Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
1984 Roadrunner Records
by Uncle Meat

Quick Summary:
After Melissa and before the breakup comes Don’t Break the Oath.  Don’t Break the Oath and Melissa would be a template for many bands after Mercyful Fate.  Their version of ‘70s rock/metal and Satanic imagery would be felt for years to come, and although Mercyful Fate would not recapture the feeling of these two albums, later in their career, the work was done.

There isn't a huge amount of difference between this album and Melissa.  Both have a certain feel to them, like they were recorded too late/early depending on your take.  One of my main complaints is that a song akin to Satan’s Fall, from Melissa, is missing.  A song with multiple parts, sort of prog, but that is a minor complaint.  This album has something for everyone, and although it looks like I didn’t enjoy it much, there is some quality stuff here.

Website:  www.covenworldwide.org

Song Summaries:

1. A Dangerous Meeting - Starts off with a Judas Priest-like riff and moves on to more metal Deep Purple-ish verse part.  King uses a lot of falsetto on this track.  A
2. Nightmare - Aside from the odd bass & drum opening of this track everything else moves along quickly.  Slows down, slightly, in the middle.  Goes on for a little too long with all of the over-tracked vocals.  At over 6 minutes this song is a bit too long.  B
3. Desecration Of Souls - The opening of just guitar and vocals is a bad start to this song.  The vocals sound like someone singing through a sock.  Thankfully the song picks up after the “real” vocals kick in.  Listen to the solo's in the middle, you won’t be disappointed.  B
4. Night Of The Unborn - The opening solo, or lead passage, sound like something “Fast” Eddie Clark would play.  Another falsetto marathon for the King.  Especially the “The spirits of...” part.  Another marathon lead trade off takes place in the end.  The rhythm parts, under the lead, are fantastic.  Nice and chunky.  B+
5. The Oath - Satan’s track.  Keyboard drones, lightening, bells, organ.  The opening lyrics are read as if they were at a black mass.  At about 2 minutes the band enters with some more Judas Priest inspired riffing.  The “OoOoOo" part is pretty lame, thankfully its short.  Another heavy riff is introduced right before the second set of solos.  Just when you think its going to end, it just keeps going.  B
6. Gypsy - Straight forward, and “mercyfully” short.  Mid-tempo rocker with a plethora of solos.  B
7. Welcome Princess Of Hell - Probably the weakest track.  Nothing really bad, but not very exciting when compared to some other gems on this album.  A typical song.  C-
8. To One Far Away - Short, acoustic, some lead guitar, some vocal effects sounds almost like an intro for... B-
9. Come To The Sabbath - Until the band comes in this track is pretty lame.  Some nice riffing on the verse.  Pick up nicely just towards the end.  B
10. Death Kill (Demo)* - Demo is right.  Sounds like it was recorded in a closet.  King sound ridiculous.  Although this sucks, its nice to see when the band was and how they progressed.  C- (even though this shouldn’t count)

* Bonus Track

Average Song Rating:  B
Overall Album Rating:  B

Also be sure to read:
Mercyful Fate - In The Shadows by Uncle Meat
Mercyful Fate - The Beginning by Uncle Meat
King Diamond - Abigail by Uncle Meat
King Diamond - Abigail II:  The Revenge by Uncle Meat
King Diamond - The Puppet Master by Uncle Meat
King Diamond - The Puppet Master by Horatio