Mercyful Fate - The Best of Mercyful Fate

The birth of thrash metal can be pinpointed to three specific bands -- Motörhead, Venom, and Mercyful Fate -- with the latter two outfits single-handedly creating the darker "black metal" genre. Fronted by vocal acrobat King Diamond (a chap who had a soft spot for Alice Cooper, as evidenced by his use of makeup and on-stage theatrics), the Danish group combined the speed of Judas Priest with the doom of Black Sabbath, and helped influence a legion of subsequent metal bands -- everyone from Metallica to Dimmu Borgir. Read More