Melissa

"Melissa" is Mercyful Fate's very eclectic and satanic heavy metal debut. It's all over the place, but it's good, and sounds like a heavy metal distillate of good 70s rock, balancing its devilish themes with a bright and pleasant sonic atmosphere.

"Melisisa" sounds progressive, and at times weird. It's more impenetrable than "Don't Break The Oath", which is a little more melodic and accessible. It doesn't take much cogitation to figure out that the band had many, and good, influences.

Unlike today's horrible metal bands, most classic metal bands from the 80s listened to a variety of music, not just metal. Their efforts were metal- informed, but not based solely on metal. Hank Shermann has stated a preference for heavier 70's rock like Priest, Sabbath, as well as UFO. Michael Denner, in his interviews, has stated that he and King had big collections of 70s music. His favorite bands include Three Man Army and Tempest, rowdier American rock like Montrose and Mountain, and both he and Shermann have mentioned Captain Beyond as a prime influence. CB bequeathed unto them, and "Melissa", a legacy of bold, groovy riffing, an overall dark sound, and a rare ability among progressive bands to change rhythms and use breaks without destroying the whole song.

The one exception to this is Satan's Fall" - a large, confusticating pile of whatever the hell the guitarists wanted to throw in there, which often uses pauses, instead of passages, between song segments. Somehow I know every riff by heart, and I enjoy the thing, even though King's English is too difficult to understand, so I could never remember the lyrics.

The King himself was clearly influenced by Arthur Brown. The black and white make-up, the satanic subject matter and love of horror and unsettling people, the head voice vocals, are all very telling that King has absorbed a lot of Arthur Brown's strangeness.

A particular moment which I enjoy a lot is the opening to "At The Sound Of The Demon Bell", which I believe is a perfect heavy metal riff. The guitar sound on this record is well-crafted, naturally leaning into the high-mids, squeaky and not overly distorted, and is balanced by a very prominent and clear bass guitar sound. The kick drum and the snare pop wonderfully, courtesy of Kim Ruzz, a somewhat jazzy, creative drummer who is a master of fills and never, ever boring. The album, overall, sounds clear and lucent, and you're never left wondering what exactly you just heard.

"Melissa" is more of an experience than "Don't Break The Oath". It sounds crunchier, though less distorted, so it's more in tune with the band's influences from the previous decade. It's an atmospheric record, which takes you to deep catacombs, old cemeteries, ritual rooms, liminal spaces where your fantasy can turn you from Kim Petersen into King Diamond. Luckily, you will revert to your own self when the record's over, because there can only be one King Diamond.