SLAYER's KERRY KING Joins KING DIAMOND On Stage In New Jersey To Perform MERCYFUL FATE Classic

July 22, 2015

SLAYER guitarist Kerry King joined KING DIAMOND on stage last night (Tuesday, July 21) at the Holmdel, New Jersey stop of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at PNC Bank Arts Center to perform the MERCYFUL FATE classic "Evil".

Fan-filmed video footage of Kerry's appearance can be seen below.

Said King Diamond: "Kerry, it was an absolute honor to share the stage with you!"

Kerry King has previously stated that he and fellow original SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman were big fans of MERCYFUL FATE when SLAYER recorded the album "Hell Awaits", so much so that the LP was very influenced by the Danish heavy metal act.

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." Entitled "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.

Asked by Full Metal Jackie if he feels at all uncomfortable when fans share the impact MERCYFUL FATE had on them, King Diamond said: "It's great to hear. I mean, I was very lucky the other day. I went and saw my friends in VOLBEAT play here in Dallas. And ANTHRAX was supporting. I met [ANTHRAX guitarist] Scott Ian before, but I met all of [the ANTHRAX guys] this time around and got to really talk to them. And what an amazing bunch of guys. I mean, really great human beings — nice people. It was amazing. And they just played and put on an amazing show. So it was a very good evening, and it was great to meet [them]. And they also were talking about: 'Hey! Let's do [MERCYFUL FATE's] 'Evil'.' [And I said] 'Okay, I can do 'Evil' in my sleep, so we can do that, if you want to.' And then one of the other guys said: 'Hey, there's a little more to it than just that.' It can quickly go wrong if you have not tested it properly. So some other time we'll do it. But I remember, the drummer [Charlie Benante] said that he could play the entire 'Melissa' album, if need be. So it's nice to hear that people are really that into that old music still."

SLAYER's new album, "Repentless", will be released on September 11 via Nuclear Blast.

kevinrcwilson.com got this special shot tonight at PNC Bank Arts Center.

Posted by King Diamond on Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Find more on Mercyful fate
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).