Reunited Danish heavy metal legends Mercyful Fate are currently embarked on their first North American headlining tour in over two decades, having kicked off the trek in Dallas, Texas on October 25th. German thrash metal veterans Kreator and Ohio blackened speed metallers Midnight are providing support on the outing, which is scheduled to come to an end in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 16th (get tickets via Ticketmaster).
Mercyful Fate brought their full European festival production to New York City at Brooklyn’s historic Kings Theatre on Thursday night, November 10th. The band kicked off their 11-set ritual with “The Oath” off their 1984 album Don’t Break the Oath, with frontman King Diamond appearing atop of the band’s double-tiered stage, draped in red, and wearing a hellish ram mask that engulfed the majority of this head. Mercyful Fate’s current live lineup is rounded out by founding member Hank Shermann (guitar), plus longtime bandmates Mike Wead (guitar) and Bjarne T. Holm (drums), along with live bassist Becky Baldwin (who is currently filling in for Joey Vera while he is out on the road with Armored Saint).
Following a vicious performance of “A Corpse Without Soul,” Mercyful Fate delivered their fresh tune “The Jackal of Salzburg” to a sold-out Brooklyn crowd, giving fans in attendance a taste of new material to be featured on the band’s highly anticipated new album, tentatively due out in 2023. By this point King Diamond had swapped his beastly mask for a fiendish black crown headpiece with long spikes, an upside down cross, and adorned with a black tattered veil. Fans could now get a better view of King’s iconic corpse paint, along with all of his demonic facial expressions.
Mercyful Fate’s set consisted of mostly 1980s-era songs, specifically tracks off their albums Don’t Break the Oath and Melissa, along with their classic EP Mercyful Fate. Highlights from the set include performances of “Curse of the Pharaohs,” “A Dangerous Meeting,” “Doomed by the Living Dead,” “Come to the Sabbath,” “Evil,” and set-closer “Satan’s Fall.”
Kreator provided solid direct support, pounding out powerhouse hits like “Enemy of God,” “Flag of Hate,” and “Pleasure to Kill.” The German thrash masters also treated the crowd to a few new songs off their latest album Hate über alles, performing the record’s title-track, plus “Strongest of the Strong.” The band also revealed that they will be returning to the US next year for their own headlining tour.
Midnight had the crowd moving early in the evening, bringing to the stage brute tracks like “Fucking Speed and Darkness,” “Here Comes Sweet Death,” and “Lust Filth and Sleaze.” The trio also threw in their new song “Szex Witchery” off their latest album Let There Be Witchery for good measure.
See Heavy Consequence’s photos, as well as fan-filmed video and Mercyful Fate’s setlist from the show in Brooklyn, New York, below. Pick up tickets to the remaining shows here.
Photo Gallery – Mercyful Fate, Kreator, and Midnight in Brooklyn, New York (click to expand and scroll through):
All photos by Johnny Perilla (@johnnyperilla).
Mercyful Fate Setlist:
The Oath
A Corpse Without Soul
The Jackal of Salzburg
Curse of the Pharaohs
A Dangerous Meeting
Doomed by the Living Dead
Melissa
Black Funeral
Evil
Come to the Sabbath
Encore:
Satan’s Fall