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.
Mandrake
Mercyful Fate Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One of the three fares, when a man's time has come
You look so human, so different from any other plant
You look so human, that the Devil might take you for a man
White Mandragora, with your root so thick you are the male
Black as the night on the outside, inside you're like a moon
You look so human, so different from any other plant
You look so human, that the Devil might take you for a man
Your leaves spread out, so close to the ground
Mandrake root, your berries are just like the sun
Mandrake root, as a female your root will forked
Your juice has been known, to take away lives
Cause insanity, am I losing my mind?
In the olden days it was believed
That in the dark of night, you had to
Tie a string from the neck of a
Black dog to the Mandrake root, then move away, move away
And with meat you must lure the dog
To pull the Mandrake root from the ground
Cover your eyes, cause the cry of the Mandrake root
No man has ever survived, the dog will surely die
Poisonous Mandrake, you dangerous root
One of the three fares, when a man's time has come
You look so human, so different from any other plant
You look so human, that the Devil might take you for a man
Your leaves spread out, so close to the ground
Mandrake root, your berries are just like the sun
Mandrake root, as a female your root will be forked
Your juice has been known, to take easy lives
Cause insanity, am I losing my mind?
Mandrake root, bring me your poisonous love
Mandrake root, I need you to bring me that love
Mandrake root, Mandrake root bring me love
Mandrake root, bring me that poisonous thing
That everyone is calling love
The song "Mandrake" by Mercyful Fate describes the poisonous root known as the mandrake and the mystical beliefs surrounding it. The song begins by referring to the danger of the plant, stating that it is one of the three fares, or causes of death, when a man's time has come. Despite its danger, the mandrake root looks very human, making it easy to mistake it for a person.
The lyrics go on to describe the two types of mandrake: the white mandragora and the black mandrake. The white mandrake is described as having a thick root and being male, while the black mandrake is dark on the outside and bright on the inside, like a moon. The mandrake is also said to have leaves that spread out close to the ground and berries that are like the sun. Females of the mandrake are described as having forked roots, and the juice of the mandrake is known to cause insanity and death.
The song also references the old belief that in order to harvest a mandrake, one must tie a string to the neck of a black dog, lure the dog away with meat, and let the dog pull the mandrake from the ground. The "cry" of the mandrake when it is uprooted is said to be so powerful that no man can survive it and the dog will surely die. Despite the danger, the singer asks the mandrake root to bring him its "poisonous love," which he refers to as a "poisonous thing that everyone is calling love."
Line by Line Meaning
Poisonous Mandrake, you dangerous root
Mandrake is a very poisonous and dangerous root.
One of the three fares, when a man's time has come
According to legend, Mandrake is one of the three plants that grow at the gates of Hell and blooms only for the devil himself. It would signify when a man's time has come.
You look so human, so different from any other plant
Mandrake appears to be human, unlike any other plant. The Devil himself might mistake it for a living person.
White Mandragora, with your root so thick you are the male
Mandrake has a thick root which appears like a male. Named White Mandragora because it is found in areas with relatively low sunlight.
Black as the night on the outside, inside you're like a moon
Mandrake appears black on the outside, but the inside is bright like the moon.
Your leaves spread out, so close to the ground
The leaves of a Mandrake plant spread out and grow close to the ground.
Mandrake root, your berries are just like the sun
Mandrake berries are bright and yellow like the sun.
Mandrake root, as a female your root will forked
The female Mandrake root has a forked root.
Your juice has been known, to take away lives
The juice of Mandrake roots is extremely poisonous and has been known to take lives.
Cause insanity, am I losing my mind?
Mandrake has been known to cause insanity in those who consume it, causing them to lose their minds.
In the olden days it was believed
In ancient times, it was believed...
That in the dark of night, you had to
It was believed that during the night you should...
Tie a string from the neck of a
Attach a rope to the neck of a...
Black dog to the Mandrake root, then move away, move away
Tie the rope to the Mandrake root and then the person should move away from the area.
And with meat you must lure the dog
The person should then lure the dog with meat.
To pull the Mandrake root from the ground
The dog, once eating the meat from the ground, would pull up the Mandrake root.
Cover your eyes, cause the cry of the Mandrake root
The scream of Mandrake when being uprooted was believed to cause death or illness, so people would cover their ears.
No man has ever survived, the dog will surely die
It was believed that no one had ever survived the uprooting of a Mandrake and that the dog would definitely die from the scream.
Mandrake root, bring me your poisonous love
The singer is asking Mandrake root to bring its poisonous love.
I need you to bring me that love
The artist is expressing their need for that poisonous love.
Mandrake root, Mandrake root bring me love
The artist continues to ask Mandrake root to bring them love.
Mandrake root, bring me that poisonous thing
The artist is referring to the root's poisonous love as 'that poisonous thing'.
That everyone is calling love
The singer acknowledges that others refer to the poisonous love as 'love'.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Fintage House Publishing
Written by: KIM BENDIX PETERSEN, HANK SHERMANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dead Riot Party-Live
Second solo of Mike Wead is wonderful
Louis Csanko
SHERMANN// WEAD// LAROQUE// DENNER//LOVE THEM ALL!!!!
M͎e͎t͎a͎l͎u͎n͎a͎
the most underrated and least talked about album
Cronos War
Brutal temazo
MSB 1791
AWESOME!!!!
𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗮 𝗠
Great song, no doubt!
Michaelslayer1
the solo is amazing
Don McGlothlin
Mike Wead's first album with King, underrated big time. Although not the best MF album (opinion of course) there is no such thing as a bad album from KD or MF. And since I consider this the weakest MF album (and way better than most bands best albums btw) this proves that even on his worst day the king always delivers.
Bruce Dureault Jr
I don't know about amazing solo's sorry. But that song rules. I always love finding a song I never heard from them. Doesn't happen often, too cool!!!
𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗮 𝗠
In album isn't exactly none bad songs in, in this age this album sound even better than ever, so is my opinion, all songs are pearl and my definitely favorite song is, Crossroads, it's even better than all other Mercyful fate songs, Crossroads is fucking killer song, still!