Melissa [Special Edition, Extra tracks]

Mercyful Fate | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 30, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Special Edition, Extra tracks
• Label: Roadrunner Records
• ASIN: B000AMJEB4
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,721 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Evil

2. Curse of the Pharaohs

3. Into the Coven

4. At the Sound of the Demon Bell

5. Black Funeral

6. Satan's Fall

7. Melissa

8. Black Masses [*]

9. Curse of the Pharaohs [BBC Radio 1 Session][*]

10. Evil [BBC Radio 1 Session][*]

11. Satan's Fall [BBC Radio 1 Session][*]

12. Curse of the Pharaohs [*][Demo Version]

13. Black Funeral [*][Demo Version]

Editorial Reviews

King Diamond and friends get the reissue treatment from Roadrunner. Check out this legendary album with the bonus material it's got.

YEAR: 2005

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best is released even Better!!!!, November 10, 2005

By 

Toxic Teleblaster (Omaha NE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Melissa (Audio CD)

Arguably the most original and critically acclaimed group to come from Denmark was Mercyful Fate. Mercyful Fate's nucleus comprised of the multi-octave vocals of King Diamond aka Kim Bendix Petersen, and the twin lead guitar attack of Hank Sherman aka Rene Krolmark and Michael Denner. "Melissa" was the group's first formal recording and was a featured LP for Road Runner Records. Although "Melissa" was originally released in 1983, and re-released in 1997, Roadrunner Records has remastered the songs and released this classic for your listening enjoyment. It includes the highly sought after early 1980's BBC sessions, two extra demo tracks of "Black Funeral", and "Curse of the Pharaohs" and a three track DVD featuring live footage of the band during early 1983. A commentary by King Diamond himself narrates the performance and the story of the group during that time frame. Mercyful Fate pioneered a sub genre of ultra heavy and complex music renown for its macabre lyrics, and Satanic/occultism driven imagery and attitude called Black Metal.

The relevance of "Melissa" as a recording is immense. Firstly the LP had 7 drop dead knock out classics including the 11 minute opus "Satan's Fall" Secondly, Mercyful Fate's sound was so obscenely original that to this day not another group even vaguely comes close to emulating them. And thirdly, Mercyful Fate's success paved the way for many other extremely heavy artists to prosper.

In conclusion, this group's body of work isn't for everybody, and some will find the subject content and or delivery of Mercyful Fate's music to be uncomfortable. But for those who are interested in truly groundbreaking Metal classics and the development of the genre of darker Metal music, this CD/DVD package is a must have for your collection! Be sure to check out Mercyful Fate's 9 other releases, King Diamond's solo work and Force of Evil's cds featuring Hank Sherman and Michael Denner

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars just in case you didn't know..., September 3, 2005

By 

G. White "MINDFULL" (Garland, texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Melissa (Audio CD)

this album includes a dvd of three songs by mercyful fate from the live at the dynamo in holland 1983

track list for dvd:
1.doomed by the living dead
2.black funeral
3.curse of the pharaohs
*also inludes exclusive commentary by king diamond

but wait there more it also includes a cd of melissa

track list:

1.Evil
2.Curse Of The Pharaohs
3.Into The Coven
4.At The Sound Of The Demon Bell
5.Black Funeral
6.Satan's Fall
7.Melissa
* all tracks remastered

bonus tracks:
8.black masses (b-side of the "black funeral" single)
9.curse of the pharaohs(bbc radio 1 session)
10.evil(bbc radio 1 session)
11.satan's fall (bbc radio 1 session)
12.curse of the pharaohs (demo)
13.black funeral (demo)



also this album kicks ass I love mercyful fate and king diamond

I also recommend you buy some celtic frost.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth it for the DVD alone, January 20, 2006

By 

D.M. (Boston) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Melissa (Audio CD)

An excellent release. Always my favorite Mercyful Fate album, this version is an improvment over the remastered version due to the inclusion of a video of three live tracks. The optional commentary by King Diamond is a nice touch. The sound quality of the video is about what one would expect from a pre-Melissa club setting. Not as good as my "Live from the Depths of Hell" boot, but good enough. They used three cameras, so the footage is quite nice.

I have the remastered version of Melissa as well, but really, to have a video of Doomed by the Living Dead makes it worth twice the price. Of course, this only whets my appetite to have a full DVD release from the Melissa and "Oath" period. How about it guys?