Mercyful Fate

MERCYFUL FATE is a band that occupies a unique place in the history of black metal.  While their lyrical content, overall aesthetic, and--to a lesser degree--their music clearly show the signs of being old-school black metal, the thing for which Mercyful Fate is most known is a clean singing style that is not really part of the black metal tradition at all.  That being said, they clearly fall within the black metal tradition for the reasons listed above.

 Formed in 1981 in Copenhagen, Denmark by Hank Sherman (aka Rene Krolmark) and King Diamond (aka Kim Bendix Petersen), Mercyful Fate became renowned for their horror- and occult-themed music.  Taking inspiration from heavy metal and hard rock acts like Kiss, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep, as well as late 1970s punk, Mercyful Fate has a metal sound that is both melodic and evil.

"Doomed by the Living Dead" from the self-titled EP

After a series of demos, Mercyful Fate released their self-titled EP in 1982 (sometimes known as the "Nuns Have No Fun" EP).  This showcased the style for which Mercyful Fate has since become known: a classic metal sound, with evil atmosphere and King Diamond's infamous voice.  King was capable of both crisp, clean singing, and dark, sinister growls.

"Evil"--perhaps their most famous song?

In 1983, Mercyful Fate put out the legendary album Melissa.  This continued the sound pioneered on the demos and the self-titled EP.   This album was pretty well-received by the international metal community.  What made Mercyful Fate so unique was their ability to combine the evil, dark aesthetic associated with the emerging metal underground with a traditional, more melodic metal sound.

In 1984 came the epic Don't Break the Oath.  This solidified Mercyful Fate's reputation.  But at the center of the band was the enigmatic King Diamond.  Known for donning corpsepaint, reveling in occultic imagery, all while claiming to be a LaVeyan Satanist, King himself proved to be as much of an influence on future black metallers as his music.


Mercyful Fate went on to break up in 1985, only to reform in the 1990s (only to go on hiatus again later), but their mark had been made.  Later bands would admit to being influenced by the overall dark atmosphere and aesthetic pioneered by King and Mercyful Fate (Emperor and Darkthrone have explicitly said as much).


I have to admit I am not the world's biggest Mercyful Fate fan.  I have enormous respect for what they did, and think they are insanely talented (their current bassist, Sharlee D'Angelo, might be the best bassist in metal), but could never get past the falsetto King frequently employed.

Select Discography

Burning Cross (demo) (1981)

Mercyful Fate EP (1982)

Melissa (full-length) (1983)

Don't Break the Oath (full-length) (1984)

Tomorrow: SODOM (and other extreme thrash bands)

Hellhammer

HELLHAMMER is an important and unique band in the history of black and death metal because--despite the short lifespan of the band--they have hugely influenced so many extreme bands down to this day.  The band formed in 1982 as Hammerhead before changing their name to Hellhammer.  The lineup shifted a bit, with members coming and going, but it all centered around Tom Warrior (born Thomas Gabriel Fischer).  Hellhammer was all about creating primitive, extreme metal influenced by Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and Venom.

"Death Fiend," from the 1983 demo Triumph of Death

In 1983, Hellhammer had recorded the demo Death Fiend (which initially went unreleased), and they released the demo Triumph of Death in June.  This showcased a sound that noticeably differed from what Venom was doing, yet at the same time the influence of the British black metal pioneers could be heard.  Hellhammer's was a raw and dirty sound, much less influenced by the NWOBHM production values so clearly present in Venom's work.

From the Satanic Rites demo, this is "Eurynomos"

In 1984, however, Martin Ain joined the band on bass and became a major contributor to the sound of Hellhammer.  The resulting demo was Satanic Rites.  The raw, dirty edge is still present, but there's a little more of the vicious speed associated with black and death metal.  After this demo, Hellhammer went on to release their one proper studio release: the EP entitled Apocalyptic Raids.

"The Third of the Storms," from 1984's Apocalyptic Raids

By this time, Hellhammer's mark had been made on the metal underground.  The rawness of their style, the evil of their lyrical content, the intensity  of their music--these hallmarks of black metal played a big role in the genre's sound during the 1980s.  But Tom Warrior and Martin Ain began to feel limited by the more primitive aesthetic of Hellhammer and wanted to do something different, more expansive.  Thus, Hellhammer broke up in May of 1984....only to shortly re-form as Celtic Frost in June (more on that legendary band at a later date).

The evil bastards of Hellhammer

Select Discography

Death Fiend (demo) (1983)

Triumph of Death (demo) (1983)

Satanic Rites (demo) (1983)

Apocalyptic Raids EP (1984)
Demon Entrails (demo compilation) (2008)

Tomorrow: MERCYFUL FATE

Bathory: The Early Years, 1983-1987

Hailing from Sweden, BATHORY burst onto the scene in 1983.  Brainchild of one Quorthon (Tomas Forsberg), Bathory's songs first were unleashed on the world with two tracks on 1984's Scandinavian Metal Attack.  Bathory's early style was a more aggressive take on what Venom had done on Welcome to Hell and Black Metal (although Quorthon claimed never to have heard Venom prior to forming).  Combining Satanic-themed lyrics, lo-fi production, and a harsher, more inhuman vocal style, Bathory's sound is more clearly the template for modern black metal than Venom was.  In their early years, one can hear the influences Quorthon claimed: Black Sabbath and Motorhead, as well as punk bands like The Exploited, Discharge, and GBH.

Bathory's "You Don't Move Me (I Don't Give a Fuck)"

-an unreleased 1983 song which showcases their rawness

Listening to Bathory's self-titled 1984 album and 1985's The Return one can clearly hear a strong contrast with Venom.  Venom's song structures and even production values still owe a large debt to NWOBHM.  Bathory is going in an entirely different direction.  Additionally, the Satanic/evil content of Bathory's songs was much more prominent:  simply look at titles such as "Hades," "In Conspiracy With Satan," "Possessed," and "Son of the Damned."

"Hades," off of the 1984 album.

As evidenced by the riffing and style in these early songs, the affinity with thrash metal can be heard (and this connection will be explored in a future post).  But to my ears, Bathory went a few steps beyond in terms of vocals, production, and playing style.  While Venom gave the world the term "black metal," I contend that there would be no 1990s Norwegian scene and everything it subsequently influenced if it weren't for Bathory.

"The Return of the Darkness and Evil," off of

1985's The Return

In these early years, Bathory's style peaked on what can be considered one of the greatest black metal albums of all time: 1987's Under the Sign of the Black Mark.  The great thing about this album is that every characteristic of black metal that was present in the earlier material is enhanced to the point where it sounds like the Scandinavian black metal of today.  In fact, songs like "Call from the Grave," "Equimanthorn," and "Woman of Dark Desires" are frequently still covered by black metal bands of all stripes.

"Equimanthorn"--the greatest black metal song of the 80s?

Following 1987's Under the Sign..., Bathory shifted gears completely and created the subgenre of black metal now known as Viking metal.  But that's for another day.....

Select Discography

Scandinavian Metal Attack compilation (1983)

Bathory (full-length) (1984)

Scandinavian Metal Attack II compilation (1985)

The Return (full-length) (1985)

Under the Sign of the Black Mark (full-length) (1987)

Next time: HELLHAMMER

Thirty years of black metal!

Let me begin by saying I am obsessed with black metal.  I have been a black metal fan since I was 19, and I am now in my thirties.  I am constantly on the lookout for new bands, as well as trying to learn more about older bands that are no more.  This blog will be my year long tribute to the thirtieth anniversary of black metal.

this is Venom, by the way

The story of black metal begins with the English band VENOM.  They formed in 1978, and were interested in playing heavy metal in the vein of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, with some punk influence thrown in as well.  Unlike some of the other NWOBHM bands of the day, Venom had more overtly Satanic lyrics.  1981 saw the release of their first album, Welcome to Hell.  Welcome to Hell was atmospheric, Satanic speed metal.  It was pretty much unlike anything ever attempted before.  Imagine the dark mood and lyrics of early Black Sabbath and the raw intensity of Motorhead, and you've more or less nailed Venom's sound.  This album laid the template for all extreme metal since.  But it was Venom's second album that is of importance here....

Venom's 1982 album, Black Metal, was a continuation of the style of Welcome to Hell, but now this style had a name: black metal.  While thrash metal and death metal drew from Venom, black metal took stylistic elements and the name of their genre from Venom.  After these two albums, 1984's At War With Satan continued this proto-black metal sound.  Venom's sound after that more or less became a more generic speed metal.

This is "Witching Hour" from Venom's first album.  An excellent example of their sound.

 
This is the song that gave its name to an entire genre.

"Warhead", from Venom's 1984 single of the same name.  It's a slower track, but still has that old-school black metal vibe to it.

These songs give you a good idea of what Venom's early work sounded like, as well as how black metal sounded at its birth.  So, with 1982 giving the world the term "black metal", I am celebrating thirty years of black metal in 2012.  I will do a band a day (some bands will get more than one day) until the end of year (or November 1, which is the day Black Metal was released back in 1982).

Select Discography

Demon (demo) (1980)

Welcome to Hell (full-length) (1981)

Black Metal (full-length) (1982)

"Warhead" (single) (1983)

At War With Satan (full-length) (1984)

Possessed (full-length) (1985)

Tomorrow:  BATHORY

HAIL!  \m/