The Album that change my life - Essay Example

The King along with his band group were a force to be reckoned with in the musical sense and also famous for their very powerful visual imagery. King Diamond earned his fame with this album and made his first mass public appearances wearing garish face paint to prove to be as dark as the themes he sang about. With Hank Shermann being one of the most creative Metal guitarists, musically the band was incredible. The dueling performance between Hank Shermann and Michael Denner was very intense as King prowled and lurked singing and screaming the often horrific subject matter that the band based their lyrics upon.

Rounding out the group was Timi Grabber on bass and Kim Ruzz on drums. This was in fact the very first pure prog-metal album of all time in the sense that no key-boards were used. Compared to the next release of Mercyful Fate which had more direct structures, "Melissa" contains all the necessary components of progressive heavy metal such as the various themes and arrangements, changes of tempos and moods within any separate song from the album. It is a known fact that the main indicator of a progressive work is complexity, which consists of the above-mentioned components.

A considerable part of audience fails to perceive the blasphemy in this album. The fact that it was released in the year 1983 and focused heavily on Anton LaVey's work and used topics like "venom", "Satanism" and "devils workshop" indicate that this was not a band which dealt with image alone and not actual ideals. Further, ideals hold no importance without talent. King delivers an unmatched vocal performance surpassing Bruce Dickson and Rob Halford who were the reigning vocalists of the era.

Shermann and Denner were world class guitarists at par with Tipton and Downing.The album begins with their best known song "Evil" which starts off with a rolling head and culminated into an amazing riff backed by excellent guitar work and well paced vocals. it must have carved out a genre of it sown in the 1980's when it was released. The way King drops his voice so as to not overshadow the guitar makes for a perfect contrast with his extremely high falsettos."Melissa" is in all probability the world's greatest debut.

The combination effect of the camp Satanic theme along with the gigantic crests of riffs and the subtle neo- classical themes found in the guitar solos leaves the listener in boundless amazement. The awe inspiring acrobatics of the vocals the sheer sonic heaviness of the entire performance simply adds to the perfection. Playing the album in a dimly lit room with a black candle and closed eye, takes you to another level of existence altogether to be engulfed by devils, death and sacrifice.The music in general is mostly dark and heavy but nevertheless it is catchy and inspiring.

The songs are rhythmically inventive embellished with time changes and tempo shifts. The musicians are all in sync with each other and there is seldom a faltered moment in the vocals or instruments."Melissa" is one of the most famous and influential albums in the history of heavy metal.Merciful fate was dubbed as a "black metal "group in the 80's though by today's standards that assertation stands invalid, it still makes some sense. The black