MERCYFUL FATE-MELISSA /KING DIAMOND-ORIG. 83' MEGAFORCE

$

28

All lyrics written by King Diamond. All music written by Hank Shermann.

1. "Evil" – 4:45
2. "Curse of the Pharaohs" – 3:57
3. "Into the Coven" – 5:11
4. "At the Sound of the Demon Bell" – 5:23
5. "Black Funeral" – 2:50
6. "Satan's Fall" – 11:23
7. "Melissa" – 6:40

YOU ARE BIDDING ON: MERCYFUL FATE - MELISSA LP
1983 MEGAFORCE RECORDS
LICENSED BY ROADRUNNER RECORDS
RECORDED AT EASY SOUND RECORDINGS
CATALOG #: MRI-369

THIS IS THE ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING, THIS IS NOT THE RE-RELEASE FROM 1997, AND MANY OTHER COUNTIES HAVE RELEASED OTHER
COPIES OF THIS. IF YOU WANT THE ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING, THIS IS IT.

RECORD IS IN VERY GOOD TO MINTISH CONDITION & PLAYS GREAT, THE COVER IS IN NEAR MINT CONDITION AND STORED IN A PLASTIC COVER SINCE IT WAS BOUGHT IT ALSO INCLUDES A LYRIC SHEET WITH A BAND PHOTO ON OTHER SIDE & IS IN GOOD CONDITION....ALL IN ALL THIS CLASSIC MERCYFUL FATE LP IS IN KILLER  CONDITION FOR 28 YEARS OLD GOOD LUCK BIDDING!!!

Swinging a cape that never ceases to amaze, wearing the face of a Kabuki mask or something ritually painted along the lines of Arthur Brown meets Kiss without the psychedelics or dark-fun, covered in cow-envying amounts of leather, and setting the stage for theatrics are what the front man of Mercyful Fate brings to the altar. King Diamond places his voice at your disposal, in a taunting, I-told-you-so projection, constantly changing and altering itself, like a shape-shifter gone awry and appearing like amorphous shadows: playful, jumpy and tense, laughing.

The music still has that 70's feel, still somewhat unshaken by the presented 80s. Amongst the guitars, a bass that co-pilots itself as musician-friendly, yet finding and uncovering decidedly worthwhile rhythms. This brings about drumming that has technical feats and worthy chops, filling those gaps like something fiendish was going to get through. This is up on solos like any other group wanting to become the next-generation guitar sensation. But finding a particular hair-raising atmosphere from a selective showmenship. That is one of the most important aspects to create mood in music, and can sometimes be missed with how many more notes you can fit into your belt. I feel there was a straying from the norm when Fate was doing them. Sure they were scaled to perfection, running their fingers possibly over the same areas as the next guy, but finding those particular ones in their case that can bring a song into an elevated atmosphere. The dual guitars come together on Melissa to mostly create an ailment of heaviness, with palm mutes and simplistic chords, giving a justifiable cure of paced fist-pumping and medium-headbangs to circulate the bad-blood coursing through your blackening veins. This is music that isn't boldly aggressive, yet it's embracing like an eye-locking, deadly stare. Some of the rhythms will use higher notes on the fretboard, sometimes having similar techniques to Motorhead and Venom at the time, with unintentional sleazy guitar lines. The title track even has clean guitars in some areas, which almost sounds like an adult-lullaby: heard before bed and is in turn nightmarish or potentially sleep-depraving.

'83 was a good year in metal for big first albums: Dio releasing Holy Diver, Metallica's Kill 'Em All, Slayer's Show No Mercy and here Mercyful Fate's Melissa. It must of gave an aspiring metal-head an early stroke from the earthquaking delivery of these releases. These, for the most part, were placed at a refined enough point that it just seemed natural for them to of come out. The line, 'Oh, that was just something we did back then,' is true and untrue in a sense. Here, Mercyful Fate already had a down-pat style on their first output, and you can logically imagine there being leagues of other bands sounding identical to them. However, they were a creative group of characters, teeming with energy and earning their rite to passage with this release due to a fusing of their old selves from previous bands. They definitely, and most importantly, had an angle and were all-around great musicians that were lined-up to have a following even when this first hit shelves and then record players, possibly over and over again at that point till even now.

Containing an evil—not entirely pinned down as just grim, ominous or vaguely dark; being quite possibly scary with a combination—but encompassing evil in the essence and fibers of the word. Yes, this combines music for the time, they find their mediums with song-writing, not coming completely out of the blue. But this delivers music in a decidedly evil and almost persuasive manner. The kind that pricks blood from the end of your finger, transforms on a full moon, and prefers the odd or jaded features of the universe to impose a ritualistic sense.

Even with all of the musicians playing with different personalities, it is music that still comes together as a whole. Mr. Diamond leads and drives forth fermenting, haunting deliveries overtop of the bottomless pit of your miseries. His voice is so unique that it would be a true document if someone could perfectly describe each qualifying note into exactness; each slip and duck; each build or climax. Although that might miss the point of its hidden mysteries through a wrongful unveiling. He attempts the 'thought' impossible with the possible here. Bringing his voice to high-pitched alternating falsettos, a medium melancholy, a deep tone, in ceremonial chorus-like fashion, and many different alternating factions between, around, and right through to create the event-horizon of vocalizing. To travel to places far and in-between with a story to tell about its foreboding journey into unknown parallels. A true testament of the texture of evil, and how it encompasses the peculiar and tainted.

The music on Melissa can speak volumes. This isn't putting it lightly or exaggerating what instruments can project through speakers. It is channeled in an affective way that embraces the responsiveness of your senses. Its creativity, and ultimately its elusiveness, to pin it down as a single part or dividend is the most important aspect here. Repetitious listens could yield varying results. For longevity's sake, that's probably the most rewarding part that a performer or musician could ask for. The kind of effect that brings an identity and a name to the track, instead of an all-too-similarness.

With opening leads to enchant or build a song, piercing high-noted singing to a tapping of alternating notes, bass that snakes and wraps around guitar plucking, drumming that pounds but doesn't project provoking speeds, produces music that is metal in the sense, to a blackened degree. With an aura that gives it dark emotions and rightful moods. It sets the stage with a thematic presentation and grips the audience with engaging music and concept. The King's voice is going to safely be such a unique quality when first heard, that I can imagine it bringing about different reactions from different people. Probably because the related voice to terror, anger, pain, panic, etc. might be viewed a little differently now with a grisly set-tone or a plain-old scream. However, Diamond was intricately painting his voice instead of using a somewhat blunt graffiti. Which both, when done, can still bring about an expression or a statement that someone wants to convey depending on who and how. Although, here, imagine a sort of metal-opera which would evolve with the band even traveling over to King Diamond's self-titled solo project. This should be looked at as in chapters, turned one at a time with anticipation for the next, while not wanting to excuse yourself between aisles for fear of missing something. Melissa is read at the top of the pamphlet in your hand, and, as a precaution, brace yourself for a sense-riddling show.