On his official board, his wife/manager/singer Livia said there were a bunch of reasons, none of which she could disclose publicly. To me that sounds like contract issues, like part of their contract with Metal Blade is to release a live video/dvd/album of some sort. I went to see the underground band the Ozric Tentacles (who have an open taping policy) a couple years ago and approached their manager/bassist about making a soundboard recording. Her response was that even though the band doesn't have a problem with it, their record company would be furious if they found out the band authorized a private soundboard recording.
King Diamond is very late to the DVD party. With his shows being so special, I'm surprised there hasn't ever been a video release. I'd jump on such a disc without a moment's thought.
I worship Mercyful Fate's first two releases (self-titled EP and Melissa), but from then on my favourites are the run from Fatal Portrait to Conspiracy. For some weird reason, Don't Break The Oath never grabbed me as much as the others, despite having some individual crackers.
Add The Eye and half of Spider's Lullabye and I'd have to completely agree with this post. The production of Don't Break The Oath kills me.
I know what you guys are talking about. The production on Don't Break the Oath is shrill, and the album is not nearly as immediate as the EP and Melissa. Moreover, it seems at first that nearly every song is an excuse for Sherman and Denner to trade solos till the cows come home. But repeated listening reveals songwriting nuances, and the seemingly gratuitous soloing starts making sense and its place in the songs becomes clearer. It's an album that reveals itself slowly, much more so than either of the releases which precede it.
Don't Break the Oath is the album from Mercyful Fate I usually turn to when I want to hear some Mercyful Fate.
I have the "Two From The Vault" also on Roadrunner from 2003 it sounds okay to me but have only cranked it in the car not the home system. What is the opinion of the sound on this release?
I now have original CD pressings for Melissa, Don't Break The Oath, The Beginning, Fatal Portrait, Abigail, Them, Conspiracy, and The Eye. I love them all. I prefer the original CDs over the remasters for King Diamond's albums. They sound real good, except for Abigail which is bright but still better than the remaster. I love the sound of the original Mercyful Fate albums as well, though I haven't compared them to the remasters. I haven't heard the remasters in like 6-7 years.
Has anyone heard the 2007 Roadrunner/Cargo vinyl reissue of Them? Even the original pressing sounds bright and shrill and much of the bass is rolled off.
In The Beginning is great but the reissued (remastered [I am assuming it has been remastered as others suggest]) Melissa is regal. If the originals are even better, then count me in. There are certain recordings in the firmament of Heavy Rock and Metal which are so intoxicating they raise my enjoyment to a rare level of near rapture: 'Love To Love' by UFO from the Lights Out album is one such piece where during its coda, I am completely swept away in the moment. However, track 6 on Melissa is ten minutes of unrelenting, Metal perfection and as with the UFO track, a good portion of this verdict arises from the production quality.
I will listen more to Melissa and find my Metal perfection I hope! As far as UFO are concerned Lights Out is a stone cold classic the remake of Loves "Alone Again Or" raise my level of near rapture for sure.
Yes, maybe it's down to the sound, because when I take the songs individually they are brilliant (as Aleksandar also notes). I'm with you in that The Eye is still good, but after the previous albums it seemed to me like a step down. I'm probably put off somewhat by the sound again, I never warmed up to those drums. Having said that, Eye Of The Witch is a classic track. After The Eye, I thought the rejuvenation of Mercyful Fate was a good move, as the resulting In The Shadows was brilliant. I would even say that the whole 90s run of Mercyful Fate albums was great, with 9 being a personal favourite (surprisingly dynamic mastering for a late 90s CD, I should add). Going back to King Diamond, you also seem fond of The Spider's Lullabye, and that's one that didn't agree with me for some reason. However, it was easy to overlook when the King returned in 1996 with The Graveyard, which I consider an absolute masterpiece on par with his 80s classics.
You said it. Everytime I've tried a remaster of the KD/MF titles I've come away disappointed. The old editions are my go-to discs.
How is the sound quality on those 90's era Mercyful Fate albums? I have Into The Unknown and 9 which I really like, but how about In The Shadows, Time, and Dead Again?
I haven't played them in some time so take my words with a pinch of salt, but from what I remember there are no great differences in the overall sound. I think Dead Again and 9 were the most dynamic. I can give them a try and look into it in more detail if you're interested, but I won't be able to do that until next week (I won't be home until then).
That would be nice. Yeah 9 is surprisingly dynamic. I love everything about that album, the sound, the music, the artwork, all of it is great.
I have not heard that pressing, but yes, I can most certainly confirm that the original US Roadrunner vinyl pressing was bright and shrill with almost no bass whatsoever. I can't even imagine what they were thinking when they mixed/mastered it like that. That album needs a remix badly for that reason.
The Dutch pressing sounds the same. Both were mastered at Masterdisk. Looks like I'll have to check out the reissue.
I know this is useless since I haven't heard it, but my personal opinion is that no amount of remastering is going to fix that. If the bass ain't there, it ain't there.
Yeah I agree with you, I think that the mix is lacking bass, so no amount of remastering will fix what isn't there. The original Roadracer CD is not bright at all, but it's still lacking a bit of bass.
Has anyone been able to determine definitively if those Two from the Vault reissues have been remastered? I have FP/Abigail and Them/Conspiracy, and while the liner notes do say "Remastered by Chris Gehringer at the Hit Factory N.Y.C.," Abigail doesn't sound as terrible as all the negative feedback I've heard about the KD/MF 1997 remasters (among which is Don't Break the Oath, which I also have, and which does sound shrill as all heck), and Them still sounds as low as brittle as I remember from my original tapes in the 80s. My problem is that I never have two issues simultaneously to compare. This is one of those cases where I want to doubt an album's liner notes.
Indeed. Melissa on my 'T.F.T.V' series sounds simply perfect: dynamic with excellent separation and no shrillness, just appropriate falsetto madness where appropriate. Gave 'Oath' ('97 remap) a twirl yesterday and from a room away I could enjoy it without ear mufflers but boy, it's a shocker when within kipper slapping distance of the tweeters. This is doubly annoying because the keyboard intro to the title track is of itself, sonic nectar. Frustration incarnate.
