Melissa

Ask any man, woman or trans person on the street to name the first heavy metal band to pop in their head; more than likely you'll receive responses ranging from Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to Metallica and Megadeth - a rougher crowd might invoke Pantera or Slayer.

However, none other than Denmark's Mercyful Fate rears its diabolic Jack-The-Ripper mug (gleaned from a reliquian wooden cane recovered by now spectral police) when it comes to pinpointing one of the purely metallic genre's blackened nativities thanks to both the Copenhagen culprit's landmark debuts, 1983's skeletal Melissa and 1984's enflamed, chrome polished and horned follow-up, Don't Break The Oath (please and thank you).

Without delving too far into mechanics, the seven nuanced tracks totaling forty compact, no-non sense minutes of coolly unpredictable and super wizened musicianship capped by King Diamond's theatrically amusing debauches still blows my mind, forty (!) years onwards. A masterful classic from start to finish, every diehard metal fan and proponent of the hard-driven and raw solo and riff owes it, along with said secondary "serment" preserver, a keen baying or so.

Opener "Evil" roars to death with a screeching, flash frozen blast of neurotic riffing sure to tickle auditory synapses to collapse. Frantic, jangle-happy bass and drums also presage King D.'s feral flexes. Combined, the whip meets the flesh once a wildly cryptic chorus pumps away in full gonk glory. The honky-tonk lead and ensuing, prune consumed bass lead of an even crazier mien reaches an explosive apex. Egyptophiles will then exult with rapturous joy at sound of "Curse Of The Pharaohs", a bona fide Arabesque gem rivaled solely by Maiden's Slave Of Power whose malefic funk is too catchy to ignore.

When it comes to "Into The Coven", its daintily Medieval intro is absolved as cracked yellow brick road to further witchy n' wacky slipstream of vocal monkeyshines. Bow as the Regal One lets fly his impossible colors with clash and panache, whilst attaining ubiquitously zany levels of debilitating mayhem reminiscent of Sin After Sin era Priest. Ditto for the wickedly solo strewn and ever (non rainbow) rising "At The Sound Of The Demon Bell". Riff wise, the dudes in Sweden's Wolf concur.

Although Side A rules likes the rushing demonic skull above, Side B keeps MF's shadow cast light flickering like that of a mausoleum's creepy boogie. Although the brief and perfunctory "Black Funeral" remains congruous and displays equally eccentric chops, "Satan's Fall" confirms modern day Finns of distilled \m/-ness sagely bear their name. At eleven minutes, this discography staple never waivers, instead barging ahead as unhinged, Hellbent rollercoaster of fury and doom.

For its tightly bookended part, "Melissa" rubs venomous toads and spiked shoulders with "Evil" - especially after the slow, mellow part, when telltale albeit crippling "X" factor supreme and nocturnal speed return with a vengeance scream.

Effectively, a hot date with Mercyful Fate's Melissa is worth the face melt.