Return Of The Vampire

About

<i>Return of the Vampire</i> collects Mercyful Fate’s earliest recordings: the demos they made in Denmark in 1981 and 1982 before the release of their first album. The band had formed from the ashes of the Danish punk group Brats, and these songs exist in a wonderful gray zone between rough-and-tumble punk rock and speed metal. Though the performances aren't nearly as athletic as Mercyful Fate’s subsequent works, songs like “Burning the Cross” and “A Corpse Without Soul” have a chunky, explosive momentum that only happens early in a band’s career, when they're flush with new inspiration. These old recordings still sound remarkably fresh. The guitars bristle with live-wire intensity, and songs like “You Asked for It” give longtime Mercyful Fate fans the opportunity to watch King Diamond’s inimitable vocal style coalesce. Audacious, scrappy, and often brilliant, these demos were the first footprints in what would become one of the most important careers in '80s metal.

via Apple Music