Mercyful Fate简介
Country of origin: Denmark
Location: Copenhagen, Hovedstaden (early); Denmark / United States / Sweden (later)
Formed in: 1981
Genre: Heavy Metal
Themes: Satanism (early); Evil, Horror, Occultism, Death, Literature
Current label: Metal Blade Records
Years active: 1981-1985, 1993-1999, 2008, 2011, 2019-present
Mercyful Fate was formed in Spring 1981 in Copenhagen, Denmark from the ashes of the punk/metal band Brats by vocalist King Diamond (King Diamond, ex-Black Rose) and guitarist Hank Shermann. After going through some line-up changes (see the liner notes in Return of the Vampire for more info) the 'classic' line-up was born with the addition of guitarist Michael Denner (also formerly of Brats) and bassist Timi "Grabber" Hansen (the two were members of a band/project called Danger Zone at the time. King and Hank used to help them) as well as drummer Kim Ruzz, who quickly replaced Old Nick (Danger Zone's drummer).
The band put out three releases - the self-titled EP (nicknamed Nuns Have No Fun), Melissa and Don't Break the Oath - which cemented their status in the metal underground and the emerging black metal scene.
In 1985, citing musical differences, the band split up. Shermann apparently was tired of the Satanic content and wanted to move on to a more accessible hard rock sound. He did precisely that with the next band he formed, Fate, while King Diamond, Michael Denner, and Timi Hansen moved on to create a band of their own, simply called King Diamond.
1987 sees the release of The Beginning, a posthumous LP containing the out-of-print debut EP along with some other rare recordings. The rest of the '80s is marked by continuing success for King Diamond while Fate (Dnk) flops badly, which prompts Shermann to leave. After Denner quits King Diamond, the two form Zoser Mez together.
1980年，来自丹麦的MERCYFUL FATE以其独一无二的邪恶、黑暗的音乐氛围吸引了当时地下重金属音乐界的关注，而正是从那时起，乐队开始了自己传奇的音乐生涯。乐队最初是由King Diamond发起的，在阵容稳定下来之前，曾有两到三个吉他手和不同的鼓手、贝司手与Diamond合作过，并曾经录制了一些小样。阵容相对稳定后，乐队又创作了一些歌曲。
History
Formation and first releases (1981–1985)Mercyful Fate was originally formed in Copenhagen in the spring of 1981,[15] following the dissolution of the band Brats.[16] Brats were a punk/metal band, featuring future Mercyful Fate members, vocalist King Diamond, and guitarists Hank Shermann and Michael Denner.[17] After two studio albums and several line-up changes (including the addition of Diamond and the departure of Denner), Diamond and Shermann began writing new material that was much heavier than any of Brats' previous work.[17] The band's record label CBS was not pleased with the material, and demanded they stop singing in English and become more commercial.[17] As a result, Diamond and Shermann quit the group and went on to form Mercyful Fate.[17] Former Rock Nalle bassist Ole Beich (later of L.A. Guns and Guns N' Roses) briefly joined the band around this time.[18] After several line-up changes and semi-professional demo tapes, Mercyful Fate released their self-titled EP in 1982.[19][20] This line-up, consisting of King Diamond, Hank Shermann, bassist Timi Hansen, drummer Kim Ruzz and guitarist Michael Denner,[21] would go on to record the group's first two studio albums.[citation needed]In July 1983, Mercyful Fate recorded their debut album at Easy Sound Recording, in Copenhagen, Denmark.[22] Entitled Melissa, the album was produced by Henrik Lund and released on October 30, 1983 through Roadrunner Records.[22] Melissa has been referred to as "one of the first records to start to develop an 'extreme metal' sound" and was major influence on the then-emerging thrash metal, death metal and black metal genres.[23] The character of Melissa, a witch who was burned at the stake, appears for the first time on the eponymous debut album and intermittently throughout the band's later work.[24] One of the album's tracks, "Into the Coven", received particular attention two years later, when it was listed by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) as one of their "Filthy Fifteen" songs due to its perceived occult content.[12] King Diamond was, in reality, interested in LaVeyan Satanism, which he called "a life philosophy" and stated that it had nothing to do with the Devil of Abrahamic religions.[25] After a number of concerts around Denmark, Mercyful Fate entered the studio in May 1984 to record their second studio album Don't Break the Oath, which was released on September 7, 1984.[26] During the album's supporting tour, the band played the US for two months and made festival appearances in Germany.[27] Despite winning a cult following around the world, Mercyful Fate broke up in April 1985, due to musical differences.[16][27][28] Guitarist Hank Shermann wanted the band to move to a more commercial sound;[16] King Diamond refused and announced his departure from Mercyful Fate, which led to the band breaking up.[27]After disbanding (1985–1992)After Mercyful Fate broke up in 1985, King Diamond, along with Michael Denner and Timi Hansen, formed the eponymous King Diamond band.[29][27][28] Both Denner and Hansen stayed with the group until 1987's Abigail, after which both left King Diamond.[30] They were replaced by Mike Moon and Hal Patino, respectively, and King Diamond continued releasing albums even after Mercyful Fate had reformed.[30] After leaving King Diamond, Michael Denner opened up a recordshop in Copenhagen, until 1988, when he formed the band Lavina (which would later become Zoser Mez), along with former bandmate Hank Shermann.[30][31][better source needed] Hank Shermann had formed the hard rock band Fate in 1985, after having left Mercyful Fate.[32] With Fate, Shermann released two albums: 1985's Fate and 1986's A Matter of Attitude.[32] After leaving the band, Shermann joined-up with Michael Denner to form Lavina.[32]During the time Mercyful Fate were disbanded, Roadrunner Records released three Mercyful Fate compilation albums. The Beginning was released on June 24, 1987, and featured material from the band's 1982 self-titled EP, as well as rare live and studio recordings.[33] On May 12, 1992, Return of the Vampire was released, which was another compilation of rare studio recordings.[34] On October 6, 1992, Roadrunner Records released A Dangerous Meeting, a greatest hits album under the King Diamond name, featuring material from both Mercyful Fate and King Diamond.[35]Reunion (1992–1999)In 1992, King Diamond, Hank Shermann, Michael Denner and Timi Hansen reunited to reform Mercyful Fate (drummer Kim Ruzz was replaced by Morten Nielsen).[20] The result was the band's third album In the Shadows, which was released on June 22, 1993 through Metal Blade Records.[36] The album also featured a guest appearance by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich (a fellow Dane) on the track "Return of the Vampire".[36] For the album's supporting tour, Morten Nielsen was replaced by King Diamond drummer Snowy Shaw, due to a knee injury Nielsen had sustained.[20] Bassist Timi Hansen was also replaced by Sharlee D'Angelo, as Hansen did not want to take part in touring.[20][37][better source needed] On June 27, 1994, the band released The Bell Witch, an EP of live tracks, as well as studio recordings from In the Shadows.[38]On October 25, 1994, Mercyful Fate released its fourth album Time, which was recorded and mixed at the Dallas Sound Lab during May–August 1994.[39] After the album's release, drummer Snowy Shaw was replaced by Bjarne T. Holm for the Time Tour.[20] Holm had originally been asked to join Mercyful Fate back in 1981, but had declined due to prior commitments.[20] The band spent January through February 1996 recording and mixing their next album Into the Unknown, which was released on August 20, 1996.[40] After the album's release, guitarist Michael Denner left the band and was replaced by Mike Wead.[20] In October 1997, Mercyful Fate began recording its sixth album Dead Again at the Nomad Recording Studio in Carrollton, Texas.[41] Dead Again was released on June 9, 1998.[41] In February 1999, Mercyful Fate began recording its seventh studio album 9, which was released on June 15, 1999.[42]Hiatus and sporadic reunions (1999–2018)After the supporting tour for 9, Mercyful Fate was put on hiatus. King Diamond focused on his eponymous band, along with guitarist Mike Wead, who joined the group during the European House of God tour.[30] Hank Shermann and Bjarne T. Holm reunited with Michael Denner to form Force of Evil, while Sharlee D'Angelo joined the band Arch Enemy.[43] When asked about the current state of the band in 2008, Diamond stated that Mercyful Fate is currently "hibernating", and that "it's definitely not finished, at least in my book."[44] In August 2008, King Diamond was asked by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich if Mercyful Fate would be willing to participate in Activision's Guitar Hero: Metallica video game.[45] Ulrich requested the original masters for two of the band's songs, so they could be used in the game.[45] Unable to locate them, Diamond suggested to Activision the band re-record the songs, and as a result, King Diamond, Hank Shermann, Michael Denner, Timi Hansen and Bjarne T. Holm reunited to re-record the songs "Evil" and "Curse of the Pharaohs".[45] King Diamond was also made into a playable character in the game.On December 7, 2011, King Diamond, Hank Shermann, Michael Denner and Timi Hansen reunited onstage at Metallica's 30th Anniversary concert, at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California, where they, alongside Metallica, performed the latter's "Mercyful Fate" medley from Garage Inc.[46]On January 28, 2017, the original line-up of Mercyful Fate (minus Diamond) reunited to receive the Pioneer Prize at the Steppeulven ceremony by the Danish Association of Music Critics at the Bremen Teater in Copenhagen. This marks the first time drummer Ruzz appeared with the band after the 1985 split.[47]Full-time reunion (2019–present)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;[48] Vera then became their full-time bass player after Hansen died on November 4, 2019, shortly after his 61st birthday.[49] 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.[51] 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".On January 16, 2024, Mercyful Fate announced that they had "mutually decided to split ways" with Vera.[54] Three days later, it was announced Becky Baldwin was the new bassist of the band, who filled in for Vera during the band's 2022 tour.[55] In the following month, Baldwin stated that the new Mercyful Fate album is not expected to be released before 2025, due to King Diamond's focus on his namesake band's upcoming thirteenth studio album The Institute.[56]
Style and legacy
Mercyful Fate were a part of the first wave of black metal, along with other groups, such as Venom, Bathory, and Hellhammer.[57] Many of these groups helped establish the style upon which future black metal artists would later build.[57] Unlike the other first-wave bands, typical elements of Mercyful Fate's style are influences from progressive rock,[58] epic 1970s hard rock,[19] and traditional heavy metal. As many of the band's songs featured lyrics about Satanism and the occult[11][59] and King Diamond was among the first black metal musicians to use the now famous corpse paint,[60] Mercyful Fate was a pioneer in developing black metal,[11][59] although their musical style was not as much an influence as that of other first wave bands.[19] The band has also been cited as an influence on or inspiration to bands of the then-emerging death metal genre, including Death,[61] Morbid Angel,[62] Obituary[63] and Cannibal Corpse.[64]Mercyful Fate have been cited as a formative influence on the 1980s thrash metal scene, including two-fourths of the genre's "big four" – Metallica and Slayer. Other thrash metal bands that have cited the band as an influence or inspiration to them include Testament,[66] Exodus[67] and Kreator.[68] Slayer guitarist Kerry King has stated that he and then-guitarist Jeff Hanneman were big fans of Mercyful Fate and cited them as influence on their second album Hell Awaits.[7][69][better source needed] Metallica recorded a medley of Mercyful Fate songs on their 1998 covers album Garage Inc.. Since then, the band has performed the song various times live with several members of Mercyful Fate.[46][70][better source needed][71] Lars Ulrich from Metallica has said in about 2008: "Mercyful Fate has made two of the best heavy rock records ever. We have been friends with them for 23 years. The first time I ever played on some other record was with them – I was in Dallas to make Return of the Vampire in 1992. They have been a very, very big inspiration for our sound."[72]
Band members
Current line-upKing Diamond – lead vocals, keyboards (1981–1985, 1992–1999, 2008, 2011, 2019–present)[20]Hank Shermann – guitars (1981–1985, 1992–1999, 2008, 2011, 2019–present)[20]Bjarne T. Holm – drums (1994–1999, 2008, 2019–present)[20]Mike Wead – guitars (1996–1999, 2019–present)[20]Becky Baldwin – bass (2024–present; touring 2022)Former membersTimi Hansen – bass (1981–1985, 1992–1993, 2008, 2011, 2019; died 2019)Carsten Van Der Volsing – guitars (1981)[20]Ole Beich – bass (1981; died 1991)Ole Frausing – drums (1981)Jan Lindblad – drums (1981)[34]Nick Smith – drums (1981)[20]Kim Ruzz – drums (1981–1985)[20]Benny Petersen – guitars (1981-1982)[20]Michael Denner – guitars (1982–1985, 1992–1996, 2008, 2011)[20]Sharlee D'Angelo – bass (1993–1999)[20]Morten Nielsen – drums (1992–1993)[20]Snowy Shaw – drums (1993–1994)[20]Joey Vera – bass (2019–2024)BIOMercyful Fate was formed in Spring 1981 in Copenhagen, Denmark from the ashes of the punk/metal band Brats by vocalist King Diamond (King Diamond, ex-Black Rose) and guitarist Hank Shermann. After going through some line-up changes (see the liner notes in Return of the Vampire for more info) the 'classic' line-up was born with the addition of guitarist Michael Denner (also formerly of Brats) and bassist Timi "Grabber" Hansen (the two were members of a band/project called Danger Zone at the time. King and Hank used to help them) as well as drummer Kim Ruzz, who quickly replaced Old Nick (Danger Zone's drummer).The band put out three releases - the self-titled EP (nicknamed Nuns Have No Fun), Melissa and Don't Break the Oath - which cemented their status in the metal underground and the emerging black metal scene.In 1985, citing musical differences, the band split up. Shermann apparently was tired of the Satanic content and wanted to move on to a more accessible hard rock sound. He did precisely that with the next band he formed, Fate, while King Diamond, Michael Denner, and Timi Hansen moved on to create a band of their own, simply called King Diamond.1987 sees the release of The Beginning, a posthumous LP containing the out-of-print debut EP along with some other rare recordings. The rest of the '80s is marked by continuing success for King Diamond while Fate (Dnk) flops badly, which prompts Shermann to leave. After Denner quits King Diamond, the two form Zoser Mez together.In 1992, Return of the Vampire is released and contains early unreleased tracks compiled by King. Soon after this, King comes across the Zoser Mez recordings and is impressed by how close Michael and Hank have managed to come to the original Mercyful Fate sound. This leads to a much-celebrated reunion, the full-length In the Shadows and The Bell Witch EP.The band continued to record and tour throughout the '90s with some line-up changes (original member Denner has left the band again), in-between King Diamond recordings and tours and the other obligations of different members.In a March 2008 interview, King Diamond said that Mercyful Fate had not broken up just yet, but was only "hibernating". He admitted that the band was "definitely not finished, at least in my book."A reunion was announced in late 2019. At first, the band was supposed to play a reunion tour with Timi Hansen on bass. However, due to Timi Hansen's health problems, Joey Vera was announced as a live replacement. After Timi Hansen passed away on November 4th, 2019, Joey Vera was ultimately made an official member without playing any shows prior to becoming an official member.Shermann and Denner later formed a new band, Force of Evil, which also featured Bjarne Holm, Hal Patino, and Martin Steene. These days they record as Denner / Shermann.Mercyful Fate re-recorded "Evil" and "Curse of the Pharaohs" for the video game Guitar Hero: Metallica in 2009. The re-recordings featured a line-up of King Diamond, Michael Denner, Hank Shermann, Timi Hansen, and Bjarne Holm.(Extracted in part from the bio at the Mercyful Fate Coven).In 2017, Mercyful Fate was honored at the annual Steppeulven Awards, where the received the "Pioneer Prize" (Pionerprisen in Danish). Steppeulven is an annual award show established by Foreningen Af Danske Musikkritikere (Association Of Danish Music Critics). The award show is named after the Danish rock band, Steppeulvene. Hank Shermann uploaded a video of the band receiving the award.They've performed new original material during their 2022 tour.Their song "Black Funeral" features in the 2019 film "We Summon the Darkness".
