After the original Mercyful Fate split in 1985, guitarist Hank Shermann started a band simply called “Fate” to pursue his interests in more commercially viable forms of heavy metal while King Diamond formed his namesake band, bringing along fellow Mercyful Fate mates Michael Denner and Timi Hansen, but that’s another story. What we have here is the first wide release of Mercyful Fate’s 1982 debut EP on side A while side B includes a handful of early BBC recordings of tracks that would eventually be further developed and recorded for the band’s Melissa album. Finally, the last track “Black Masses” is a genuine outtake from the Melissa album sessions. At the time of its release in 1987, pretty much everything on The Beginning was either unreleased or incredibly difficult to obtain, ensuring that this is a significant and important collection. It’s also a great spin end to end, so do yourself a favor and put it in your ears.
2020 US reissue on Metal Blade Records and it’s a gem!
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