Michael Sweet:
I guess I knew, when I posted the picture of KD and I, that I would be under the scrutiny of the folks who are perfect. Those who are without sin. Who seem to be closer to God than anyone else and who know the scriptures better than anyone.
I will take a moment to reflect on that so I can try to be better🤦♂️🤯😉
Mercyful Fate:
Mercyful Fate has joined forces with Kevin Kowalski to bring you the limited edition Blood Wizard ‘Melissa’ Kowalski deck. A dangerous meeting indeed.
Get yours here while supply’s last: Shop.Bloodwizard.com 😈
Becky Baldwin:
Here we go! Flying out 2 days late due to visa delays, but I’m finally going to the USA today! Huge thanks to all the team at Mercyful Fate for arranging everything making my dream of a North American tour a reality! Also thank you Aiden Lord for lending me this fantastic ENKI case to keep my basses safe, and to Luke Appleton and all my friends for putting up with my constant state of overwhelm for the past few months. This is the chance of a lifetime that I’ve been ready for 🤘 let’s go! ✈️
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Mercyful Fate:
Please welcome, Becky Baldwin Bass who will be standing in on bass for Joey Vera. Here she is rehearsing “Come To The Sabbath”.
Stay Heavy…
Mercyful Fate:
Reunited with my dear friend, Kerry King. It was great to see him Sunday night at the Las Vegas Mercyful Fate show, a dangerous meeting indeed. I am looking forward to his new project. Til next time.
Stay Heavy.. 😈
Las Vegas.. We have arrived, @PsychoLasVegas are you ready? Be there. 😈 pic.twitter.com/VwDa7W0Qcq
— Mercyful Fate (@MercyfulFate_HQ) August 21, 2022
Raised from my grave by the dead.. Las Vegas, the time has come. @psycholasvegas tonight, be there.. 😈
Photo: @LiviaZitaBendix pic.twitter.com/0CQf43XJVb
— Mercyful Fate (@MercyfulFate_HQ) August 21, 2022
Mercyful Fate at #psycholasvegas pic.twitter.com/oRgKN3PImF
— del james (@deljamesgang) August 22, 2022
Las Vegas, your energy last night was unreal. It was a pleasure to perform in North America with Mercyful Fate once again, until next time.. 😈 pic.twitter.com/9kxp3kZgps
— Mercyful Fate (@MercyfulFate_HQ) August 22, 2022
Really amazing 4 days at @PsychoLasVegas So great seeing so many friends and great shows! Culminating with seeing my good friends @MercyfulFate_HQ 🤘@kingdiamond @hankshermann pic.twitter.com/JDot1Vp6Qb
— Brian Slagel (@brianslagel) August 23, 2022
Mercyful Fate:
Visiting the Black Sabbath bridge in Birmingham. Bloodstock tonight, be there.. 😈
‘HAIL SATAN’ 🔥 @MercyfulFate_HQ hit the main stage at Bloodstock 2022 pic.twitter.com/LcIUuxgR0P
— bloodstockfest (@BLOODSTOCKFEST) August 13, 2022
Mercyful Fate:
Prepare for a dangerous meeting, Las Vegas. We will be headlining Psycho Las Vegas on Sunday, August 21.
Tickets are available @ this location.
Las Vegas.. We have arrived, @PsychoLasVegas are you ready? Be there. 😈 pic.twitter.com/VwDa7W0Qcq
— Mercyful Fate (@MercyfulFate_HQ) August 21, 2022
Raised from my grave by the dead.. Las Vegas, the time has come. @psycholasvegas tonight, be there.. 😈
Photo: @LiviaZitaBendix pic.twitter.com/0CQf43XJVb
— Mercyful Fate (@MercyfulFate_HQ) August 21, 2022
Mercyful Fate at #psycholasvegas pic.twitter.com/oRgKN3PImF
— del james (@deljamesgang) August 22, 2022
Las Vegas, your energy last night was unreal. It was a pleasure to perform in North America with Mercyful Fate once again, until next time.. 😈 pic.twitter.com/9kxp3kZgps
— Mercyful Fate (@MercyfulFate_HQ) August 22, 2022
Really amazing 4 days at @PsychoLasVegas So great seeing so many friends and great shows! Culminating with seeing my good friends @MercyfulFate_HQ 🤘@kingdiamond @hankshermann pic.twitter.com/JDot1Vp6Qb
— Brian Slagel (@brianslagel) August 23, 2022
Creem: “It’s going to be totally asylum 1930s, the pioneering of experimenting with human beings, medically, and all this sick shit like that.” A very rare interview w King Diamond of Mercyful Fate before their first US show in 23 years at Psycho Las Vegas! You can read the entire interview @ this location.
INTERVIEW EXCERPT:
Are we getting a new Mercyful Fate album next year?
King Diamond:
When it comes, I don’t know, but definitely a new album. There’s another song we’re working on. I won’t say the title right now, but it’s really cool. It’s not nine minutes long like “The Jackal of Salzburg”. We could play it, but we are not doing that. It’s very theatrical. And I have lots of lyrics and lyric pieces done for quite a few other songs. Hank has sent me stuff, and it’s just like the old days. He says, “Use whatever you want. Put your touch on it, and then it’s Mercyful Fate.” Of course, his touch is important, too—together it’s Mercyful Fate.
What’s the status of the new King Diamond album?
We’re working on it. Brian Slagel at Metal Blade [Records, Diamond’s label] said he wants the King Diamond album to be released first. We’re not going to change things just because everything has been postponed, and now it’s Mercy playing live. [King Diamond guitarist] Andy [LaRocque] sent me eight songs of his for the King Diamond album, but that’s maybe enough for his share for two albums. The story will be over two albums. I don’t even think “Masquerade of Madness” [the King Diamond single released in 2019] will be on the album. It’ll be all new songs.
The lyrical concept is about a mental institute, isn’t it?
It’s going to be totally asylum 1930s, the pioneering of experimenting with human beings, medically, and all this sick shit like that. We want to do some stuff onstage… I don’t want to say it now because it has to be a surprise. But it’s going to be very horror. When this is done with Mercy here, we will focus 150% on King Diamond, getting it all done and recorded.
What can fans expect from Mercyful Fate at Psycho Las Vegas?
This is the first time in 23 years that we are playing in the U.S. The set is being built right now. It’s the first time that you will see Mercyful Fate with an A-class production. And it’s all old songs except for the new one, “The Jackal Of Salzburg.” So, the look, the feel, the mood, is very unique. Lars [Ulrich], James [Hetfield] and Rob [Trujillo] from Metallica were at the last European show, and it was so gratifying to see them headbanging at the side of the stage. Lars sent me a message the next day saying, “It was so cool yesterday. Me and James felt 20 again.” Stuff like that means a lot to me.
But wait ’til you see the production. It’s white; it looks like marble. And it has the feeling of this sacrificial chapel. There’s a two-meter-tall altar, there’s a three-and-a-half-meter tall cross hanging above the altar. They’re still building the stuff in Poland, so I hope they get it finished to fly the pieces over that need to be fused together in Las Vegas. But the set is all songs from the mini-LP, Melissa, Don’t Break The Oath and then the new song. And I guarantee you, I sound better today than ever in my career. If you’re coming to the show, you won’t forget it.
Mercyful Fate:
Tonight we take the stage at Wacken Open Air at the Harder Stage @ 20:30 CET!
Watch the video below.
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Hank Shermann:
Hello Italy..Tonight at the Castle🎸 #mercyfulfate #verona #italy #fans #rockthecastle
Metal Hammer recently interviewed King Diamond. You can read the entire interview @ this location.
When will Mercyful Fate’s new album be out?
King Diamond:
“King Diamond’s album will be out first. The label wanted that first and that’s what you’re going to get. It’s all a big push-back [because of Covid], but when we come back with Mercyful Fate we are going to be coming with new songs, and it’s going to be a production like you’ve never seen. So, King Diamond album first and then we’ll get down to business with Mercyful Fate.”
When did you discover you could sing that high?
“It happened when an early fan told me I should work on my falsetto. He said the high notes really suit what we were doing; this was in an early version of Black Rose [King’s pre-Mercyful Fate band]. I didn’t really know what he was talking about, but I decided to try and give it a go. That fan is an important part of my career. I can still picture him now, I could draw him for you if you gave me a pencil, haha!”
Gene Simmons sued you for allegedly ripping off his makeup. Have you bumped into him since?
“No, I haven’t. I think that would be a lot of fun. I have no outstanding stuff with him. There’s a lot of reasons why this happened: they’d dropped their makeup around this time, but they still had the copyright on the look. I was never influenced by them – my influences were Peter Gabriel and Alice Cooper.
I said, ‘I don’t have a lot of money that you can sue me for, but you have a lot of money that other people can sue you for.’ They were not the first to wear makeup. It never got to be a lawsuit, it just got stirred up.”
How do you feel about celebrities wearing metal t-shirts? Ever seen any wearing a Mercyful Fate shirt?
“Oh, yes. The drummer from Blink 182 had one [Travis Barker]. Jason Mewes from Jay and Silent Bob has one on a lot – they used Welcome Home and The Invisible Guests in Clerks II. I met them on my tour in 2019, outside my hotel. We were checking out and they had just finished a show.
There they were, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes coming out of the elevator. They had seen our flight cases so they knew King Diamond was in the hotel. I said, ‘Hey guys!’ And they said, ‘Are you with the King Diamond band?’ I said, ‘Kinda… this is King!’ They freaked out! It was very funny.”
During a 2017 conversation on the Talk is Jericho podcast, Gene Simmons talked about suing King:
Did you want to sue King Diamond for his makeup?
Gene Simmons:
Sure.
It was looking kind of like yours.
That’s what we thought, so he stopped.
It was just easier to send a letter to him?
The letter is cheaper than testing us in court. We’ve never lost a case. By the way, I’m a fan. I liked his stuff, I thought he was doing cool stuff. Make up your own stuff, don’t come into my house unless you’re invited.
Hank Shermann: Mercyful Fate in Hannover Tonight…Going to Sound check now🎸 #mercyfulfate #volbeat #hannover #metal #soundcheck #history #kingdiamond #hankshermann #joeyvera #mikewead #bjarnetholm #classic #songs #copenhagen #fun
Mercyful Fate: The Sabbath comes to you across EU, UK, and US. Be ready and wait for the sound of the demon bell..
Metal Hammer: King Diamond says Ghost didn’t rip off Mercyful Fate, so you can all shut up now.
King Diamond:
Some people have compared the two bands, but I never thought that,” the singer told Hammer’s Stephen Hill. “I very much saw them as a Blue Oyster Cult style band. I’m sure they have a little influence from us, and that’s a huge honor to hear, but they have their own style. I never felt that they were copying us. We have all these guitar solos, and they barely use any guitar solos on those first couple of albums.
“They also have a show which is completely different to ours,” he continued. “You see someone saying ‘Oh they got that from King Diamond and Mercyful Fate!’ but I don’t think that is true. It’s not like we don’t have any humor in our shows, but it’s very grotesque and twisted. With them I see it as a lot more tongue-in-cheek. Ours is a horror show, they have jokes going back and forth during the show.”
“I’m not so much into the pop side of what they do, but they’ve certainly done some very heavy songs too. They do it very well, they’re amazing songwriters.”
Ghost themselves appear on the cover of the latest issue of Metal Hammer, on sale now.
King Diamond: In my lair working on lyrics for the new album. The words may be blurred for now but in due time the madness will unfold, you have been warned..
Stay Heavy..
King Diamond
Mikkey Dee: Here’s a little update for you!
Note: Mikkey is not sick. He is in mandatory quarantine set by the German government for visitors.
Here's a little update for you! pic.twitter.com/qHrMGyCSBp
— Mikkey Dee (@themikkeydee) January 16, 2022