MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning with King Diamond 12" Vinyl LP Album

This album "MERCYFUL FATE - The Beginning" is a compilation album of tracks recorded before the release of the album "Melissa".

  This album is the definitive collector's addition to the Mercyful Fate Catalogue featuring the band's official pre-Melissa recordings - The legendary Rave-On sessions (Fully re-mastered) - The BBC "Friday Rock Show" sessions + Bonus track "Black Masses" from the "Melissa" sessions, never released before on LP.

Album Front Cover Photo of MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning

 

Essentials of: MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning
Music Genre:

Heavy Metal, Death Metal

Label & Catalognr:

RoadRunner RR 9603  

Media Format:

Record Format: 12" Vinyl Stereo Gramophone Record
Total Album (Cover+Record) weight: 230 gram  

Year & Country:

1987 Made in Holland  

Liner Nots:

The tracks from this Mercyful Fate mini-LP featured as the first four tracks on this record, were recorded in Holland ( The Netherlands ) in September 1982 at the Stone Sound Studio.

It was the band's first real studio work and it was all recorded and mixed in only three days. Because of the short time allowed for the recording, several of the guitar solos had to be done in one take and the planned vocal arrangements suffered too. Only a few of the intended backing vocals can be heard on these songs.

Soon after the release of this mini-LP Tommy Vance invited Mercyful Fate to record a "Live" session for the "Friday Rock Show" on BBC Radio 1. All three songs were recorded on 19 March 1983 in only 8 hours and were mixed later by Tony Wilson, resulting in a very successful recording. The songs differ from the Melissa LP versions since they were recorded several months prior to the recording of the LP.

"Black Masses" was recorded while Mercyful Fate were in the Easy Sound Studio in Copenhagen, working on the "Melissa" album. The basic tracks were laid on 19 July 1983. Lead guitar on the 22nd followed by the vocals on the 23rd. The track was mixed on 27 July and released in December that same year as B-side of the 12" "Black Funeral".

Production & Recording Information
Producers:

Jacques Hustinx - Producer

Jacques Hustinx, a Dutch musician, producer, and co-founder of Rave-On Records, played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of heavy metal music during the 1980s. Learn more about him

Tony Wilson for Radio 1's

  Tony Wilson ( full-name: Anthony Howard Wilson ) record label owner, music producer, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and BBC Television. In the 1980s he has produced and worked on albums for bands like: Battleaxe, Deep Purple, Diamond Head, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate

Henrik Lund - Producer

  Henrik Lund ( Music Producer ) founder of Easy Sound Studio and he produced many Danish albums and several "Mercyful Fate" records. He is the brother of Niels Erik Lund.

 

Sound & Recording Engineers:

Willem Steentjes - Sound Engineer

David Dade - Sound Engineer

Jacob J. Jorgensen - Sound Engineer

Recording Location:

Stone Sound Studios, Netherlands

BBC Radio One

Easy Sound Studio, Copenhagen, Denmark

Musicians: (uncredited)
  • King Diamond - Lead Vocals
  • Hank Shermann - Guitars
  • Michael Denner - Guitars
  • Timi "Grabber" Hansen - Bass
  • Kim Ruzz - Drums
Tracklisting Side One:
  1. Doomed by the Living Dead - 5:07
  2. A Corpse without Soul - 6:52
  3. Nuns Have No Fun - 4:17
  4. Devil Eyes - 5:48
Tracklisting Side Two:
  1. Curse of the Pharaohs - 3:50
  2. Evil - 4:01
  3. Satan's Fall - 10:28
  4. Black Masses - 4:30
  5. Black Funeral - 2:52
High Resolution & Quality Photos
Front Cover Photo Of MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning
High Resolution Photo #1 MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning

Note: The images on this page are photos of the actual album. Slight differences in color may exist due to the use of the camera's flash. Images can be zoomed in/out ( eg pinch with your fingers on a tablet or smartphone )

Photo Of The Back Cover MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning
High Resolution Photo #2 MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning
Close up of the record's label
High Resolution Photo #4 MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning
Photo of Side One: MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning
High Resolution Photo #3 MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning
Photo of Side Two: MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning
High Resolution Photo #5 MERCYFUL FATE The Beginning