On a dark ominous night, Los Angeles, Ca braced themselves for a requiem of morbid tales and heavy metal. Legendary Dutch, horror purveyors Mercyful Fate raised hell in the YouTube Theater on October 29th, 2022. With support from the blackened thrash metal act Midnight and Teutonic thrash metal titans Kreator, Mercyful Fate unleashed a brutal display of horror.
The night kicked off with the blackened thrash metal act Midnight delivering some diabolical riffs. The venue trembles upon each drumbeat blasted as “” roared on vocals. The fans raged in the pit while others headbanged from the balcony and lower seats. During this set metal heads warmed up with fast metal being blasted into their ears. Midnight brings an energy filled set and the fans take advantage of this by moshing and raising the horns. The band played a tight set and warmed up the stage for the German thrash metal band Kreator.
As the venue filled up, and metal heads drank the serum of choice, beer, the stage was set for Kreator to ravage them. Kreator opened their set with a classic track, “Violent Revolution”, the pit instantaneously ensued as guitar solos and mind-blowing drum work took place. Mille Pretrozza rages on vocals and instills euphoria in metal heads persuading them to mosh faster and harder during the set. Tracks like “Hate Über Alles” from their most recent album titled Hate Uber Alles energized the crowd and kept the night going. The entire set was short, but it was packed with neck breaker songs and an introduction to an upcoming headlining tour in 2023. The fans participated in walls of death, moshing, headbanging and hailing the sounds of Kreator, a force to be recon. The Teutonic force left sweat and energy on the stage, all to be followed by the legendary and master of horror Mercyful Fate.
Mercyful Fate returned to the Unites States after a few decades of hiatus, the YouTube Theater was not ready for such dark omen to re-appear. With tracks like “The Oath” & “Curse of The Pharaohs”, new and old school metal heads both rejoiced and hailed Satan. The concert was an ominous 11 track set, and the dark setting with pentagrams on stage was outstanding. The venue was packed on a night where evil prevailed and headbangers captured in their memory this astounding ceremonial ritual. The epic track “Melissa” was portrayed in its pure essence on stage by King Diamond, Hank Sherman on guitars, Bjarne T. Holm on drums, Mike Wead on guitars and standing bassist Becky Baldwin covering for Joey Vera. The performance was loud, demonic and pure adrenaline. Hailing from Denmark in 1981, the band’s discography was captured and maliciously portrayed on stage with an hint of evil on this night on October 29th, 2022. Mercyful Fate performance has to be one for the books, their musicianship surpasses an era of evolving metal and reminds all those enamored with the dark arts why this music is so captivating and timeless. The tour continues, make sure to catch this trio of pure mayhem live in your nearest town.
By: Jose Barrientos
rockbrary.com 