Mercyful Fate Already Has Some Songs Written for the Next Album
We may be a ways off from the next Mercyful Fate record since King Diamond’s gonna have a crack at new music first, but that doesn’t mean the iconic heavy metal band has to wait around in the meantime.
According to a recent Guitar World interview with vocalist King Diamond and guitarists Hank Shermann and Mike Wead, the band already has three songs written. That tasty little morsel of information came out when the band was asked about the timeline for the next record. Shermann said there’s still more work to be done, but a couple songs were complete alongside “The Jackal of Salzburg”
“That’s a really good question, because I really don’t know, other than that I have at least eight or nine songs ready to be worked on. We already have three songs worked out, out of those, and the drums for ‘The Jackal of Salzburg’ are recorded. I would also say it probably depends on what the reaction is from [the fall 2022] U.S. tour.”
Mercyful Fate has been playing “The Jackal of Salzburg” live for a while now, taking the song on the road during their last couple tours. Who knows if the other two songs are coming soon, but Metal Blade CEO Brian Slagel has gone on the record saying we’d get two more songs in the very near future.
Speaking of “The Jackal of Salzburg,” Wead called the song “one of the more epic songs out of the new ones.”
“It’s kind of bombastic, with a slight touch of doom metal, which is a bit different for Mercy. But then again, Mercy was never a band that stood still, either.”
King Diamond made particular note of the song’s origins, which is based on the very real and final witch trials in Salzburg, Austria back in the 1600s. Nearly 140 people were killed as a result of the trials. The man behind the accusations was never found by authorities.
“It’s so grotesque, man. There was a young man, 20 years old, whose mother was burned alive as a witch in 1675. Two years later they started hunting [the son] based on confessions the mom had made under torture, where she gave up her son as being in league with the devil.
“It’s pretty shocking when you think about spearing a child on this horrible thing that goes up your backend and comes out through your mouth, or on a wheel that would pull them apart. Completely insane.”
Who knows when we’re getting a new Mercyful Fate record? I know one thing though — I’m fucking ready.
