MICHAEL DENNER Has Had No Contact With KING DIAMOND And HANK SHERMANN: 'There's Nothing Really To Talk About'

Michael Denner says that he has no desire to speak with King Diamond and Hank Shermann now that they have decided to exclude him from MERCYFUL FATE's upcoming reunion.

When it was announced last month that the influential Danish heavy metal act would reunite for an unspecified number of concerts throughout Europe during the summer of 2020, it was revealed that MERCYFUL FATE's lineup for the shows would consist of King on vocals, Hank on guitar, Bjarne T. Holm on drums, Mike Wead on guitar and Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING) on bass.

Denner, who was a member of MERCYFUL FATE's classic lineup, addressed his absence from the band's reunion in a brand new interview with Italy's "Heavy Demons" radio show. He said (hear audio below): "It came as a big shock for me that they left me out. So I haven't talked to them since. Now there's nothing really to talk about. Of course, I was disappointed. They left me out, so that's the end of it, really. I will concentrate on my own stuff now."

Denner also once again said that he was especially surprised by the fact that Shermann didn't inform him of MERCYFUL FATE's reunion plans, especially considering the fact that they had remained friends, even collaborating on several other projects over the years.

"I'm sad to say, because the two records we did were absolutely brilliant," he said. "And I had the pleasure to work with the best metal drummer in the world, Snowy Shaw, who's also one of my closest friends. So that was a big pleasure. And also with the Americans, Sean [Peck] and Marc [Grabowski], who did a marvelous job on [the DENNER/SHERMANN] records. So that was a great experience. But that was the only two records we did. Because there will be nothing more after this. That was the end of it. Sad to say."

MERCYFUL FATE's last studio album, "9", was released in 1999.

MERCYFUL FATE will be remembered for its unquestionable mark on the history of metal with its innovative sound, complex arrangements, memorable melody, and its influence on bands that later took the genre to new heights.

In 1998, METALLICA paid tribute to MERCYFUL FATE by recording a medley of classic MERCYFUL FATE songs on the album "Garage Inc." Titled "Mercyful Fate", the medley included parts from "Satan's Fall", "Curse of the Pharaohs", "A Corpse Without Soul", "Into the Coven" and "Evil".

Lars Ulrich of METALLICA (a fellow Dane) played drums on a new version of MERCYFUL FATE's "Return of the Vampire" on the "In the Shadows" album, which came out in 1993.

Michael's new band DENNER'S INFERNO, will release its debut album, "In Amber", on November 15 through Mighty Music.

MERCYFUL FATE bassist Timi Hansen recently announced that he is not taking part in the band's reunion because he is battling cancer.