From: 4224_5201@uwovax.uwo.ca (John LaRocque)
Subject: Mercyful Fate/King Diamond
Organization: University of Western Ont, London
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 00:14:04 GMT

     About a month ago I put a piece of info about King Diamond/Mercyful
Fate on the net. There is some more information which I got from various
sources. Thanks to all who E-Mailed something to me.

     The King was born in 1956 as Kim Bendix Petersen. His first band was
called Brainstorm which he was in from 1975-1978. He was only a guitarist and
it was only a cover band. From 1978 - 1980 he was vocalist for a band called
Black Rose which featured original songs. Here he developed his King identity.
In 1980 he and Hank Sherman, Mike Denner and Timi Hansen(Grabber) founded
Brats, a punk-metal band. They broke up within a year and Hank and King
founded Mercyful Fate while Denner and Hansen founded Danger Zone. Brats
released one demo with the songs: Some Day
                                  Combat Zone
                                  Death Kiss
                                  Love Criminals

    There is also a live bootleg of Brats with a song called Shadow Nights. 
I don't know what else they did.

    While we know that Danger Zone recorded demos in Summer 1981 with King and
Sherman giving a hand, I don't know if they still exist or what is on them.
However that session has assistance and I would consider it to be an MF demo
just like Brat's stuff because the members are pretty much the classic MF
lineup.
    Mercyful Fate recorded the following demos. I think the list is complete
and in chronological order.

Spring 1981: You Asked For It
             Walking Back to Hell  ( A Dangerous Meeting )
             Hard Rocker
             Running Free

Summer 1981: Leave My Soul Alone
             Mission: Destroy Aliens( both songs explained in Return of the
                                      Vampire collection, not really a
                                      recording session but helping out
                                      Danger Zone. These two tracks were
                                      quick writes and time killers)

Fall 1981: Burning the Cross
           Curse of the Pharaohs
           Return of the Vampire
           Night of a Full Moon
           Corpse Without Soul

Spring 1982: Death Kiss
             Black Funeral

    This list should be complete. MF had only two major recording days
Spring and Fall 1981. The 1982 recording was done in Hull England upon
request and they were the only songs recorded. The story behind this is that
because of the popular demos Fate got to record these two songs for an album.
Only one made it.

     The song was called Black Funeral and was included on a collection called
Metallic Storm released in 1982. This is the first album with Fate and came
out before the self-titled ep. This has the demo Black Funeral. Recently a
record store was selling an anthology collection of various demos and songs
from first albums. Before I could get it, someone else had bought it. Check
out compillations on CD. I don't know which version it is but if it is the
demo then pick it up. The quality should be better than a bootleg. Does anyone
know the name of this collection?

     After Black Funeral the Fate Albums were recorded, but there are some
differences with the original releases and current versions. The self-titled
ep. was remastered for The Beginning. Melissa has two versions, the earlier
one has a sound that is much more raw and apperently is slightly different.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Black Funeral ep. was remastered for the
beginning. Don't Break the Oath has three versions. The first one, made in
North America, has some warping on Come to the Sabbath ( European versions
don't have it). Somehow the print got screwed up when crossing the ocean.
Version two is a corrected version of version one with no problems for Come to
the Sabbath. Version three is a remastered version of version two. Everything
is the same but it soundsmuch cleaner. Melissa also was cleaned up for current
release.  Most albums had picture disk versions released( nothing different
there) and the Back cover to the DBTO CD is missing the shadow of the KIng
found only on album versions. For all fanatics, get older and newer versions
and notice the differences in sound quality. It will be worth it.

     As for King Diamond the only one which may have been remastered is Fatal
Portrait or the first two ep.'s. No Presents has two covers, one for the
early version and the new one has King and Rudolf the Reindeer. All of
the King releases have limited picture disk versions.

Bootlegs: Mercyful Fate - Live From the Depths of Hell
                        - Brats 1980 Live
                        - Curse of the Pharaohs
                        - all demo sessions separately
                        - Return of the Living Dead
                        - Crush the Cross
                        - Live in Portland Oregon( first American concert)
                        - Brats sessions

           King Diamond - Live in Hammersmith Odeon (first U.K. 1987)
                        - Fatal Portrait( demo version, slight riff
                                          differences )
                        - Live in Lousiana( bootleg videocassette)

    These are all that I have or have heard of. If anyone has some of them
I'd be interested in getting them. Let me know what you have. I'm interested
in being something of a distributor for bootlegs. I'll get everything and I'll
help others get this stuff. I'll pay and give E-Mail responses. We can
probably work out something.

P.S. Look for the 1982 Metallic Storm compillation collection in used record
     stores. Let me know if you have any luck finding it.



-- 

John P. LaRocque
vader@uwo.ca
University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario


"Urk..urk..."
"Apologies accepted, Captian Nida", Darth Vader