I finally sat down with a cold Phoenixx Double esb from Real Ale and went through some old concert dvds after a long day of yard work in this 100 degree weather. I don't know why but I popped Dimmu Borgir's World Misanthropy and was instantanly bored by how seperated they were from the fans and how formulaic it all looked and sounded that I quickly started to look for something to really rock out to when lo and behold, I see my bootleg copy of Mercyful Fate Live in Eindhoven 1983. Yes! I headbanged through the whole thing until the video cuts out not before the band answers the call of their raging fans to get back to the stage at least three times I believe and even for some encores. If you've seen this video you know how fuckin' awesome this show was. I just wish I could've been born a decade earlier to at least been able to not only see them live but to have been old enough to have survived a crazy night such as this.

There is no denying it, King and the rest of the band really knew how to get the crowd into it, so much so, that it truly highlights how(imo) many bands today fail to put a good show either because they think their music speaks for itself or they think they're above participating in such behavior. My guess is they really don't know how to establish a good rapport with their audience or are just scared to interact with anybody lest they come off as something other than their accepted image or personna. On this show King demands the fans to answer his banshee screams which they do, he gets right up close to them to headbang their brains out, there's some hand shaking, as well as showing their appreciation for their loyalty at the end of the show.

Anybody else here agree or is able to testify from first hand experience that Mercyful Fate did have a great relationship with its audience making the show better ten-fold and perhaps give us a clue of what it was like seeing them live in that fertile era of metal? Some tips on what bands should or should not do to get the audience into it would be cool. I'm guessing the type of venue a band plays in is also indicative of what kind of interaction will be possible but King and the rest of the gang have always done their best to whip the crowd into a frenzy no matter where they played. Talk about thrash bands needing more character and personality, I feel metal in general needs a huge dose of it as well and this band knew how to rock proper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okc8sC7Y ... er&list=UL

later show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhz7vU4F ... er&list=UL

Back when metal rocked and was at its best.

Haha, I was just listening to a live in '84 bootleg earlier. Yeah the band is so damn good. Probably my all time favorite. There's a video of the King Diamond band doing The Oath in 1986 that is just amazing, it's mislabeled as MF but its KD for sure.

DON'T BREAK THE OATH!
We need an official Mercyful Fate DVD!!!
I'd be the first Egyptian in line!