Mercyful Fate - Devil Eyes (Rare Live Recording from 1981) video free download

Mercyful Fate, "Devil Eyes" Early Live Recording from the bootleg CD called House of Satan. The front cover says Mercyful Fate Live, but the side (spine) reads Mercyful Fate House of Satan King001.

I have taken pictures of the CD and booklet and placed them throughout the video, but they are hard to read, so I transcribed all of the information, (misspellings and all) for easier reading. I hope you enjoy these rare old recordings.

There are many CDR copies of these recordings out there, mine is a silver factory press. This has Mercyful misspelled Merciful on the disc. (Its actually the right spelling).

Booklet (Back Panel)

The live songs on this CD were taken from a show in Copenhagen. The Year is presumably 1981. But that can be argued. Although there are drop-outs and tape defects, this is nonetheless the best recorded Mercyful Fate concert from the early days. A bootleg called Return of the Living Dead contained these songs. But the source tapes for this CD were taken from the collection of John Kibble. He is the father vampire of the tape-trader coven.

The demo songs are interesting because they show the beginnings of King Diamonds style. With the exception of Persecution and Truck Driver, these songs appeared on the bootleg vinyl and cassette called Satans Nightmare.

Persecution was recorded at the same time as Mission: Destroy Aliens, but was not included on Return of the Vampire because the master tapes were damaged by water. Listen for the early beginnings of later songs. Love Criminals became Into the Coven. Some Day, became Desecration of Souls. Death Kiss, became A Dangerous Meeting. Death Kiss on this CD is different than the bonus track on the newly re-mastered Dont Break the Oath, or from the track on Return of the Vampire.

Booklet (Left Inside Panel)

King Diamond, in an interview, made clear that he does not mind bootlegs, as long as it is obvious to the consumer that the item is a bootleg. This way, a person would not judge the band by the poor quality, tape hiss, or sudden drop-outs. When the early Mercyful Fate catalog was re-mastered, live Mercyful Fate songs were not added as bonus tracks because they would give the officially sanctioned albums a bootleg feel.

Upon checking with an anonymous decision-maker at an anonymous record label, I was told that, as long as I keep this bootleg low-key and at a minimum run, no one will have a problem with it.

The reason why this bootleg was put together was not to make money. It is a sincere gesture to preserve the early recordings in a way that cannot be destroyed. The digital format will prevent any further deterioration. Although the quantity of these CDs is very low, enough of them will exist in case the record company will want to release an In Memory of album, should the King die.

Booklet (Right Inside Panel)

Hank Sherman and King Diamond both possess sound board tapes of their early concerts. But as they have declared, they do not feel that the quality is high enough for self release. Fans from the old days demand vintage recordings of the Kim Ruzz era. Yet the only way to hear the live performances was to contact a tape-trader. But those were 6th generation dubs, at best. The recordings on this CD are from tapes that were purchased in the early 80s from John Kibble. So they are at least 2nd or 3rd generation. John Kibble was a person who answered Mercyful Fates fan mail in the early days. He sold tapes of the band without their knowledge. But without him, the world might never have heard some incredible music.

It is hoped that you will tape these songs for your friends. Maybe you might also make a few CDs of these recordings. We, as fans, have to take what little scraps we are given. Maybe one day, both the band and the record labels will understand our hunger for this material, and finally release the recordings we crave.

Back (Tray Card)

Live Songs

1.Black Funeral

2.Curse of the Pharoahs

3. Into the Coven

4.A Corpse Without a Soul

5.Return of the Vampire

6.Devil Eyes

7.Nightmare

Demo Songs

8.Persecution

9.Love Criminals

10.Hard Rocker

11.Some Day

12.Death Kiss

13.Combat Zone

14.Truck Driver

There is also a very early interview with King on this disc (tracks 15, 16, 17, 18, 19). Track 16 is blank however. The interview is in My Videos