MERCYFUL FATE: 'Evil' Re-Recording Available For Streaming

The 2008 re-recording of the MERCYFUL FATE classic "Evil" is available for streaming below. The track, which is included in the upcoming "Guitar Hero: Metallica" game, features four of the five original MERCYFUL FATE members (vocalist King Diamond, guitarist Hank Shermann, guitarist Michael Denner and bassist Timi Hansen) along with the band's current drummer, Bjarne T. Holm. The recording session was overseen by Hank Shermann in the band's native Denmark; after which King Diamond laid down his vocals in Dallas, Texas, and mixed the song with J.T. Longoria.

"Evil" was originally recorded in 1983 and is one of theMERCYFUL FATE songs that comprise METALLICA's "Mercyful Fate" medley.

In a recent interview with Destructoid, KING DIAMOND frontman/namesake stated about the decision to re-record the track, "When Lars [Ulrich, METALLICA drummer] called me you know, when he invited us to be a part of ['Guitar Hero: Metallica'], he suggested either 'Evil' or 'Curse of the Pharoahs'. Then we started looking for the masters. They were nowhere to be found. I was thinking, 'Oh god, can't be true. We're going to miss out on such a great opportunity.' So I talked to the other guys, and it turned out to be a re-recording by four out of five original members. Otherwise, it's all the old guys that did that song the first time 25 years ago. We went in and re-recorded them and they sounded so much better. [laughs] But they stay totally true to the original. The guitar solo by one guitarist, Michael Denner, I would say is 100 percent identical. Every bend, every harmony that he puts on a solo and stuff like that is identical. The other guitarist Hank Shermann, is 98 percent identical. Those two percent that aren't identical is because there were so few notes back in the old solos, 'gah, you can't do those, we have to do it better.' So we fixed those few things. Otherwise, of course, it's a more in-your-face sound than on the old album. It was interesting also for me to go in and do vocals and then go back and pick out some of these harmonies and say, 'What was it that I did back then?' And then recreate that stuff. So we did two songs and they picked 'Evil' for the game, you know. But I guess that those songs, you'll be able to get them on iTunes and Amazon.com and stuff like that. They'll be made available by the record label."