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.
Return Of The Vampire
Mercyful Fate Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The birth of a vampire
Fresh in his lair
Spreading the veil
He'll spread his wings
Leaving at sunset
Fly high and low
Back before sun's glow
Leaving his liar or (Leave now he's come)
Sucking your blood through your veins or (I can't go back to that place)
Return of the vampire
Leaving his liar
Sucking your blood through your veins
There's only one way you can stop him
You gotta trace the vampire to his liar, oh yeah
And then you gotta drive the stake
Right through the heart of the living dead, oh yeah
Oh I can feel you living again
Vampire I'm losing control
Vampire just give me your cloak
Vampire I'm losing control
Vampire just give me your cloak
The lyrics to Mercyful Fate's song Return Of The Vampire describe the birth of a vampire and its subsequent attacks on its victims. The vampire is described as leaving its lair at sunset, spreading its wings, and flying high and low until it returns before the sun's glow. The chorus repeats the phrase "return of the vampire" and warns that the vampire will suck the blood from its victims' veins, and the only way to stop it is to trace it back to its lair and drive a stake through its heart.
The lyrics suggest the classic trope of a vampire story. The vampire is portrayed as a mythical creature that only comes out during the night and possesses supernatural powers, such as the ability to fly. It also reveals the traditional weakness of vampires: they can only be killed by driving a stake through their hearts. The vampire is depicted as a deadly predator, "sucking your blood through your veins," which represents the desire of the vampire to control and dominate its prey. The lyrics also suggest that the vampire offers immortality to its victims, which is something that humans might crave but ultimately regret.
Line by Line Meaning
And so I saw it
I witnessed something significant
The birth of a vampire
The emergence of a new undead being
Fresh in his lair
Newly established in his dwelling place
Spreading the veil
Covering his tracks and hiding his true intentions
He'll spread his wings
Moving on to new territories
Leaving at sunset
Departing as the sun goes down
Fly high and low
Ranging far and wide in search of prey
Back before sun's glow
Returning to his lair before sunrise
Return of the vampire
The vampire has come back
Leaving his liar
Abandoning his dwelling place
Sucking your blood through your veins
Feeding on the life force of his victim
There's only one way you can stop him
There is only one method to defeat him
You gotta trace the vampire to his liar, oh yeah
You must track down where the vampire lives
And then you gotta drive the stake
You must impale him with a wooden stake
Right through the heart of the living dead, oh yeah
The stake has to be driven into his chest
Oh I can feel you living again
The vampire has been defeated and the victim has been freed
Vampire I'm losing control
There is a threat of being turned into a vampire
Vampire just give me your cloak
Asking the vampire for protection from other vampires
Vampire I'm losing control
The threat of being turned into a vampire remains
Vampire just give me your cloak
The plea for protection is repeated
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: HANK SHERMANN, KIM BENDIX PETERSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Frank-qi3ce
I just can't get enough of A Corpse Without Soul. Long Live The KING!!!!!!
@LuisDHern
I loved this album when it came out and I still do today. Ordered the Vinyl and CD versions 🤘🏽
@adrianocassolidasilva5329
King Diamond a living legend!!!
@tymjepsen373
Denner and sherman
@pollotron7617
666.mercy.
@chumboheavymetalband
The best of all times, Mercyful Fate of the roots, our favorite band.
@zacherynoland8395
Every second of this still holds up!
@rono6699
You are exactly right!
@mark_beastpriest5539
Early Mercyful Fate is unbeatable! This album, Nuns have no Fun, Melissa, Don't Break the Oath and The Beginning are all must haves!
@jobdeon
Amazing!!! Rough sound.....i like it a lot