The Oath can’t be broken: The legacy of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond

While we are waiting for the Mercyful Fate reunion in 2020 and a new King Diamond album after 12 years, we are diving where history and legacy meet, exploring the story and the aspects that led Mercyful Fate and King Diamond to the status they have today. 

by Andreas Andreou

Brats, Brainstorm, Black Rose and Danger Zone are names and bands from Copenhagen, Denmark, that connected local musicians and led to the creation of Mercyful Fate. Mercyful Fate was formed by Hank Shermann (guitar) and King Diamond (vocals) in 1981 and Back To Hell was another name they had in mind before. During the same period, Michael Denner (guitar) wrote songs for Danger Zone, and Shermann with King Diamond were helping him. Eventually, Michael Denner with Timi Hansen (bass) and "Old" Nick Smith (drums) that played with Danger Zone, joined Shermann and King Diamond in Mercyful Fate, but Smith was soon replaced by Kim Ruzz, before any official release. And the story begins...

THE STORY

There were many demo recordings during 1981, and parts of them were kept or re-arranged and used in the official releases from 1982 and on, just as other early parts of previous bands the Mercyful Fate members were in. When Brian Slagel flew to Europe in late 1982 (with John Kornarens) looking for distribution and business plans for his new label, Metal Blade Records, he had with him copies of his Metal Massacre compilation and when he gave a copy of the vinyl to one of the persons he met, he got a demo tape from a new Danish band; Mercyful Fate. Brian was shocked and ten years later, this name will come again in his way… "Death Kiss", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Return of the Vampire", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "Burning the Cross", "On a Night of Full Moon", "You Asked for It", "Walking Back to Hell", are titles of few of those demo tracks and most of them will appear officially in the compilation Return of the Vampire (1992).

Ebony Records from England, was the first label to approach Mercyful Fate and the song "Black Funeral" was recorded and included in the compilation Metallic Storm of 1982, while almost all of the other bands of this compilation never managed to release a full-length album. Later in 1982, the first official release of the band was Mercyful Fate (aka Nuns Have No Fun) that was released as a 12” EP on Rave-On Records, including the songs "A Corpse Without Soul", "Nuns Have No Fun", "Doomed by the Living Dead" and "Devil Eyes", and was recorded within few days. In 1983, Mercyful Fate joined Roadrunner Records and the first full-length album Melissa was recorded in July and was released later that year, with all music credited to Hank Shermann and lyrics to King Diamond. The band had all songs ready before entering studio and took them less than 2 weeks to complete recordings but they weren’t really satisfied with the procedure, something that changed with the second album, Don’t Break the Oath, that was recorded in May 1984. While King Diamond was always the sole lyricist, music on the second album wasn’t solely written by Shermann, as it was on Melissa. Don’t Break the Oath had more variety, since Denner contributed in 3 songs, and there are 2 songs completely written by King Diamond ("The Oath", "Come to the Sabbath").

( LET'S BRING SATAN INTO THE HOUSE )

At that time, during early ‘80s, music genres and how someone would characterize a band (mainly press, journalists and how labels would promote their bands, even bands themselves), is a subject to study. Decades later, many people would disagree since few of the terms used back then have been evolved to sub-genres, or today they mean something different, but at that time, they really weren’t out of place. For example Mercyful Fate was also mentioned as a black metal act and that was mainly because of the Satanic lyrics, the general concept and the appearance of King Diamond. Black Metal was firstly introduced to us as a term, thanks to Black Metal (1982), the second album of Venom, and somehow, bands like Venom, Mercyful Fate and Bathory (the key act) are considered as the first wave of black metal, while in the second one (late ‘80s – mainly early ‘90s) we have the essence of the genre that over the years is evolved and transformed. I always keep saying that it is important for every writer and music journalist to understand that every age needs to be approached differently and according to its facts - aspects and how people were viewing music at that time. 

During the early '80s, what Mercyful Fate did, was extreme and disturbing for many people. King Diamond talked openly in interviews about his devotion to the Church of Satan led by Anton La Vey. At the same time, Mercyful Fate sounded (and looked) as something new and unique. Those complex arrangements with memorable melodies, the songwriting, the performance and King's vocals, created an innovative sound that needed many years to be recognized.

While there are around 20 known Mercyful Fate live shows until the end of 1983, from the beginning of 1984 the band was very active and performed around 50 live shows in Denmark, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Belgium and one show in the United Kingdom, since the support UK tour with Manowar was cancelled for reasons that create those cool stories and myths over history…

More important though, Don’t Break the Oath was also released in the United States by Combat and Mercyful Fate managed to spend the last months from 1984 touring in North America, sharing the stage with bands like Exciter and Motörhead. 

In early 1984, after supporting Venom live, Metallica went to the Sweet Silence Studios on Copenhagen, Denmark, to rehearse and complete the songs that became Ride the Lightning. In that studio, Mercyful Fate were also rehearsing and Metallica were inspired by them, thus a friendship was created and the Metallica element will appear again in the MF story...

In 1985, Shermann wanted the band to follow a different path with a hard rock, melodic and commercial sound but King Diamond refused, so Mercyful Fate broke up. Shermann formed Fate and King Diamond went on with the King Diamond band along with ex-Mercyful Fate members, Michael Denner and Timi Hansen, joined by Andy La Rocque (guitar) and Mikkey Dee (drums). In December 25th of 1985, No Presents for Christmas 12" single was released and two months later, King Diamond's debut album Fatal Portrait was released by Roadrunner Records, introducing to us a new path of theatrical horror and materialized King's musical vision. From that moment and on, King Diamond (the person) was always the leader, he had a clear vision and followed the direction he desired. Fatal Portrait is the bridge that connects the previous Mercyful Fate albums (since few songs were originally written for MF) with the next King Diamond releases, and the beginning of King’s concept horror stories, even if in this debut album, half of the songs are not part of the concept. All of the tracks were written by King, except "Charon", "Halloween" and "Haunted" that included Denner’s contribution, and also King Diamond started working with sound engineer Roberto Falcao, who was also a key person for the ‘80s KD albums.

Without missing a beat, King Diamond entered Sound Track Studio in Copenhagen and during December 1986 to February 1987, the album that by many is considered as the pinnacle of King's career, was recorded. Abigail was produced by King, assisted by Mikkey Dee and Michael Denner, engineered by Roberto Falcao, mixed by King, Andy La Rocque and Falcao, and nowadays, in terms of production and sound, even with all its reverb, it can be considered as a perfect '80s metal album. If I will try to stand out just three factors that make this album so great, these would be: songwriting, production, Mikkey Dee's performance. Everyone is in top form, but in this specific album, Mikkey nails it, something that was admitted over the years by the rest of the band.

Abigail, the first horror concept album, was a success and so was the tour that followed with nearly 70 live dates in the United States and Europe, until the end of 1987. King Diamond performs the most evil air guitar ever but guitarist Michael Denner didn't follow the band on the road and Michael Moon was brought in for the album's supporting tour. When touring was finished and King started to work on the follow-up album, Michael Denner and bassist Timi Hansen decided to leave the band and were replaced by Pete Blakk (guitar) and Hal Patino (bass). The story behind Hansen's departure, is that his wife threatened to leave him, if he would continue touring away from home. So, Hansen returned to his house and King Diamond recorded the third album, about another house, Amon... King decided that he will be doing only concept horror stories from that point and "Them" was the new album, written by King Diamond (except music on 3 tracks that were written by La Rocque), produced and mixed by King Diamond & Roberto Falcao, and released in July of 1988. The rest of the year, the band toured only in the United States with more than 50 shows but after that tour, Mikkey Dee left King Diamond.

Conspiracy was the first King Diamond album that was recorded in the United States and was produced by Roberto Falcao, King Diamond and Andy La Rocque, while Chris Tsangarides produced the guitar solos and mixed the album along with King Diamond and Roberto Falcao. Falcao also played keyboards (while he was arranging keyboard effects on the previous album) and the funny story is that his real name is Roberto Johansson and he was using "Falcao" in honor of Brazilian football legend Paulo Roberto Falcão, since he was born in Brazil of Danish parents and came to Denmark at the age of 9.

This time, Andy La Rocque wrote music for 5 tracks and Mikkey Dee returned as a session musician to record drums for the album and it is rumoured that he recorded his parts in one take... Snowy Shaw was hired as the drummer and went on tour with the band. During the Conspiracy Tour, King Diamond returned to Europe and performed around 50 shows. In March of 1990 the tour was finished and the band entered Sweet Silence Studio in Copenhagen, during June to August 1990 to record the next album, The Eye, produced by Roberto Falcao, King Diamond and Andy La Rocque. The Eye is an overlooked album of King Diamond and his last album with Roadrunner Records. Touring is one of the most important things for King himself and after the release of the album, Roadrunner didn't offer the same promotion as before, and the worst thing is that they didn't offer tour support, so King Diamond never toured for The Eye...

Meanwhile, a year before, in 1989, Hank Shermann and Michael Denner joined forces and formed Zoser Mez. In 1991 the band released their only album, Vizier of Wasteland, with few guitar parts bringing in mind Mercyful Fate but something was missing... However, that was the spark for the Mercyful Fate reunion with King Diamond. In 1992, when King Diamond’s deal with Roadrunner ended, King took the business decision to move his operation from Denmark to Dallas, USA. While he was searching for a new record deal, Brian Slagel and Metal Blade came into the picture, ten years after Slagel was first introduced to the music of MF. While discussing the possibility to sign King Diamond they eventually ended with the comeback album of Mercyful Fate, In the Shadows. Shermann and Denner already were together in Zoser Mez, King Diamond had few songs that suited better to Mercyful Fate, Slagel wanted to sign Mercyful Fate and the circle is meeting again.  

In the Shadows was recorded during February-April 1993 with the line-up of King Diamond (vocals), Hank Shermann (guitars), Michael Denner (guitars) and Timi Hansen (bass), while drums were performed by Morten Nielsen, who also played in Zoser Mez. However, Nielsen just performed on the album and the reunion was introduced with Snowy Shaw on drums. King Diamond, besides all of the lyrics as usual (that remain in the horror field but not so satanic like the early years) wrote music for 4 songs, while Shermann wrote music for 3 songs and Denner for 2 of them. There was also a re-recorded version of "Return of the Vampire" with Lars Ulrich of Metallica on drums and in the future, Metallica will appear again in the story of Mercyful Fate.

While after the release of Mercyful Fate’s In the Shadows King Diamond had announced that he will start recording his new album The Spider’s Lullabye with Andy La Rocque, Mike Wead, Snowy Shaw and Sharlee D’Angelo, eventually another Mercyful Fate album was recorded in the summer of 1994 (Time) and Sharlee D’Angelo was already the bass player of MF because Hansen didn’t really liked touring, and touring was important for Mercyful Fate (especially King) since during 1993 they performed more than 40 shows in North America. However, the European shows of Mercyful Fate were very few compared with the ones in North America and took them until 1997 to have an extended European tour, mainly supporting King Diamond's band.   

After the recording of Mercyful Fate's Time, King Diamond's band entered The Dallas Sound Lab and recorded The Spider's Lullabye during September-October 1994 with the line-up: King Diamond (vocals), Andy La Rocque (guitars), Herb Simonsen (guitar), Chris Estes (bass), Darrin Anthony (drums). However, it took months for the album to be released - since Mercyful Fate already had an album out in 1994 - and finally it was released in June 1995 by Metal Blade Records in the United States and Massacre Records in Europe. The Spider's Lullabye is the first King Diamond studio full-release since his debut, that is not a concept album.

In the beginning of 1996, Mercyful Fate enter The Dallas Sound Lab to record Into the Unknown, that was produced by King Diamond and Tim Kimsey, as they also did for the previous Mercyful Fate album, but also King Diamond's The Spider's Lullabye. King wrote music for 5 songs of Into the Unknown, Shermann for 3 and Denner wrote music for 2 of them. The album was released in August of 1996 by Metal Blade Records and during August, both King Diamond and Mercyful Fate bands, performed 5 shows in South America where Mercyful Fate was the opening act for King Diamond, and one of them was for Monsters of Rock in Brazil.

During that time, Micheal Denner left Mercyful Fate and was replaced by Mike Wead. With the line-up of King Diamond, Hank Shermann, Mike Wead, Sharlee D’Angelo and Bjarne T. Holm on drums (who had already replaced Snowy Shaw after the recordings of Time), Mercyful Fate recorded two more albums, Dead Again (1998) and 9 (1999) but the band didn't seem to go anywhere at that period and went inactive after the 1999 European & North America tour of nearly 60 dates. King Diamond always sold more and always got better contracts than Mercyful Fate. There wasn't any official statement of broke-up so they were on hiatus, and it seems that King Diamond wanted to put all of his energy in his personal band, while he already had released two more albums until the end of '90s, The Graveyard (1996) and Voodoo (1998), plus touring.

Those last two King Diamond albums, had an insane concept and music was similar; Madness! Both of them were different than The Spider's Lullabye that sounded more "normal", even if few songs seemed that could also fit in Mercyful Fate. However, his next effort, House of God (2000) is one of his best horror stories and the line-up at that time was: King Diamond (vocals), Andy La Rocque (guitar), Glen Drover (guitar), David Harbour (bass), John Hebert (drums). After the appearence at Sweden Rock Festival, a tour of more than 60 dates in the United States and Europe followed and in the summer of 2001 King Diamond recorded the next album, Abigail II: The Return, with another line-up change and besides his partner-in-crime La Rocque, he finally brings Mike Wead (guitar) in his band, Hal Patino returns on bass duties and Matt Thompson is the drummer, but the band didn't manage to tour and support the album. It is said, that Metal Blade didn't have the funds to support the tour because of the illegal downloading, so at this point King Diamond re-negotiated his contract in order to get a guaranteed tour fund, even if he will get less of a recording budget but until an acceptable point so he will keep a high quality.

With the same line-up, the band recorded The Puppet Master that was released in 2003 and also features additional female vocals by Livia Zita, who is also King Diamond's wife, whose real name by the way, is Kim Bendix Petersen. After the tour and a live album (Deadly Lullabyes Live, 2004) that was recorded on the US tour supporting The Puppet Master, King Diamond returned in 2007 with his last - until now - studio album, Give Me Your Soul... Please. However, the scheduled tour was cancelled due to a herniated disc. On Monday the 29th of November 2010, King was rushed to the hospital and after different tests it was recommended by the doctors to get a cardiac catheterization. After this was done, it was determined that King had several heart attacks and three of his heart's arteries were the cause: one was completely blocked, the second was 90% blocked, and the third was 65% blocked. The only solution to this was an open-heart triple-bypass surgery. The surgery took approximately 7 hours and was successful. After that, King Diamond took a break from music and music business.

THE LEGACY

During the early ‘80s, Mercyful Fate was a unique band with a controversial presence in the metal scene. However, you can easily spot the influence of ‘70s Judas Priest in the early years, plus the dark vibe and diversity of Black Sabbath, or a touch of Michael Schenker and UFO, while King Diamond loves Uriah Heep and he has mentioned many times that David Byron is his all-time favourite singer. As far as the make-up, King has said, that Alice Cooper was an inspiration but it all started when he saw Peter Gabriel live with Genesis. The combination of King’s over-the-top vocals with the complex songwriting, the performance, the melody, the satanic lyrics and imagery, was something new and unique; innovative heavy metal. Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, are among those "special" bands, that their influence took many, many years to have an impact upon the metal world. Despite the fact that until the ‘90s there were many bands that cite them as inspiration, they never had the impact and direct influence like many other bands, upon newer musicians. However, they had an impact in more extreme sub-genres like black metal and there are even tribute albums for Mercyful Fate and King Diamond, and the most notable cover is the one Emperor did for "Gypsy".

Mercyful Fate and Kind Diamond didn't inspire generations of young people to grab an instrument and play music, just like some major acts of hard rock and heavy metal music. Mercyful Fate and King Diamond inspired thoughtful people and young musicians to play better heavy metal music.

Now, in 2019, there is a massive response regarding Mercyful Fate and King Diamond and there are reasons for this. Mercyful Fate released the last studio album in 1999 and went on hiatus, while King Diamond released his last studio album in 2007 and didn't perform live for the next years. Up to that point, they used to perform headline live shows in smaller venues than can you imagine; club shows. From the end of ‘00s and on (during King's absent), many new bands started releasing albums highly influenced by Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. In Solitude, Portrait, Trial, Attic, are just a few of them, and the Mercyful Fate name started appearing more often in the music industry for various reasons. It might look funny to some people, but even when Ghost released the debut album Ghost Eponymous in 2010, and later became a mainstream act, Mercyful Fate was mentioned as an inspiration – influence, even if many people can hardly locate music similarities. But the name "Mercyful Fate" was there, even if it was just in promo sheets, reviews and media. The name was there and kept appearing, something that didn’t happened in the past, except direct mentions to the artists themselves. But once fans won't have the artists active anymore in their lives, then they will realize that nothing is certain. You don't know if you will hear more new music from them or you might never see them live again. That loss will grow the demand and the value will be further recognized.

Just few months before Mercyful Fate release their last studio album 9, Metallica released Garage Days including the older The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited EP, various past covers, and of course new covers, recorded during September of 1998. Among those new covers from bands that inspired them, there was the 11-minute "Mercyful Fate (medley)" including parts of the MF songs "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven" and "Evil". That album, has been 5 x Platinum in the United States alone, meaning that it has sold more than 5.000.000 copies, only in the USA, until today. That means, few millions of houses have this album in their collection and listened to that "Mercyful Fate (medley)". And be sure that there are many of them that weren't familiar with the music of MF and learned them from that "medley". In December of 2011, Metallica performed few special celebration gigs including many guests and among them, they performed on December 7th, the "Mercyful Fate (medley)" with King Diamond, Hank Shermann, Michael Denner and Timi Hansen joining them on stage for first time since 1993. That Metallica element is an undeniable huge exposure for Mercyful Fate. That was also the first time King returned on stage since 2006 and one year after the open-heart triple-bypass surgery.

In the summer of 2012, King Diamond performed live at Sweden Rock festival and Hellfest, and from 2013 he keeps performing live with more success than ever. The Mercyful Fate and King Diamond catalogue have been reissued, a new fan-base is formed, even more new bands appear with direct influence from MF and KD, fame is growing and legacy is widely recognized. It is also noted from many people, that nowadays, King Diamond's live shows are even better than the '80s.

ALBUM RANKING

MERCYFUL FATE

1. Don't Break the Oath (1984)

2. Melissa (1983)

3. Mercyful Fate EP (aka Nuns Have No Fun) (1982)

4. Time (1994)

5. In the Shadows (1993)

6. Into the Unknown (1996)

7. Dead Again (1998)

8. 9 (1999)

KING DIAMOND

1. Abigail (1987)

2. Conspiracy (1989)

3. Them (1988)

4. Fatal Portrait (1986)

5. The Eye (1990)

6. House of God (2000)

7. The Puppet Master (2003)

8. The Graveyard (1996)

9. Voodoo (1998)

10. The Spider's Lullabye (1995)

11. Give Me Your Soul... Please (2007)

12. Abigail II: The Revenge (2002)

A TRIBUTE TO GUITAR INSANITY (and related madness)

Mike Wead is the guitarist of both King Diamond and Mercyful Fate, and he is one of those great Swedish guitarists and part of what I call "the Scandinavian metal style" that includes the likes of Hank Shermann, Michael Denner, Andy La Rocque, Simon Johansson and similar guitarists. Their style is European but not like the type of German power metal bands or the classic British heavy metal acts. You can find strong influences from the classic Judas Priest guitar duo of Glenn Tipton & K.K. Downing but it is different. That specific Scandinavian guitar metal style is very heavy, suitable for power metal bands (but not the US power metal bands or the Helloween-style bands), doom bands with power metal elements, it is technical and there are always many solo parts.

Mike Wead played guitar in the Memento Mori and Hexenhaus albums that are highly recommended, and he also shared the guitar parts with Simon Johansson at the same-titled album of Abstrakt Algebra. These bands alone, have strong personality and stray from similar styles of other countries. Memento Mori is a doom/power metal band, Abstrakt Algebra is also at the same style with stronger technical (or progressive, if you prefer) elements, while Hexenhaus kept the technical and power metal elements of the Memento Mori albums and evolved them to European tech thrash. The Swedish power metal scene is also something that should be looked differently from the US power metal and the rest power metal acts of Europe but that might be a different chapter to explore in the future.

In 1993, during King Diamond's involvement with Mercyful Fate, Andy La Rocque was invited by Chuck Schuldiner to perform guitar parts in the Death album Individual Thought Patterns. Hank Shermann and Michael Denner kept releasing music and even if sometimes each of them was involved with music that had no similarities with Mercyful Fate, there were also projects and bands they joined together, that were very close to Mercyful Fate, like Force of Evil (featuring also MF drummer Bjarne T. Holm and KD bassist Hal Patino) and most recently, Denner / Shermann.

( SATAN HAS LEFT THE BUILDING )

The reunited Mercyful Fate line-up for the upcoming 2020 shows will be: King Diamond (vocals), Hank Shermann (guitar), Mike Wead (guitar),  Bjarne T. Holm (drums) and Joey Vera (bass). While many fans were wondering why Michael Denner is not part of the reunion, few days after the annoucement, Denner said to Metalized magazine, "I was not asked to join, and was told only two days before it was public news. I think it's a pity for the fans of the original Mercyful Fate. Especially since I'm in the shape of my life right now". At the moment, Michael Denner is about to release music with his new band, Denner's Inferno.

The final question is: Where are we going to see Mercyful Fate in 2020?

Synthetic minds, editing and false data.

by Andreas Andreou

From RENEGADE's "Social Pressure" cover

The era of social media, information online, sites, wikipedia and editing is going mad. There are articles written on countless websites and some printed magazines, that are based only on random "google search", without serious research, knowledge and logical flow. Many of those "editors-writers", haven't even read interviews from the people involved in their articles and the editors' knowledge is based on online sites that after continuous editing, have annihilated part of history, the facts and the truth. Moreover, it seems that you can't have an exact online source anymore, since everyone, everywhere, is editing. 

Besides the wrong information, there are also cases of targeted misinformation. Most recently, you can read on Wikipedia about Neat Records, a paragraph mentioning: "After musician Conrad Lant began working at the studio in 1979, he convinced the studio to begin a label for rock and metal bands".

That "editing" and that "information" came to the attention of Steve Thompson, the house producer at Impulse at the time who helped set up Neat, became the A&R manager and produced many of the recordings. Steve Thompson posted on Facebook: "Conrad was just 16 and was on a youth employment scheme (ET) as a tape op. Lovely lad but that's a completely inaccurate statement. Nobody made a decision to make Neat a metal label. It just happened".

Over the last many years, there are various attempts by Conrad Lant (Cronos) to change the history of VENOM and everyone involved. The funny thing, is that many articles that will be written in the future about VENOM or Neat Records, will be false, because "someone" wrote a false information on Wikipedia. This is just a recent example and there are many websites out there, known or less known, filled with wrong information, false translation of news and articles that present falsely data as facts. And those articles and news are re-posted on social media spreading false "knowledge". This is not just like an old printed review on a music album or a film, in a magazine or newspaper, which was failed through time. This is something different and this is probably an early part of the decline of all media. Important or not, professional or amateur.


While many people don't really read anymore and just scroll down on bold titles, thinking that this is just enough to "know", there is also an inexplicable attempt of some people to downgrade the importance of many media (mostly printed but online, too) and books that were created with hard work and true research. You can't blame them I guess, but this kind of research is missing today and it is replaced by the kind of "research" that is edited all the time due to poor sources, lack of knowledge and logical flow. If you will make a mistake online, you can just change it. You can correct it... or you can make a bigger mistake. I can even edit what YOU are reading now, so if I will write something false or fake, you won't have a proof of what you were reading. I am sure that everyone who writes all the time has made mistakes, but in the world of press (printed and online) you can write hundreds of great articles and/or reviews, and you can just write once, something wrong. People will mostly remember that one time. The mistake. But I guess that this is what happens to life, also. In the modern digital era, bitching online about everyone and everything is just another daily moment. And that daily moment is the new "news" and the new "article". I don’t know if "only print is real", but if the historians of the future will base their research only on this kind of data, they will probably have a different view on the world we’re living. 


We are living in 2019, the same year of the dystopian world of the film Blade Runner. However, the world is nothing like the one on that iconic film, but also nothing is as it seems in reality. And the worst is yet to come.

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge", someone said (google it...)

Speaking of Blade Runner, there is another quote on the second film, Blade Runner 2049: "Then ten days of darkness. Every machine stopped cold. When the lights came back, we were wiped clean. Photos, files, every bit of data. Gone. Bank records, too. Didn't mind that. It's funny only paper lasted. I mean, we had everything on drives. Everything, everything, everything."

Funny, isn’t it?

Metal Nerdism Vol. 1: Albums Vs Mini Albums Vs EPs

The legacy of heavy metal EPs (and mini-albums).

There is a common assertion, that the best albums in the field of traditional metal (heavy, power, thrash, you know what I mean) were released during the '80s. And while this is a debate that can be analyzed in the future, most of the classic albums of the '80s had a track list of 7, 8, 9, 10 songs or so. The estimated running time was 30 to 45 minutes in most of them and you can hardly have a "filler" or two in those classic albums. What is a classic album? Blizzard of Ozz, Heaven and Hell, Hail to England, Don't Break the Oath, Marching Out, Hall of the Mountain King, Abigail... stuff like that.


From the '90s and all over the '00s, when the compact disc format ruled the field (while vinyl was having a rest), the running time of the albums and the number of tracks was raised. A lot. And so did the "fillers" in most of the albums, especially the ones released by major labels, including the independent ones that became bigger. However, from the '10s and on, vinyl started having a stronger comeback, mainly in the underground scene, so more EPs (actually, mini-albums...) and albums with a running time of around 40 to 45 minutes were released. Then, all labels (including major ones) entered the vinyl game, but major ones, kept asking for more songs. Now, let's go back in the '80s...


When Savatage recorded their first album, they had many songs completed for that session, so it was decided that few of them would be released later and not all together, so their first release won't be a double album. You know, back then, vinyl ruled the land and there was a time limitation for each album. So, in 1983 Sirens was released and a year later, the rest of the songs of that session, were released under the title The Dungeons Are Calling, but that wasn't a full-length album. It was a mini-album, or MLP (mini LP) if you prefer. It didn't last for many years, but there were also mini-albums back in the '80s. In the years to come though, the mini-album term, was completely replaced by EP. So, you have LP (Long Play = full album) and EP (Extended Play = something between a single and a full-album).

All those mini releases, and according to Metal Archives (the Bible of modern metalhead; an important tool, however) are now considered EPs and the mini-album term is long forgotten... It was different than the EP, different than the full-album, but in many cases, things were confused.

Let's go back to The Dungeons Are Calling. That mini-album had 6 tracks, 25 minutes running time and vinyl is played at 33rpm. Most of those mini-albums were played at 33rpm, while most EPs were played at 45rpm, like the singles. There were two kind of singles, 7" and 12". Singles were released mainly from bands supported by a big label or a label that believed that the band/artist could have some commercial success. The first single from an album was released before the official release of the full-album. The single/main song could enter the charts, played on radio, and even a video clip could be filmed. Sometimes, nothing of these happened... And there was just a single release.

Artists like Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, Def Leppard and Saxon had single releases. In the 7" version, most of the times you had the main track on side A, and on side B, most of the times, there was an unreleased track or a live track or another track from the upcoming album or a different version of another song. In the 12" version, most of the times, you had an extra track on side B.

However, there are also some different kind of singles. The kind of singles that were privately released, or from independent labels and didn't accompanied a full-album. Singles that are also considered as EPs from few people. There were many of them during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the worldwide underground metal scene. Also, during NWoBHM, Venom released few singles with songs that weren't included in the albums of that period.

Now, let's go back to the paradox of the mini-albums (that nowadays are considered EPs). Back in the '80s, the difference of the mini-album and the EP, is that most of the times, EPs had a maximum of 4-5 tracks and a maximum running time of 20 minutes. Mini-albums had 5 or 6 tracks and a running time more than 20 minutes, less than 30 minutes.

Let's go to some examples. Warlord's Deliver Us (1983) is one of the most famous mini-albums of our field, while Slayer's Haunting the Chapel (1984) is a famous EP. The funny thing, is that Warlord's Deliver Us has 6 tracks, running time of 29 minutes and nowadays is considered as an EP, exactly as Ruffians same-titled release (1985) that is 30 minutes, while Bathory's same-titled debut album (1984) has a running time of 27 minutes... And if we want to add more paradox in the equation, Slayer's Live Undead (1984), a considered live album (7 tracks), has a running time of 23 minutes, that is less than most mini-albums (that today are considered EPs). Are you confused or the term mini-album sounds more relevant now?


In 1986, Slayer's Reign in Blood was released. An album of 10 tracks with  running time of 29 minutes. Until that time, there were many albums with a running time more or less of 30 minutes, but I believe that this specific album was the turning point that changed things, and in order to identify a release as a full-length album, it needs to have a running time more than 30 minutes. The number of tracks is also relevant but there are some cases that it makes no difference. For example, Agathocles' If This Is Cruel What's Vivisection Then? (1990) has 10 tracks... but it is just a 7" with a running time of 10 minutes! So, when we talk for subgenres like grindcore, the number of tracks is not something we can count on.


Until the end of the '80s, there were more mini-albums released (they were also advertised this way) that today are considered EPs.

Mini-albums were also releases that helped labels to bridge the period between two full-albums. Some of them, didn't have only new material, but also a mix of new material with older songs or live tracks, something like a mini compilation.

The term mini-album is completely gone now, and everything under 30 minutes is considered as an EP. However, if it has more than 6-7 tracks, sometimes it can be considered as an album even if the running time is something like 29 minutes. Like Manacle's No Fear to Persevere... (2018). But again, at the time you are reading this article, if you will check Metal Archives, Emerald's Armed for Battle (1987) is mentioned as an EP, despite the running time of 33 minutes and the same goes for Villain's Only Time Will Tell (1986) despite the 7 tracks and the running time of 31 minutes.


There are few exceptions, where bands intentionally want a release to be considered as an EP in their discography, even if it is not. For example, Dream Theater's A Change of Seasons (1995) with a running time of 58 minutes. The same-titled track alone, is 23 minutes, while the rest are covers. And if this is a sort of a "special" release, we also have Reverend Bizarre's Harbinger of Metal (2003) that has a running time of 74 (!) minutes and it considered an EP...


Don't be afraid of EPs (and mini-albums). Some great music runs within those less than 30 minutes releases, and there are already few great ones out there, released over the recent years, like Dawnbringer XX, Gatekeeper Grey Maiden, Idle Hands Don't Waste Your Time, Sabïre Gates Ajar, The Temple As Once Was, and more.


Crystal Logic 10 favourite '80s mini albums / EPs:

1. Warlord - Deliver Us (1983)
2. Savatage - The Dungeons Are Calling (1984)
3. Queensrÿche - Queensrÿche (1983)
4. Mercyful Fate - Mercyful Fate (aka Nuns have No Fun) (1982)
(note: even if it is played on 45rpm, on the back cover there is printed "mini-album 45rpm")
5. Helloween - Helloween (1985)
6. Valhalla - Valhalla (1984)
7. Glacier - Glacier (1985)
8. Ostrogoth - Full Moon's Eyes (1983)
9. Agent Steel - Mad Locust Rising (1986)
10. Masque - The Dead of Night (1988)


10 underground '80s metal classic EPs (in alphabetical order):

Black Knight - Master of Disaster (1985)
Dark Age - Dark Age (1984)
Heathen's Rage - Heathen's Rage (1986)
Jag Panzer - Jag Panzer (aka Tyrants) (1983)
Medieval Steel - Medieval Steel (1984)
Parasite - Parasite (1984)
Ruffians - Ruffians (1985)
S.A. Slayer - Prepare to Die (1983)
Savage Grace - The Dominatress (1983)
Sortilège - Sortilège (1983)


10 thrash '80s metal classic EPs (in alphabetical order):

Anthrax - Armed and Dangerous (1985)
Destruction - Sentence of Death (1984)
Kreator - Flag of Hate (1986)
Metallica - The $5.98 EP - Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987)
Nuclear Assault - The Plague (1987)
Overkill - Overkill (1985)
Possessed - The Eyes of Horror (1987)
Razor - Armed and Dangerous (1984)
Slayer - Haunting the Chapel (1984)
Sodom - In the Sign of Evil (1985)

5 NWoBHM & British classic EPs (in alphabetical order - no 7" singles):

Cloven Hoof - The Opening Ritual (1982)
Crucifixion - Green Eyes (1984)
Holocaust - Heavy Metal Mania (1980)
Paralex - White Lightning (1980)
Traitors Gate - Devil Takes the High Road (1985)

5 classic EPs from the doomed dark age (in alphabetical order):

Atlantean Kodex - The Pnakotic Demos (2007)
Isen Torr - Mighty & Superior (2004)
Memory Garden - Forever (1995)
Saint Vitus - The Walking Dead (1985)
Solstice - Halcyon (1996)


p.s. 1: This year, we celebrate 40 years of Saxon! The debut self-titled album (1979), is one of those albums with a running time less than 30 minutes. Less than few mini-albums (that today are considered EPs).

p.s. 2: Today, despite the fact the many new bands want their first release to be an EP (it would be a mini-album in the '80s), labels don't feel very comfortable, since the manufacturing cost is the same as a full-album, but they can't market it as such, and it must have lower wholesale price for the distributors, while promotion is also difficult.


Photos are from my personal collection (Andreas Andreou)


Which ones are your favourite EPs?

Black Powder of the Sabbathian Riffing: Interview with Kimi Kärki / Lord Vicar

After hammering the final nails to the coffin of Reverend Bizarre, Peter Vicar followed his vision of a new Doom Metal band and brought to life, Lord Vicar. "We took our sacred oaths and never run", yell the children of Doom, and Lord Vicar stand in the circle of the most arcane form of metal.

With the new album The Black Powder out on The Church Within Records, we found Kimi Kärki while travelling to the other side of the world (but not the underworld). Somewhere between Cultural History and Aikido Martial Arts, Kimi Kärki very often offers music full of intensity and heaviness, so we talked about rotten music, "soul" music and Lord Vicar.

By Andreas Andreou

Peter Vicar is long dead. And from his ashes, Lord Vicar rose with Peter Inverted. Did you use black powder in the firearm that killed him? And after all those year, is Doom Metal dead or its "death" was a false preaching?

KK: I actually go with my real name Kimi these days. Masks can sometimes become very boring and even harmful. Doom metal is alive and well, even if it smells rotten at times.

Fourth full-length album for Lord Vicar and you continue spreading slow suffering all over the world. At least to those who follow your path or enter your way. I follow Lord Vicar since the beginning and I guess, I fear no pain. However, I have few friends that are regressive doomsters, and they fear the pain of the traditional sabbathian riffing. Or they try to avoid it. How would you define "true" Doom Metal?

KK: It’s the traditional Sabbathian riffing, clean vocals, full of intensity and power. It’s music that will, if done right, shake your foundations.

Dan Fondelius of Count Raven, told me in an interview we did in the recent past, "Doom is more than just rock music, it is many things". I guess that if someone can express those "things", he will enter the circle of Doom. I think you also have to add a Gibson SG guitar in the equation, correct?

KK: Correct.

To quote Dawn of Winter from their song 'The Music of Despair', "Doom is the soul of metal". If so, our souls are tormented and torn apart, and you keep reflecting sorrow and pain with the opening track of The Black Powder, the 18-minutes long, 'Sulphur, Charcoal and Saltpetre'. That's a bold way to open a new album but I guess you are not a predictable band anyway, right?

KK: Right.

Besides the well-crafted compositions and performance on The Black Powder, there is lot of "soul" therein and I believe that this is the secret that transforms a good album to a great album. Where did you descent in order to create the dark symmetry (for both lyrics and music) of The Black Powder?

KK: Thank you for mentioning "soul". Our music is indeed meant to be "soul" music, even if the themes are dark. One has to take a cold look at the world, the way it is. Certainly there is beauty out there, but there is also all that poison, hate, malice, greed and cruelty. The themes of the album are available whenever I open the newspaper in the morning. Of course some of the material is meant for mental introspection and purification, at least in my case. We all carry a lot of darkness, and need ways to get it out. As a consequence, I am mostly happy smiling and relatively easygoing person. I have also done Aikido for five years now, and that has helped me to access some extra calm and steel. To build a musically good album, we felt, there has to be balance, dynamics and strong melodies.

You had the songs of the previous album (Gates of Flesh, 2016) written years before its release. Did you also have the songs of The Black Powder ready for long time, too? What kind of procedure do you follow during recordings?

KK: Some of the riffs are old, I think Gareth mentioned that some riffs of 'World Encircled' date back to his early years as a musician. In my case all that is on the album was put together after Gates of Flesh. Maybe some of the riffs were on embryonic stage already a bit before that. But the album as a whole, the lyrical themes, how it was arranged, that we did fairly recently. We try to get the arrangements in such a tight order that we can play the music live as a threepiece, with some edits and drop-ins if necessary. That way we got that tight but loose live feel on the new one. I really think we nailed it nicely this time, especially as this was No doubt musically the most challenging and progressive record we have done so far.

You are performing and writing music all the time after the death of Reverend Bizarre. Among others, you have Orne, you release solo albums, and there is Lord Vicar. How do you separate everything and is there a "guide" for each vessel you throw in the sea of music?

KK: I follow my intuition, pure and simple. I try to keep the subconscious mind open and do not stress about time. All things have their right time and place, and slowly the needed elements click together. I just know when it’s right. And I always also try to allow chance and the incredibly talented people around me to affect everything. That way things get raised to another level, they become more than the sum of their parts. It’s creative process seen as something magical, it has some ritualistic qualities, just like live performance. The energy just explodes through the roof when right things take place. I love that feeling, and am always in the hunt for it.

Do you plan any live shows with Lord Vicar?

KK: Yes. We will play some festivals, at least Storm Crusher, and some individual shows here and there. I can’t yet talk about stuff that has not been announced.

Thanks for the music!

KK: Thanks for the interview!



Lord Vicar photo by Darkiya Vaeltaja

DISCOGRAPHY:
2008 - The Demon of Freedom EP    
2008 - Fear No Pain    
2011 - Lord Vicar / Griftegård Split    
2011 - Lord Vicar / Funeral Circle Split    
2011 - Signs of Osiris
2012 - Lord Vicar / Revelation Split        
2016 - Gates of Flesh
2019 - The Black Powder

LINE-UP:
Chritus - Vocals
Kimi Kärki - Guitars
Gareth Millsted - Drums
Rich Jones - Bass

The new album The Black Powder is out now on The Church Within Records

Lord Vicar Bandcamp

Follow Lord Vicar on Facebook

Doom over the world... from bands that are not doom metal!

While I have in mind to work on a "best of" Doom Metal article, it seems that a proper work will take lot of time, and the additional contribution of musicians involved in the greatest albums of the genre, is more than needed. So, while this article is in the labyrinth of my mind (along with other ideas) and will reach the exit sometime in the future, let's pick 10 songs that have a strong doom metal vibe (some of them are actually doom metal) from bands... that have nothing to do with Doom Metal!

We will probably continue this type of articles with more genres, but for now, let's just spread doom over the world.

VENOM - Warhead

Originally released as a single in 1984, few months before the album "At War with Satan", "Warhead" is a heavy possessed anthem that stands among those Venom tracks released as singles only, and remain favourite fan songs. We are already at a period where the New Wave of British Heavy Metal started to fade, but its mark upon metal music never faded. Venom started as part of the NWoBHM movement but during the early '80s, they were something different. Sinister, vicious and everything society hated. One of the most important and influential bands of metal music. Thrash metal, black metal and all things extreme metal, owe a small debt to Cronos, Mantas and Abaddon.

During the NWoBHM we had bands like Witchfinder General,  that were highly influenced by Black Sabbath and offered doom metal in its early forms, but Venom was a unique beast and in 1984 tried different things. Among them, "Warhead", stands as one of their very best songs.  Hear the thunder roar, engraved on flesh and bone.

SCORPIONS - Animal Magnetism

Here we have a true doom metal song. Weird isn't it? This is Scorpions, the greatest German hard rock / heavy metal band, that has sold millions of albums, and yet, back in 1980 (!) they recorded a doom metal song. Following "The Zoo", "Animal Magnetism" is the last track of the same titled album that was released between "Lovedrive" (1979) and "Blackout" (1982), two of the most important and well-known albums of the band. Despite the fact that "Animal Magnetism" was the first Scorpions album that reached platinum status in the USA, somehow remain underrated. Scorpions' guitarist and composer, Rudolf Schenker, has said to Malcolm Dome and Classic Rock that "it's a really powerful album" and ranked it as Number 4 among his 10 favourite Scorpions albums. I don't know if we can take Rudolf seriously since among those 10 albums there is none before "Lovedrive" but we all know the "weird" look of artists upon their legacy and art.

I remember when US power metallers Sanctuary played live in Athens, Greece, in September of 2011, and among the classics of "Refuge Denied" and 'Into the Mirror Black", they also performed a cover of "Animal Magnetism", and most of the attendants didn't recognize that song. If you are not familiar with that doom metal gem, have a listen!

MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP - Lost Horizons

Micheal Schenker's debut album ("The Michael Schenker Group") was also released in 1980. Michael Schenker left UFO and briefly joined Scorpions during "Lovedrive", just to leave after a while and start his own band. "Lost Horizons" is taken from his debut album and his playing has all those elements that influenced a generation of metal guitarists, including many ones from Sweden... Funny how, Memento Mori have covered both "Lost Horizons"  and "Animal Magnetism".

DANZIG - Pain in the World

Off Danzig's second album, "Danzig II - Lucifuge", the closing track is about a heart full of hell and sin. The first 4 Danzig albums include songs that balance between dark rock, slow, groovy heavy metal, blues and lot of experimental sounds. Let's say that Danzig play heavy dark rock and we will be fine! But "Pain in the World" is doomed.  

KING DIAMOND - Digging Graves 

Once a King, always a King. Right? Or not? Well, King Diamond's return over the last years is filled with praise because of his great live shows. There are even people that believe he is in his best shape, ever. It's been a "while" since his last studio album ("Give Me Your Soul... Please", 2007) but just few hours ago, he performed at Hellfest in France a new song! Hopefully, the new album will hit the shelves of the record stores in the next months.

King Diamond's legacy is one of the most important and greatest in metal history, incuding of course, both King Diamond band and Mercyful Fate. Just have a look at all those great musicians that played in these bands, next to King Diamond. Few of them, have also a doom metal history. "Digging Graves" is taken from "The Graveyard" (1996), one of King Diamond's modern classics, and dwells in insanity and doomed feelings.

YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN - Dark Ages 

While Candlemass go neoclassical at "Into the Unfathomed Tower" (from "Tales of Creation", 1989), when they released their monumental debut album, Yngwie Malmsteen released his third solo album ("Trilogy") and "Dark Ages" is a great neoclassical doomed piece, that could be more epic (?) if it was longer. To be or not to be, Maestro is fast, but when he goes slower, he still rules, and there is always a great epic feeling in Malmsteen's slower songs.

ZOOL - Cross of Greed 

When Henrik Flyman (guitars) and Martin Häggström (vocals) disbanded Moahni Moahna in 1997, they formed another unique band under the name Zool, but besides the same-titled album in 2002, they were lost into oblivion. Flyman continued with Evil Masquerade and among others, he was also involved with Epic Irae / Quicksand Dream. While Moahni Moahna still remains a personal favourite and underrated act, Zool in "Cross of Greed" pay a tribute to Dio-era Black Sabbath. And that's just great.

SAVIOUR MACHINE - The Beast 

I just love Saviour Machine. Eric Clayton is one of the most charismatic and emotional performers out there. "The Beast" is taken from "Legend I" (1997) and the Apocalypse is a great concept for Saviour Machine. The story is not completed (and I don't know if it will ever be) but what Saviour Machine tried to do, still remains majestic and unique. And that concept can offer many doomed moments... Behold the nail, the sentence of death, and Jesus wept, it is manifest.

TWISTED SISTER - Destroyer

When Dee Snider and Co. put you under the blade, you will be destroyed. Funny thing is that someone could say that "Destroyer" is inspired by the "God of Thunder" track of Kiss, that's included in their album... "Destroyer"(1976)! Originally released in 1982, decades later, "Destroyer" still remains a killer, ultra heavy anthem and a fan favourite live track. When Twisted Sister were performing in various festivals around Europe, once "Destroyer" was hitting the stage and doomsters haven't heard of them, they were turning their heads to watch the stage, wondering "how the fuck did I miss this"?

MANOWAR - Dark Avenger

There is no need to include epic heavy metal bands here, since many of them have songs with a strong doom metal vibe. But we cannot leave aside Manowar since from their debut album, "Battle Hymns" (1982), they offered to the world an epic doom metal masterpiece entitled, "Dark Avenger". "These bones may be broken but the spirit can't die". No need to mention something else.