Mercyful Fate

Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal group, and helped inspire black metal (by playing a form of proto-black metal). The band was founded in Denmark in 1980 from the ashes of Hank Shermann's band B

Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal group, and helped inspire black metal (by playing a form of proto-black metal). The band was founded in Denmark in 1980 from the ashes of Hank Shermann's band Brats' and King Diamond's band Black Rose. Shortly thereafter, in the Spring of 1981 they helped out a fellow Dane, Michael Denner, with demos for his band Danger Zone. Soon it was apparent that Shermann, Denner, Diamond and Denner's bassplayer, Timi Grabber, fit well together as a unit and those players performed under the Mercyful Fate moniker for the first time in Denmark.

There were the usual member changes for a young band; Denner left and then returned and drummers came and went, but finally Kim Ruzz established himself as the drummer. The band recorded their first material on vinyl late in 1982 for the Dutch label "Rave On" titled Nuns Have No Fun (album). This release included such heavy and evil material that a new genre was born: "Black Metal" (although Venom, who released Welcome To Hell' the year before should also be considered as the forefathers of Black Metal).