Metalblog

King Diamond has issued a statement regarding an article published late last month on a Danish website. The first part of the statment adresses allegations made about King Diamond’s personal life that the Metalblog doesn’t really care about. What King Diamond or any other performer does behind closed doors is their business until they get arrested for it.

King Diamond does go on to claim the rumours about a new Mercyful Fate album are untrue, as the Metalblog speculated yesterday.

King Diamond said:

“The second rumour that’s floating around, which is that MERCYFUL FATE has started writing new material, I really have no idea where it originated from.

“The present status of MERCYFUL FATE remains unchanged, meaning that we have not started writing new material. For that to happen, MERCYFUL FATE’s recording contracts have to be renegotiated first. We certainly would love for this to happen so that we can finally make our long-overdue ‘masterpiece.’ Both Hank [Shermann, MERCYFUL FATE guitarist] and I are ready to go if that scenario presents itself, and who knows, that might happen this year.

“So… for this year, you will see a double DVD of old private KING DIAMOND video recordings and a double DVD of old private MERCYFUL FATE video recordings which I am working on as we speak. Andy [La Rocque, KING DIAMOND guitarist] has finished remastering ‘The Graveyard’, ‘Spider’s Lullabye’, ‘Voodoo’, and ‘House of God’, all of which should also be available this year. And then there is ‘the big surprise’ (not little King babies with horns on their foreheads or MERCYFUL FATE writing new songs, at least not as we speak) but something that could lead to renegotiations of the MERCYFUL FATE recording deals. We’ll see. Be patient…..

“On a personal note, I do feel reasonably confident that the MERCYFUL FATE masterpiece will see the light of day.”

So there you have it. No new Mercyful Fate album, at least for the time being, but King Diamond and Mercyful Fate DVDs look like they are in the pipeline.

I was having a look on blabbermouth.net and there was a story on there stating:

King Diamond has told BT.dk that there is a good chance that a new studio album from his classic heavy metal act MERCYFUL FATE will surface at some point in the not-too-distant future.

“Hank [Shermann, guitar] has written songs [for the proposed MERCYFUL FATE CD]. And he is ready for our new masterpiece,” King Diamond is quoted as saying.

That, of course, is great news. I’ve been a fan of Mercyful Fate and King Diamond since my best friend bought a copy of Don’t Break The Oath back when it first came out.

Mercyful Fate haven’t put out an album since 9 came out in 1999. So if there is a new Mercyful Fate release next year I will party like it’s…uh…1999.

Then the VERY NEXT story says:

DEMONICA, the solo project of MERCYFUL FATE guitarist Hank Shermann, is putting the finishing touches on its debut album for a tentative late spring/early summer release via an as-yet-undisclosed label. The CD will be mixed in February in Denver, Colorado.

Which leaves the Metalblog wondering if somebody somewhere got there wires crossed or if Hank Shermann suddenly turned into a song writing monster cranking out enough tunes for not only a new Mercyful Fate album, but for an album from his side project Demonica as well. 

English thrash metal band Evile have had to cancel the remaining dates on their European tour supporting Norwegian black metal band Satyricon after guitarist Ol Drake collapsed and fractured his jaw.

In a post on Evile’s forum, singer/guitarist Matt Drake wrote the following:

sad news everyone, we have been forced to pull out of the remaining dates on the satyricon tour due to ol having a bad accident…

thanks, matt

The Metalblog wishes Ol a speedy recovery and hopes he is feeling better in time to play the April UK tour dates that have been going on sale recently.

Evile - “Thrasher”