Heavy metal pioneers Mercyful Fate made their first live appearance in 23 years on Thursday (June 2nd) in Hannover, Germany, opening for Volbeat. The date kicked off a European/UK tour that will precede an August 21st headlining slot at this year’s Psycho Las Vegas festival.
Making the Hannover performance even more notable was the live premiere of a new song, “The Jackal of Salzburg.” The song will reportedly be included on Mercyful Fate’s forthcoming studio album due out in 2023. Unfortunately, thus far, no fan footage that has surfaced on YouTube or social channels captured this particular moment (or perhaps it has been removed), but performances of other songs from the set have been posted online.
Update: There is now footage of Mercyful Fate performing the new song “The Jackal of Salzburg.” Watch below.
As for the rest of the set, frontman King Diamond and company played most of the standout tracks from the Mercyful Fate catalog: “The Oath,” “A Corpse Without Soul,” “Curse of the Pharaohs,” “Evil,” and “A Dangerous Meeting.” An encore performance of the proto-black metal classic “Satan’s Fall” capped things off.
The band’s lineup for the show included King Diamond on vocals, founding guitarist Hank Shermann, Bjarne Holm on drums, Mike Wead on guitar, and Joey Vera on bass.
At this rate, it might be reasonable to expect Mercyful Fate’s new album to drop before King Diamond’s previously announced solo opus The Institute. After the latter was announced along with a single release and 2019 tour, King Diamond appears to have put the project in cold storage as he concentrates on Mercyful Fate’s reunion tour.
Watch footage of the band performing “The Jackal of Salzburg,” “The Oath” and “A Corpse Without Soul” at the Hannover show below.