In fall 2022, Mercyful Fate will launch its first North American headline tour in over two decades.
The journey will commence on Oct. 25 in Dallas, Texas, and weave its way through 14 cities, closing on Nov. 16, in Atlanta, Georgia. The tour follows the band’s headline performance at this year’s edition of Psycho Las Vegas.
Vocalist King Diamond said: “These will be the first Mercyful Fate concerts in North American theaters in over 20 years. Memories of a lifetime. Your special chance to see Mercyful Fate with the full European festival production, but up close and personal. You cannot miss this … I hereby respectfully invite you to come to the sabbath by which you may free your soul and feast with us in the dark of night. Witches and demons, you may come as you are! Satanic regards.”
Support on the tour will be provided by Kreator and labelmates Midnight. Various presales are available throughout the week:
- Citi Presale: 11 a.m. ET Tuesday, Sept. 6 | Password: Citi BINs
- Mercyful Fate Fan Club Presale: noon ET Tuesday, Sept. 6 | Password: EVIL
- Ticketmaster Presale: 10 a.m. ET Wednesday, Sept. 7 | Password: MELISSA
- Live Nation Presale: 10 a.m. local time Wednesday, Sept. 7 | Password: VENUE
- Blabbermouth Presale: 10 a.m. local time Wednesday, Sept. 7 | Password: SABBATH
- Knotfest.com Presale: 10 a.m. local time Wednesday, Sept. 7 | Password: OATH
All presales end at 10 p.m. local time Thursday, Sept. 8. General on-sale starts at 10 a.m. local time Friday, Sept. 9, at mercyfulfatecoven.com.
Additionally, multiple limited VIP packages will be available, which will include meet-and-greets, photo opps, private Q&As and exclusive merch, starting Wednesday, Sept. 7, at mercyfulfatecoven.com.
Tour dates:
10/25/2022 Dallas, TX – The Factory
10/27/2022 Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
10/29/2022 Inglewood, CA – Youtube Theater
10/30/2022 Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live Sacramento
11/01/2022 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
11/03/2022 Gary, IN – Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana
11/04/2022 Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J. Brady Music Center
11/05/2022 Detroit, MI – Masonic
11/08/2022 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
11/10/2022 Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theater
11/11/2022 Laval, QC – Place Bell
11/13/2022 Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall At Fenway
11/14/2022 Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia
11/16/2022 Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
Mercyful Fate is working on a new album and recently gave fans a taste of the new material by debuting a song called “The Jackal of Salzburg” in Germany this past June, as well as at Psycho Las Vegas. The band’s current lineup is King Diamond on vocals, Hank Shermann and Mike Wead on guitars, Bjarne T. Holm on drums and Joey Vera on bass.
Mercyful Fate was formed in early 1981 in Copenhagen, Denmark by King Diamond and Shermann. They were later joined by guitarist Michael Denner and bassist Timi Hansen, and soon thereafter drummer Kim Ruzz joined to complete the band lineup. The band recorded two demos in 1981 and later signed with Rave on Records in Holland for the recording of its self-titled EP, released in November of 1982. The “Mercyful Fate” EP was soon in heavy rotation around core metal radio stations, launching a new breed of heavy metal with its unique sound.
The band joined Roadrunner Records in 1983, and its debut full-length, “Melissa,” was recorded and released that same year. The following year, Mercyful Fate returned to the studio to record its now legendary “Don’t Break the Oath” full-length, released in September of 1984.
Mercyful Fate embarked upon a two-month U.S. tour in support of the record, which took the band across the States several times sharing the stage with the likes of Motörhead and Exciter. The band reaped recognition globally, closing the year with a five-date tour in Germany with Motörhead, Girlschool, Helix and Talon.
Mercyful Fate’s first concert of 1985 was in its hometown of Copenhagen at an old movie theater with a large capacity. The show sold out and the stage show exhibited a new level of distinction. The night was a huge victory and a new highlight for the band.
By April of 1985, however, Mercyful Fate decided to part ways for each to pursue new challenges. The King Diamond band was born and reaped critical acclaim the following years with five studio albums on Roadrunner Records. King Diamond has since signed with Metal Blade Records.
In summer 1992, Mercyful Fate decided to reunite and penned a new deal with Brian Slagel and his label, Metal Blade Records. “In the Shadows” was released in 1993 and was an instant triumph furthered by a sold-out U.S. tour.
Mercyful Fate has gone on to release another five studio albums and has toured Europe, the U.S. and South America multiple times. The highlight of 1999 was its critically acclaimed album “9,” which was followed by a European tour with Metallica, where King Diamond and Hank Shermann joined the band onstage several times for the medley “Mercyful Fate,” which Metallica had recorded on its “Garage Inc.” double tribute album the year prior. Tours in the U.S. and in South America followed, marking the band’s last live performances for over a decade. Mercyful Fate then went on hiatus, but made a brief appearance when members joined Metallica onstage in 2011 for its 30th anniversary show in San Francisco, California.
Leave a Reply