Going to the King’s Theatre always feels like a pilgrimage if you don’t have a car. It’s a little trek from the closest train station. But, it’s worth it to see the legendary Mercyful Fate. The last I saw them was also in Brooklyn, in 1999 for the 9 album tour at the (former) “Rock Capital of Brooklyn”, L’Amour. So this was a hell of a size upgrade. I’ve seen all of these bands at different times. It’s fitting to catch them at such a fancy venue.
Starting off the night was the hooded hellbangers known as Midnight. I just love how they just feel dirty. It was weird seeing them violate that stage with several Blackened Rock N Roll songs like “Rebirth in Blasphemy” and “Here Comes Sweet Death.” Their stage show felt just as dingy as you would think from looking at them. You almost wanted the stage to be washed off before the show continued. Up next was the mighty Kreator, still thrashing it up after nearly 40 years. They still sounded amazing, performing nine songs off of eight albums across their entire career. Their stage set up was a massive banner of their most recent album, sprinkled with hanging body bags. Singer and guitarist Mille Petrozza even acknowledged L’Amour and how long it’s been since they have played in Brooklyn and dedicated “Strongest of the Strong” to the venue and borough. They ended their set with the double bangers of “Flag of Hate” and “Pleasure to Kill.” I will stop myself now and not make any so-called clever puns.
A huge Fate banner came down as they readied the stage with a dual staircase, along with a Pentagram centered above the drums of Bjarne Holm. This was all revealed after the “kabuki” curtain drop of the banner for the intro of “The Oath!” King Diamond and friends came out blazing with an eleven-song set heavily leaning on Melissa and Don’t Break the Oath albums. King sounded great! The only differences I saw from last time were a better stage setup and no Sharlee D’Angelo, who’s busy with Arch Enemy, or his replacement, Joey Vera was also busy on tour with Armored Saint. Enter: Becky Baldwin of Fury fame. She was spot on and fit in seamlessly with the gang. It was great to hear “Doomed by the Living Dead” and “Curse of the Pharaohs” again
Every band tonight had an impressive stage show, in a venue that felt perfect for this tour. Let’s hope it’s not another 20 years for another Fate tour of the USA!
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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY OMAR CORDY