On June 2, the legendary Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate played their first live performance in 23 years in Hanover, Germany. In their performance, the newly reunited band acted as an opener for the the Danish hard rock band Volbeat.
Revolver notes that the band had been planning their return to music since 2019, with their planned shows slated to occur in 2020. However, these returning shows ended up being cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. The band’s June 2 performance was thus the first live show that Mercyful Fate had given since 1999.
The setlist for the new show includes a variety of classic tracks from the band’s 1983 album Melissa and their 1984 album Don’t Break The Oath. While it may be easy to expect that a band that has not performed in over two decades may have lost their touch, that was not the case for these Danish metal legends. Throughout their performance Mercyful Fate offer nothing but the same explosive and powerful energy that they have radiated in their past work, with their frontman King Diamond hitting every high note from the band’s very demanding vocal style. Find the full setlist for the performance below.
Perhaps the highlight of the band’s returning performance was the band’s live unveiling of new song “The Jackal of Salzburg.” While one may expect a returning song from a classic band to be a small taste of what is to come from, Mercyful Fate spared no expense in crafting an enormous and thrilling eight minute track. Throughout the song, we hear slow and methodical moments as well as incredibly speedy moments, eerie guitar riffs, and powerfully haunting vocals. Watch footage of Mercyful Fate’s returning performance via YouTube below.
Mercyful Fate has previously been scheduled to perform at the annual Psycho Las Vegas festival in August.
Leave a Comment