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.
Sold My Soul
Mercyful Fate Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I, I sold my soul
I sold my soul, and I sold yours too
"To the Devil we're due"
Ohhh, I sold my soul
That night was the darkest of all
That night I sold my soul to you, to the Devil his due
I sold my soul
No point in turning around, just live with the fear
That night was the darkest of all
That night I sold my soul to you
To the Devil his due
So many angels were falling from the sky
So many angels would have to die,
A black candle in my hand, a pact between God and man
Oh your Majesty, this time I have to know
I sold my soul to you, I sold my soul to the Devil his due
I, I sold my soul
I sold my soul, and I sold yours too
"To the Devil we're due"
That night was the darkest of all
That night I sold my soul to you, to the Devil his due
No point in turning around, there's no way out of here, no!
No point in turning around, just live with the fear
That night was the darkest of all
That night I sold my soul to you
To the Devil his due
So many angels were falling from the sky
So many angels would have to die,
The lyrics of "Sold My Soul" by Mercyful Fate tell a story of someone who has made a deal with the Devil. The person has sold their soul to the Devil, and has done so knowingly, without concern for the consequences. The act of selling one's soul to the Devil is often viewed as the ultimate sin, a complete surrender of oneself to darkness and evil. This is reflected in the lyrics, with the line "That night was the darkest of all" conveying the sense of complete hopelessness and despair.
The repetition of the line "To the Devil we're due" also reinforces the idea that the person who has sold their soul is forever bound to the darkness, unable to escape their fate. The lyrics suggest that the person is aware of the inevitability of their situation, but is resigned to it, accepting that they have no choice but to live with the fear and uncertainty that comes with their deal.
Furthermore, there is a sense of sacrifice in the lyrics, with the line "So many angels were falling from the sky, so many angels would have to die" suggesting that the person has given up something of great value in exchange for whatever they believe the Devil can give them. The line "A black candle in my hand, a pact between God and man" also implies that the person has made a conscious decision to give up their connection to God in order to gain something else.
Overall, the lyrics of "Sold My Soul" paint a picture of a person who has made a deal with the Devil, and who knows that they are forever bound to darkness and evil because of it. The lyrics convey a sense of hopelessness and despair, reflecting the consequences of such an act.
Line by Line Meaning
I sold my soul to you, I sold my soul to the Devil his due
I made a deal with the devil, giving him my soul in exchange for something.
I, I sold my soul
I have given up my soul to the devil.
I sold my soul, and I sold yours too
I have not only given up my soul, but also made a deal on your behalf, selling your soul to the devil.
"To the Devil we're due"
We now belong to the devil, and he will claim us as his own in due time.
That night was the darkest of all
The night of my deal with the devil was the darkest, most evil night of my life.
That night I sold my soul to you, to the Devil his due
On that darkest night, I gave up my soul to the devil, as agreed.
No point in turning around, there's no way out of here, no!
There is no escape from the consequences of my deal with the devil, so it's futile to try to turn back now.
No point in turning around, just live with the fear
It's best to just accept my fate and live with the fear of what's to come.
So many angels were falling from the sky
The repercussions of my deal with the devil have caused many innocent beings to suffer.
So many angels would have to die
As a result of my deal, many angels would be condemned to die.
A black candle in my hand, a pact between God and man
The deal with the devil was solidified by a pact between myself and him, representing God and man respectively.
Oh your Majesty, this time I have to know
I address the devil as a royal figure, indicating my resignation to his power.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Fintage House Publishing
Written by: KIM BENDIX PETERSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ben - Moderator
on A Dangerous Meeting
Hi Chris, There were 2 interviews in particular which suggested this. (Unfortunately both the references below have since been taken down so the links below are broken)
Firstly in an interview with Loudwire, King Diamond discussed the inspiration behind "A Dangerous Meeting" and stated, "It's a song about a meeting that happened in Denmark, where I'm from, with some people who were into the darker side of things. They had a lot of things with them that I didn't want to have anything to do with. They had skulls, and there was a snake there, and all kinds of stuff that really freaked me out."
Loudwire - "King Diamond Talks Paranormal, Mysterious Fires + New Album 'The Institute'" (February 6, 2020)
https://loudwire.com/king-diamond-the-institute-album-interview/
Secondly in an interview with Metal Hammer, King Diamond stated that the lyrics to "A Dangerous Meeting" were based on his personal experiences, saying, "I have seen things that are unexplainable, and there's no way that science can prove some of the things that I have seen. It's just unexplainable. It's a very, very small percentage of the population that gets to see these things, and it's been with me since I was a child."
Metal Hammer - "King Diamond: The Real Story Behind 'Abigail'" (October 24, 2017)
https://www.loudersound.com/features/king-diamond-the-real-story-behind-abigail
Let me know if I've misunderstood what you've said or if you still think the above information is misleading.
Chris
on A Dangerous Meeting
I'd like to request a fact check on the above information.
"The lyrics to "A Dangerous Meeting" are based on King Diamond's experiences with the occult and paranormal."
King Diamond has actually said that the songs he wrote for Mercyful Fate are myths and legends, and that if anything the stuff he's written is more based on folktales and myths and that King Diamond the band is more based on personal experiences with the occult (though there are exceptions like Nightmare)