Before black metal became a genre of its own, Mercyful Fate were already bringing dark stories, occult themes, wild vocals and twisted guitar riffs into heavy metal. Their debut album, “Melissa”, released on October 30, 1983, helped show just how far metal could go.
This wasn’t an album about playing it safe. King Diamond’s voice went from deep, sinister tones to piercing falsetto screams and Hank Shermann and Michael Denner traded sharp guitar riffs and solos. The music was fast, dark and had changes that kept you guessing.
And then there was the skull.
The Story Behind “Melissa”
The album’s title came from a real human skull that King Diamond named Melissa. He had borrowed it from a local hospital and used it as a stage prop, even attaching parts of its skeleton to his microphone stand.
According to the story, the skull eventually disappeared during a concert in the Netherlands. Not exactly the kind of thing you expect to lose on tour.
But Melissa wasn’t just a creepy name for an album. The title track tells the story of a witch who was burned, giving the record a tragic and eerie centre. That mix of dark storytelling and heavy metal became a big part of Mercyful Fate’s identity.
The band didn’t hide its occult themes, either. Songs like “Evil” and “Into the Coven” went straight into territory that many people considered shocking. The latter even ended up on the Parents Music Resource Center’s infamous “Filthy Fifteen” list.
For Mercyful Fate, controversy was only part of the story. The music itself was what made the album last.
Seven Tracks That Refused to Play Safe
“Melissa” begins with “Evil” a rapid, aggressive song centered on King Diamond’s high falsetto and the band’s twin-guitar attack. It gets right to the point and establishes the tone for all that follows.
“Curse of the Pharaohs” has sharp hooks and heavy riffs. Its roots go back to an early Brats demo called “Night Riders” showing that some of the band’s ideas had already been taking shape before this album.
Then comes “Into the Coven” one of the record’s most notorious songs. Its dark subject matter attracted unwanted attention from people who thought metal needed to be controlled. Decades later, it remains one of the album’s defining tracks.
But if you want to hear just how ambitious Mercyful Fate could be, put on “Satan’s Fall”. At 11 minutes and 25 seconds it moves through around 16 different riff changes. Instead of repeating one idea until it wears out, the band keeps shifting direction. It’s a metal epic with enough twists to keep guitar fans busy for years.
The title track slows the mood and brings the story of Melissa back into focus. Meanwhile “At the Sound of the Demon Bell” makes tension through a mid tempo pace and eerie atmosphere.
And don’t overlook “Black Funeral”. At just 2 minutes and 49 seconds, it’s short, sharp, and aggressive. It was released as a single, with “Black Masses” appearing on the B-side after being left off the original album because the band wasn’t happy with the guitar tone.
The Album That Helped Shape Extreme Metal
Mercyful Fate’s influence reached far beyond Denmark. “Melissa” is widely regarded as an important early influence on black metal, thrash metal, and extreme metal.
Slayer’s Kerry King has spoken about the impact of the band’s complex, multi-riff songwriting, particularly on “Satan’s Fall”. That influence can be heard in the kind of ambitious, aggressive structures that helped shape albums such as Slayer’s “Hell Awaits”.
Metallica were also big fans. In 1998 they recorded a Mercyful Fate medley for “Garage Inc.” making together four songs associated with the band early work. “Evil”, “Curse of the Pharaohs”, “A Corpse Without a Soul” and “Into the Coven”.
The album also has historical significance. “Melissa” was Roadrunner Records first full length album. Its legendary status was made in 2017 when Rolling Stone named it the 17th greatest metal album of all time.
That’s a serious legacy for a record built around dark tales, a stolen skull and riffs that never sit still.
More than four decades later “Melissa” still sounds like a band willing to push heavy metal into stranger, darker territory. King Diamond’s voice remains unmistakable, while the guitars constantly shift shape and the tracks refuse to take the easy way out.
What is your favourite track from “Melissa”? The speed of “Evil”, the madness of “Satan’s Fall” or the dark tale of the title track? 🤘
By
By
