Mercyful Fate's Don't Break the Oath (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781501354380)

Upon its release, Don't Break the Oath charted fifth on the official British heavy metal album list and was supported by a two month long sold-out American tour in early 1985. The band's controversial stage appearance with burning crosses, a microphone stand formed as a cross made of two human leg bones, as well as other blasphemous rituals attracted the attention of the then newly formed PRMC (Parental Resource Music Center) committee, ironically reassuring the band its position on the charts. But though the album was hugely popular in the anglophone metal scene, it was conceived in peripheral Denmark.

This book discusses the relationship between center and periphery. It juxtaposes the Anglophone reticent of heavy metal with the rather marginalized location of Copenhagen, and examines Mercyful Fate's relation to the Nordic region more generally. It also takes a close look at the methods involved in the production of King Diamond's vocals, and emphasizes the role of the vocalist as just as an important part of the over-all soundscape as the instrumental contributions.

Author: Henrik Marstal
ISBN-10: 1501354388
ISBN-13: 9781501354380
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English
Published: 02/24/2022
Pages: 152
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.38d

About the Author
Henrik Marstal is an associate professor at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is a member of the research board of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and a former member of the Danish Arts Foundation, and an established musician and producer of alternative rock and electronica.