Mercyful Fate, a name that every air breathing Metal Head should know, released 2 great albums back in the days. Fate’s career after “Don’t Break The Oath” was rather average in my opinion, but that does not take away from the majesty of the first 2.

Melissa is one of those albums that are unique, which of course is a good thing. King Diamond has sort of a falsetto scream style vocal approach. Twin guitars are always a good approach, as far as I’m concerned. “Curse Of The Pharaohs” is my favorite track on this album, but they are all very good tracks.

Since I have discussed the good parts of this album, I believe I should now talk about the bad. Every single time I hear this album, I feel that King Diamond should cut some of his falsetto vocals down a bit, granted they are not as overused as they are on “Don’t Break The Oath”. King Diamond projects too much of a ridiculous cartoon vibe, which takes away from the dark feel of the album. “Melissa” will never be among my favorite albums because of the vocals, but it is still a great album, and should be picked up by every Metalhead.

© 2001 ramrod