Published on Aug 17, 2001
By 1992, fans of Mercyful Fate had to be chomping at the bit.
The legendary black metal band, fronted by King Diamond, had broken
up as they were supposedly on the brink of making it big, leaving a
scant two albums (and one compilation) in their wake. Sure, Diamond
had moved on to a successful solo career which featured music as
scary (if not as overtly Satanic) as Mercyful Fate, but fans of the
Fate wanted more from their band.
So it had to be a mixed blessing when
Return Of The Vampire was released in 1992. Yes, it was a
“new” Mercyful Fate disc… but it featured no new material,
instead offering the listeners selections that were now a decade
old. It sounded like a closet-cleaning release… and, quite
possibly, it was, seeing that the band was not far from re-forming
on a different label. But the diehard fan had to be somewhat
disappointed that the selections offered on this disc featured
Mercyful Fate in their tentative early days (early being a relative
term – meaning, in this case, around the time of
Melissa) and not as the more polished group that said an
early good-bye.
The disc has far too much of a “been there, heard that” feel,
from the early version of “Curse Of The Pharoahs,” “A Corpse
Without Soul” and “Death Kiss” all have. Diamond’s vocals, while
all featuring that infamous falsetto wail that could give anyone
the shivers, aren’t as developed as they would be on
Don’t Break The Oath, and sound a bit tentative at times.
Other tracks, such as “Burning The Cross” and “Return Of The
Vampire,” emphasize this tentativeness.
If there is one thing that Mercyful Fate could not be faulted
for, it’s their musicianship. The two-guitar attack of Hank
Shermann and Michael Denner is in fine form throughout these
selections, even if the music at times feels like it’s drifting and
not sure how it should resolve itself.
Maybe expecting so much out of
Return Of The Vampire isn’t fair to Mercyful Fate; after
all, this was the first thing offered to fans in five years. But
one wonders what good, if any, issuing such a collection served.
Maybe it was the band’s way of gauging whether there was enough
public interest for them to get back together and make another
attempt at things. Maybe, as mentioned, it was a way for the label
to capitalize on what was once their centerpiece act before they
moved onto different quarters.
However you look at it,
Return Of The Vampire didn’t really mark the return of
Mercyful Fate; that honor would come about a year later with the
release of
In The Shadows. But it did remind people how much of a force
that Mercyful Fate had once been on the metal scene… and how much
they grew musically in just a four-year period. If only some more
material from around 1984 had been included, this could have been
an exciting collection. As it stands, it probably pleased the
drooling Fate fan in 1992… but almost seems like a pointless
exercise not even 10 years later.