Various Artists – “Mercyful Fate Tribute”
Lieff: This is a collection of known death/black metal bands remaking Fate songs. Luciferion, Sacramentum, Gardenian, Snowy Shaw, Armageddon, Emperor, Withering Surface, Misanthrope, Dimension Zero, Immolation, Dark Tranquility, Deceased, and Notre Dame. Most of the bands here are professional who play their instruments well or semi-well. However! Some things are best if left alone! Mercyful Fate is such a band! There is NO point in making a classic like “Evil” or “Gypsy” into a black/death song. Think about this: What if someone decided to play Morbid Angel songs acoustically? See what I mean? No one cam “remake” a Fate song. It doesn’t work. Why? Because the greatness lies in the original style that Fate sported. It’s untouchable.
Mike: I myself agree and disagree with Lieff. No one can touch the spirit to the old Mercyful Fate material. But on the other hand, I find it very amusing and entertaining to hear each band attempt to cover a Fate song. When all these tribute albums became so god damn popular, I always wondered if any one would ever make one of King D./ Mercyful Fate. I always figured no one would dare touch their songs. A year later, to my surprise, I received one in my mail box. I was very anxious to listen to it, especially Emperors track. To my surprise, it was easily the best song on the CD. Luciferion does an incredible job during the performance of “Black Funeral”. The vocals are high when Kings vocals were high on certain parts, and then low when expected. Now of course, the song has been altered to fit their own style, which is somewhat of a black/death metal affair. Sacramentum is next with “Black Masses”. This song sounds a lot closer to the original (except for it being a lot faster) than Luciferions, but with the death metal vocals. Gardenian is up next with “A Dangerous Meeting” and I swear if you didn’t know that they were doing a Fate cover, you really wouldn’t be able to tell. It definitely sounds like their own song in my opinion. Snowy Shaw…. Snowy Shaw? Is he singing this song as well? He is performing “Evil” at a live show, and when the vocals first came in, I busted out laughing. Very gay sounding, and the same goes for this band as well. If you didn’t know they were playing a Fate song, you wouldn’t be able to tell. Only during the chorus you can somewhat tell it’s a Fate song. Armageddon is up next with “Desecration of Souls.” This version is pretty cool. Heavy and closer to the original than the previous mentioned. The vocalists highs are pretty descent. Ahhh…. Emperor is up next and though their version of “Gypsy” isn’t 100% like the original, the keyboards they throw in on certain sections are indeed eerie to the already eerie atmosphere this band has magnificently captured. The vocals on here are closer to Kings than any one else on this comp. Actually, I was very surprised and impressed with the vocals. Withering Surface is up next with “The Oath”. If it wasn’t for the shitty production, this would also be one of the better played Fate songs. Pretty cool. Misanthrope is doing “Doomed By the Living Dead”. This song is actually pretty fucking fast, and is hard to hear the Fate in the song. Another version that is hard to hear that this is a Fate song, with the exception the chorus. Dimension Zero is up with “My Demon”, which was a surprise. I figured every band would attempt an old song. Any way, this version is actually pretty cool. Heavy ass fuck growls. Man it’s weird to hear this with growls. This is also a lot closer sounding to a Fate song, with the exception they did throw in their own ideas, which were guitar parts to parts that were not there on the original version. When he starts singing “Demon..”, truly heavy. Immolation gives us their version of “Satan’s Fall”. Slow, doomy, and heavy as fuck! But hey, it’s Immolation, what can we expect? A lot slower than the original, but you can still tell it is a Fate song. One of the better tracks on here as well. Dark Tranquility brings us another newer song, “Lady in Black”. I must say that I didn’t like this version that much. The original is way to melodic, and this band did not capture any of it in my opinion. Next up is Deceased with, “Nuns Have No Fun”, one of my favorite Fate songs ever. This version is pretty cool. King F. does a good job on the vocals. Pretty close to the original. Another of the better versions. Last up is Notre Dame, with “Into the Coven”. This is definitely done the Notre D. way. Very slow at the beginning with female vocals, and then the male vocals pop in and take control. Through out the song, they have there little breaks here and there with the eerie keys going on and some acoustic guitar that is later accompanied by some female and male chants here and there. This was one of the more interesting versions. This is definitely my favorite track, with the exception of Emperors track. I think there is another Fate tribute out somewhere, and even though the bands can not capture the magic, I think it’s worth the listen. – Mike