Black Funerals and Skull Gazing Under the Old Oak – 100%
bayern, June 7th, 2017 [edited in a few spots]
In 1993 the groove/alternative/post-thrashy vogues had settled in comfortably on the scene, having dealt with the more rebellious fractions from the classic metal movement. They certainly showed their more democratic, more tolerable side as the old school was left breathing more or less freely. Classic heavy metal was a very rare breed with both Judas Priest and Iron Maiden losing their frontmen to the strives for more individual, more independent expression. On the opposite side, the metal world saw Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.) reuniting with his old colleagues from Back Sabbath for an isolated stunt (“Dehumanizer”, 1992), Scorpions releasing their last good album (“Face the Heat”, 1993) before their retirement from the metal arena, and US veterans like Savatage and Metal Church producing some really noteworthy opuses (“Edge of Thorns” and “Hanging in the Balance” respectively). So not all was dark and pessimistic, albeit hardly propitious and stimulating for young budding newcomers to appear and become most avid defenders of the old school faith.
So things didn’t look that bad, after all, for some 80’s veterans to attempt a comeback and reunite with their lost frontmen, but when two sheer behemoths arrive at the same year, that’s already too much to bear, especially when those two are none other than Accept and Mercyful Fate. Yeah, no kidding; Kim Petersen decides to reform the legends as a wise commercial step in the midst of the groove/aggro/grunge craze… I guess the man had calculated this enterprise carefully, with the appropriate marketing and all, cause the album reviewed here was a stunning success, nearly matching the sensation the band produced ten years back. The battle of the dinosaurs between Accept and the Fates didn’t quite take place since the interest in the latter’s reunion was way bigger than the one of the Germans, from both a commercial and a critical aspect. My guess is that Accept’s humiliating swansong “Eat the Heat” and Udo’s short, not particularly striking, solo career contributed to the not very lucrative returns in their camp.
Still, the job done on the album reviewed here was also better although I did feel a bit apprehensive about this new coming; with the new vogues on the field and with so many old school practitioners falling prey to them… no mistakes of the kind as the King reunites with his old comrades save for the drummer Kim Ruzz, with the Hank Shermann/Michael Denner guitar duo as spellbinding as ever. The quiet intro of “Egypt” is nothing like the explosive riff cavalcade from “Evil” (the “Melissa” opener), but once Petersen’s falsetto hits in all its glass-shattering grandeur followed by the superb virtuoso lead section the listener will safely pack up all his/her worries, and will sit comfortably to enjoy the next chapter from the Mercyful Fate saga which inauguration is a glorious power/speed metal hammer. “The Bell Witch” has a creepy minimalistic beginning, but the galloping tornado commences reminding of the best moments from the US power/speed metal scene with the swirling solos, the infernal vocal duels, and the sinister dramatic accumulations. “The Old Oak” is a grandiose 9-min progressive opus nearly matching the magnanimity of “Satan’s Fall” (from “Melissa” again), the guys mixing melodic strokes with their staple speed metal histrionics also adding more introspective, mellower passages including the recurrent eerie balladic theme. It’s amazing how the band are capable of retaining the suspense and the interest throughout such long periods of playing time without sounding redundant and repetitive…
“Shadows”, the supposed title-track, is a more laid-back, but utterly enchanting, heavy metal hymn emphasizing on the atmosphere and the lyricism the King pulling out standout performance behind the mike, not to mention the great tempo shifts and the surprising speedy finale. “A Gruesome Time” follows a similar path with the inventive melodic fretwork, the great chorus, the dark doomy/balladic romanticism, and the brilliant lead interaction. “Thirteen Invitations” speeds up accelerating bit by bit until the gallops reach full bloom, the more varied rhythmic layouts giving this number a more intricate, progressive colouring, the latter also coming from the several macabre riff-patterns and the cool mellow interlude. “Room of Golden Air” is a superb instrumental cut where breath-taking acoustics intertwine with alluring melodic undercurrents, the gorgeous classical leads playing the role of the mediator. “Legend of the Headless Rider” is the other more elaborate behemoth the guys giving enough room for the opening dark intimidating riffs to develop more fully before the fast-paced rifforama carries on with Timmy Hansen’s reverberating bass leading the show for a while as well alongside intriguing semi-technical rhythmic sections in the second half. “Is That You Melissa”, the final cut, is a tribute to the guys’ magnum opus with the balladic intro crossing acoustic guitars with marvellous leads, the more dynamic moments never going beyond the mid-paced parametres, but the wide gamut of riffs and the spellbinding versatile vocal feats ensure another grand scale entertainment. The actual closer, though, is a remastered version of one of the band’s oldest songs, “Return of the Vampire”, a doomy brooder with a nice catchy chorus and the obligatory speedy escapade, the main difference from the original being the boosted, more expressive lead sections.
Mercyful Fate were back, and they delivered in the most convincing manner imaginable, and then some. They showed only too well that they could single-handedly keep the groovy/grunge/post-thrashy trends at bay leaving plenty of space for the classic metal purveyors to do additional damage. The perfect score given here reflects the reviewer’s exhilaration upon hearing this album the first time, hearing his all-time favourite band delivering the goods with awesomeness to spare during such difficult for the old school times. To these ears this was the biggest indication throughout the whole decade that not much had changed on the scene, and that classic heavy metal would be what it had always been if left in the hands of its rightful masters, and would have no problems surviving much bigger disasters than a few alternative, nü metal dissipations along the way.
Mentioning the masters, we should bring Accept back to the fore as they also participated in this campaign although their infectious sing-alongers couldn’t possibly be a match to this immaculately woven, multi-layered symphony (of horror). We certainly have different approaches to the genre in these two cases so objection… sorry, objective comparisons can’t really be made, but again it was Kim Petersen’s gang that swept the arena in 1993 setting the scene for a few more instalments, some of them coming close to the excellence exuded here. With the King bringing his own band back to the spotlight in 1995, it was a matter of time before he had to make a decision which formation to lose as it wouldn’t have been possible for the man to keep the level that high in both camps. He did manage that for a few showings, but his heart was pulling him more towards the more autocratic outfit thus terminating one of his strongest competitors. A competitor that remains fearsome and threatening even in its dormant state…
rafazardly 