Ok everyone: put on yer black leather studded beanie caps with thee glistening chrome propeller. For we are not concerned with thee (at times) questionable fidelity of this here bootleg. No, our aim is to slip into our frequent roles as nerdy musicologists. We must dissect every nuance and subtlety of a contraband recording such as this one... and we must be precise. So, first up we have "Hard Rocker," which one could say hearkens back to Hank & Michael's daze as the Brats (which you absolutely, positively MUST check out if'n ya haven't already) with its punky, garage-metal riff and unbridled sloppy energy. Now is it just me or does King Diamond's voice sound at least an octave lower'n usual? Could it be that *gasp* his testicles actually did drop at some point??! Perhaps all this time he's merely tied an elastic band around 'em... or even had the soprano snip? Ah, so many questions, so few answers. For example: is that the "Highway Star" riff liberally borrowed on "Love Criminals"? Why no! How could this be so when the song evolves into an embryonic version of "Into the Coven"? "Some Day" seems to have some of the neo-classical pretensions we 'Fate fans have come to know and love... waitaminnit... I know that quasi-baroque melody line! Why, if it ain't "Desecration of Souls" as a mere infant! Move over, King Tut-- this is a discovery that easily dwarfs a moldy old carcass like you. "Death Kiss," as even the most casual fan-- if there is such a thing-- knows, was the original sketch for DON'T BREAK THE OATH's "A Dangerous Meeting." Here, you can check it out in varying stages of completion, although I recommend playing the second featured version first as it is far more primitive than the first one (these bootleggers seldom seem to have a sense of flow, do they?).
Until next time, I'm removing my beanie. I'll leave further excavations and insights up to y'all... or not.
Track list & specs:
1 Hard Rocker
2 Combat Zone
3 Love Criminals
from THE MERCYFUL FATE DEMOS, 1982
4 Evil Lord
from THE BLACK ROSE Sessions, 1978
5 Some Day
6 Death Kiss
from THE MERCYFUL FATE DEMOS, 1981
7 Persecution
8 I'm Alright
9 Death Kiss
from THE 'DANGER ZONE' Sessions, 1982
10 Shadow Night (Devil's Daughter)
recorded Live in Copenhagen, Denmark, August 15, 1982
11 Walking Back To Hell
12 On a Night of Full Moon
recorded Live in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 23, 1982
In comments.
http://lix.in/554a9c4b
ReplyDeletepw = sln2008
thanx
DeleteDude... I have to say that King is one of those voices (like ronnie J dio) that will be timeless and ever after... his voice is still so AWESOME... I saw him about a year or so ago... and it was ABSOLUTELY one of the greatest shows ever...my girlfriend is actually friends with Jodi C. from the shows...pretty cool huh??.... hey.. you going to see Priest, Motorhead and Heaven N Hell this year??? August 9th here in Jersey I believe
ReplyDeleteWonderful - thanks much for this! Downloading now, can hardly wait. Yeah, King D. I'm sorry, but I have to mention this whenever I can: I saw MF live in 1984 in Belgium, Yeah, lucky me.
ReplyDeleteYes, I recall you trumpeting that fact. I've only ever seen the KD Band live-- on the Abigail tour which was quite excellent. I think Sodom opened, but that could be memory fog (I know Sodom opened some damn gig I saw). Don't expect genius; the sound is pretty rough on that boot.
ReplyDeleteSandy: Saw Priest last time out, so until I hear the new LP (out in a week), I'm not sure If I'll be going to see 'em or not. NJ really is the metal of the USA, huh?
Thanks...gotta' love the classic MF
ReplyDelete