The Beginning

What a great idea this was, remastering that legendary EP, adding 3 BBC session tracks to it, a rare single and a raw, early version of 'Black Funeral'. If you have not heard any material at all from this compilation, then I suggest you read my review for the 'Nuns Have No Fun' EP. Here's a bit more on the other tracks...

Curse Of The Pharoahs - This is much rawer than the final version on 'Melissa', less impressive to say the least. After all, it is only a BBC session track, although not all BBC session tracks are less impressive than the studio versions. Just take the next one for example...

Evil - If you've read my review for 'Melissa', you'll see how much I actually love this song. Still, this version is better. Rawer, heavier, more aggressive, with the same amount of catchiness that filled the studio one...perhapse even more of it here.

Satan's Fall - Like 'Curse Of The Pharoahs', this one is a bit less impressive, though not too much different. Same length, same epic feeling, just...bleh, you know what I mean.

Black Masses - Too bad this song wasn't put on 'Melissa', this track is infuckin'credible! Brutal lyrics, especially for its time period. Raw and untamed guitars and falsettos, just pure, satanic heavy at its best.

Black Funeral - The sound quality here is shit. This is only on the CD version of this compilation, but I really could have delt without it. I don't know why this was put on here. The music is great, but the quality sucks. Nuff said.

So if you do not have the 'Nuns Have No Fun' EP, which is a real bitch to find, this this is all you really need to get. You get that, plus a better version of 'Evil', and is also a lot easier to hunt down than the EP, even on vinyl.

"The Beginning" is a compilation of rare early releases by Mercyful Fate, and if you thought "Melissa" and "Don't Break the Oath" were great albums, you NEED to get this. It consists of the band's first four-song EP (released on Rave-On records in 1982), the three-song broadcast of MF live on the BBC, and a B-side from the Melissa recording sessions (the 1998 re-issue of this disc also contains "Black Funeral" from the early "Metallic Storm" compilation). Often, retrospective releases like this are only interesting to collectors or die-hard fans wanting to see where the 'final' style came from, but this album rocks - is it because Mercyful Fate were just that talented? Because they started off with a strongly-defined style? Because they'd been really kicking around for quite a few years before? Probably some of all three...

The four songs from the first EP are the highlight of the release, IMO. King and Co. always apologize for the 'atrocious' sound quality and production, but they shouldn't - the sound is gritty and raw, and helps emphasize the aggressive riffing, but it's clear enough to pick everything out. And the songs - talk about gems! Anyone familiar with the songs on the albums knows the band's penchant for constant mood-feel changes, tempo shifts, etc., and this EP has all of that in spades - "Doomed by the Living Dead", "Devil Eyes", and "A Corpse Without Soul" are whirlwinds of metallic fury with aggressive riffing, shredding solos, a bouncy, almost funky rhythm section, and of course King's wonderfully blasphemous lyrics and OTT vocal delivery. "Nuns Have No Fun" is the icing on the cake, though - the band is in as fine a form as always, but the lyrics cross into the tackily humorous category (something I'm a big fan of....). If the disc stopped there it would be worth it.

Next are "Curse of the Pharaohs," "Evil", and "Satan's Fall" from a live BBC broadcast in 1982. This was before the release of "Melissa", so some of the arrangements are slightly altered from the final versions (most notably "Evil", which loses one complete solo section). The performances are tight and flawless, and the live energy and raw sound makes these versions (IMO) better than what ended up on Melissa.

Speaking of Melissa, track 8 is "Black Masses", a B-side of the "Black Funeral" single, which was cut at the same time as Melissa but left off of the album. Personally I think this was a good move - the mood of the song isn't quite as doomily oppressive as the rest of the songs on Melissa, and the limp sound of that album is even worse on this track - the version on "Return of the Vampire" (when it was still called "You Asked for It") is much better.

Finally, on the reissue is the song "Black Funeral" taken from the "Metallic Storm" compilation. This is not a version that appears on any other compilations, and again since it was recorded early and quickly it's much more raw (and IMO better) than the version that ended up on Melissa.

Overall this album is a VERY worthy purchase for any Mercyful Fate fan. Not just a 'where did they start' album, I feel that it is an integral part of their discography, as it shows all of the elements of their style honed to perfection and performed with raw, youthful abandon.

(Originally published at LARM (c) 1999)