981 they helped out Michael Denner with demos for his band Danger Zone. Soon, Shermann, Denner, Diamond, and Denner's bass player Timi Grabber realized their potential as a unit and started performing as Mercyful Fate. The band experienced the usual member changes for a new band, as Denner left (and later returned). In addition, the drummer position was a revolving door, but Kim Ruzz finally established himself as the drummer.

Several demos and live shows survive from 1981, including their infamous first concert "Sabbath of all witches" held in early/mid 1981.

In early 1982, the band contributed to the Ebony Records sampler Metallic Storm. Later on in the year, Mercyful Fate recorded its first official release, Mercyful Fate, on vinyl for the Dutch label Rave On. The release included heavy and evil material that would later inspire the black metal genre (although Venom and Bathory are as equally considered as the forefathers of black metal).

Following the EP, the band released Melissa in 1983 and Don't Break the Oath in 1984, which are now considered by many to be classics in both the power metal and black metal genres. Following the tour (which saw them play in the United States for the first time) in support of Don't Break the Oath, Diamond split ways with Mercyful Fate in April 1985 as a result of frustration over creative differences with Hank Shermann. With him, Diamond brought band mates Hansen and Denner to found a new band under his own name. Diamond's new venture continued the tradition of Mercyful Fate, but with a more progressive, conceptual twist to it. In response, Hank Shermann formed the band Fate, which pursued a more AOR direction.

Reunion

In July 1992, the band reformed and signed a contract with Brian Slagel's Metal Blade Records. All the original members without Kim Ruzz (replaced by Morten Nielsen) reformed and released In the Shadows in 1993. The album featured a re-recording of "Return of the Vampire", with Metallica drummer and Mercyful Fate enthusiast Lars Ulrich playing on the track. In the years since, the band has released four other albums, with the last being 9. Similar to the band's first run, members have left and been replaced; Michael Denner left and was replaced by Mike Wead, Drummer Nielsen was later replaced by Snowy Shaw who was then replaced by Bjarne Holm, Bassist Timi Hansen left quickly and was replaced by Sharlee D'Angelo. Following the release of 9 (1999), King Diamond put Mercyful Fate on hold and continued his solo career. Shermann, Denner, Holm and (King Diamond Bass player) Hal Patino formed Force of Evil, which incorporates many of the themes of the original Mercyful Fate.

In a March, 2008 interview, King Diamond stated that Mercyful Fate is currently "hibernating", but had never split up. Though he does not know when the band will become active again, he said "It's definitely not finished, at least in my book.". With the Re-union in 1993, the same lineup returned for the album and European tour, with the exception of Drummer Kim Ruzz, who was replaced by Snowy Shaw. Bassist Timi Hansen also left after the European leg of the tour, and was replaced by Sharlee D'Angelo.

The Lineup remained the same for "Time" and "Into the Unknown". Snowy Shaw was then replaced by Bjarne Holm on drums.

Unfortunatley, Michael Denner had also parted ways with the band at this point, to stay with his wife and family. His replacement was Mike Wead, who recorded with the band for "Dead Again" As well as "9" and has proven to be a sufficient replacement for Michael Denner.

Melissa

"Melissa" is the name of a skull King Diamond used to carry on stage, and also a fictional deceased witch that appears in three songs. Before the recordings of the album Melissa, King Diamond had acquired a human skeleton that he named "Melissa". He used the femur bones to make his trademark microphone handle. The skull was apparently stolen during a show in the Netherlands.

The skull was inspiration behind the album Melissa, and the title track of the album is very different from the rest of the album, as it is much slower than the other songs (which are speedier and more aggressive). The lyrics tell of a male protagonist (usually identified as King Diamond himself by fans) who lost the love of his life, who was a witch who was burnt at the stake by a Catholic priest. The story builds itself up around the emotions of the protagonist, who first feels sadness and uncertainty, hope for her to still be alive, and then rage over his loss. He swears revenge on the priest who burnt her, proclaiming that he must die in the name of hell. The song ends with a whisper that hints Melissa's spirit is still with the protagonist.

The second song Melissa appears on is on the album Don't Break the Oath in the song "Come to the Sabbath", once again at the climax of the album. The lyrics tell about a Satanic coven holding a sabbath, in which the protagonist emerges to perform a ritual to "put an evil curse on the priest who took the life of Melissa". Though she is not the focus of the lyrics this time, because of her mention the song is known as a "Melissa song". Additionally, one of the main characters on the King Diamond's album Them was named "Missy", which is a common diminutive of Melissa.

The final song Melissa appears in is on Mercyful Fate's reunion album In the Shadows on the song "Is That You, Melissa?". The lyrics tell of the protagonist once again in sorrow about the loss of his love. He begins to hear her voice and goes to the coven to have them perform a ritual to speak with her ghost. The coven objects, saying that it is against the rules. The protagonist is visited by Melissa's spirit who shares a kiss with the protagonist. The subject of the song is argued by some; one side says the lyrics are not a continuation of the Melissa story but a tribute by the band to their past, while the other side sees it as the end of the Melissa story. It is widely accepted that she is the girl on the album cover of "In the Shadows" facing the old oak tree. After In the Shadows, Melissa has not been mentioned any more in both lyrics and artwork.

On August 1, 2019, it was announced that Mercyful Fate would be performing an unspecified number of concerts throughout Europe in the summer of 2020. The band's line-up consists of King Diamond on vocals, Hank Shermann on guitar, Bjarne T. Holm on drums, Mike Wead on guitar and Joey Vera on bass, the latter of whom was filling in for Timi Hansen, who was battling cancer; Vera then became their full-time bass player after Hansen died on November 4, 2019, shortly after his 61st birthday. Aside from previously released material, the band was also going to perform new songs over the course of the summer.

In a May 2020 interview with Heavy magazine, Shermann said that he had "written six or seven songs" for the band's new album. On June 2, 2022, Mercyful Fate performed their first live show since 1999 in Hanover as part of a European tour, where they debuted a brand new song titled "The Jackal of Salzburg"

IN 2022, Becky Baldwin, a British musician who has previously played with Fury, Triaxisand Control The Storm. filled in for regular bassist Joey Vera, who had scheduling conflicts with his longtime band Armored Saint.

Insane
Mercyful Fate Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I see little demons, are they in my head?
I see little demons, fightin' in my bed
Why did I go insane? Oh doctor kill the pain
Screams in the night, I hear another one died
Was it number 9, or was it me who cried
Why did I go insane? Oh doctor kill the pain
When I look in the mirror, my mind goes blank
My brain is burning up, Insanity...

When I look in the mirror, my mind is, Dead
Is it me on the other side?
I saw the look on your face, the night they took me away
Not a tear, not a trace, just stood there waving goodbye
Dead roses in my room, a love that died too soon
When I look in the mirror, my mind goes blank
My brain is burning up, Insanity...
When I look in the mirror, my mind is, Dead
Sanity turned Insane, I hang myself in a picture frame
I'm so tired, let me sleep

I'm counting demons...
Oh doctor kill the pain, oh doctor kill the pain

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Mercyful Fate's song "Insane" portray a person whose mind is tormented by little demons fighting in their bed, madness, and burning brain, which leads them to ask the question why they went insane. The person also sees dead roses in their room, reflecting that the love they had died too soon. They see themselves in the mirror, but on the other side, and ask if it is them. They have lost their sanity, hang themselves in a picture frame, and wish for the doctor to kill the pain.

The song is a dark portrayal of what goes on in the mind of someone who is insane. The lyrics talk about how the person sees demons and how their brain is burning up. They want the pain to be over, so they ask the doctor to kill the pain. The song's lyrics are pretty straightforward and do not have much metaphorical meaning, but they carry significant emotional weight, portraying the feeling of being insane.

Overall, the song Insane is a powerful musical expression that illustrates the dark paths the human mind can take. It speaks of the internal struggles that people might face when they lose their sanity.

Line by Line Meaning

I see little demons, are they in my head?
The person is experiencing hallucinations of demons and questioning if they are real or just in their mind.

I see little demons, fightin' in my bed
The person is also experiencing hallucinations of demons fighting in their bed.

Why did I go insane? Oh doctor kill the pain
The person is asking why they became insane and pleading with a doctor to kill their pain.

Screams in the night, I hear another one died
The person hears screams at night and is afraid someone may have just died.

Was it number 9, or was it me who cried
The person is unsure if they were the one crying or if it was someone else.

When I look in the mirror, my mind goes blank
The person experiences a mental disconnect when they look in the mirror.

My brain is burning up, Insanity...
The person feels like their mind is on fire with insanity.

When I look in the mirror, my mind is, Dead
The person has a sense of emptiness or numbness when they see their reflection.

Is it me on the other side?
The person questions if the reflection in the mirror is really them or someone/something else.

I saw the look on your face, the night they took me away
The person recalls seeing a certain expression on someone's face the night they were taken away, likely to a mental institution.

Not a tear, not a trace, just stood there waving goodbye
The person describes how the person they saw had no visible emotional reaction to their departure.

Dead roses in my room, a love that died too soon
The person has dead roses in their room and reflects on a love that ended too soon.

Sanity turned Insane, I hang myself in a picture frame
The person has lost their sanity and feels trapped, so they make a morbid analogy of hanging themselves in a picture frame.

I'm so tired, let me sleep
The person is exhausted and wants to rest.

I'm counting demons...
The person continues to hallucinate demons and may be keeping track of how many they see.

Oh doctor kill the pain, oh doctor kill the pain
The person repeats their plea for a doctor to kill their pain and help them escape their insanity.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LARS CHRISTENSEN, JEPPE WESSBERG CHRISTENSEN, MORTEN TOFT HANSEN, JESPER TILSTED, JESPER MEINBY KVIST, LARS VOGNSTRUP

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS