Mercyful Fate - Melissa [180 Gram Vinyl LP]

Mercyful Fate - Melissa [180 Gram Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: LP, Vinyl, Album, Reissue, 180 Gram
• Catalogue Number: 156811
• Barcode: 039841568110
• Genre: Heavy Metal
• Label: Metal Blade
• Originally Released: 30 October 1983
• This Edition Released: 5 June 2020 (Metal Blade 180g Reissue)
• Pressing: 180 gram black vinyl LP
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Melissa is the debut studio album by Mercyful Fate, originally released on Roadrunner Records. Named after a skull that vocalist King Diamond kept on stage, the album established Mercyful Fate as one of heavy metal's most distinctive and influential acts. Its fusion of NWOBHM precision, progressive song structures and theatrical Satanic imagery laid groundwork for the Scandinavian black metal movement that followed.

King Diamond's multi-octave falsetto is the album's defining instrument, but the twin-guitar attack of Hank Shermann and Michael Denner provides an equally essential foundation. Evil opens with one of metal's most recognisable riffs. Curse of the Pharaohs pairs galloping rhythms with Diamond's most dramatic vocal performance. Satan's Fall is an eleven-minute epic that shifts through multiple movements, showcasing the band's progressive ambitions. Into the Coven and Black Funeral maintain the album's dark atmosphere with tighter, more direct arrangements.

This Metal Blade reissue presents the album on 180 gram black vinyl.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Evil
2. Curse of the Pharaohs
3. Into the Coven
4. At the Sound of the Demon Bell

Side B

1. Black Funeral
2. Satan's Fall
3. Melissa

Credits

• King Diamond - Vocals
• Hank Shermann - Guitar
• Michael Denner - Guitar
• Timi Hansen - Bass
• Kim Ruzz - Drums
• Henrik Lund - Producer