Review Summary: The ghosts of Mercyful Fate/King Diamond's gloried past are back to haunt us once more.
It's exciting to know that the spirit of Mercyful Fate has been carried from the 80s/90s through to the modern age via a new "spin-off" project if you will, under the pseudonym Denner/Shermann, both of which have lent their talented hands to the instantly identifiable King Diamond throughout much of his career. When the project's first release was delivered unto the metal world last year, long-time fans of King Diamond's work were rejoicing that this may have been more than a mere one-off. Joining Denner and Shermann is a rather exciteable Sean Peck, attempting to rejuvenate the shadow of Diamond's former glories, alongside drummer Snowy Shaw-who also happens to have played for MErcyful Fate in the past.
2016 sees the release of the debut full-length effort under the Denner/Sherman banner, entitled
Masters of Evil. As you will most likely expect, the themes and concepts explored on this album are almost identical to that of Mercyful Fate. Satanism, witchcraft, unholy war, evil all rear their ugly heads and join force with some predictable albeit still solid songwriting. Unfortunately, with thin production and an altogether hit-and-miss vocal delivery from Peck,
MAsters of Evil only ever manages to be above average at best. The entirety of the album is made to sound much leaner than it was originally intended to, and it doesn't really matter how heavy the riffs are or how maniacal Peck sounds at his peak, especially on songs such as "Angel's Blood" and "Servants of Dagon". It should matter, because Denner and Shermann's creative work on the album is still cohesive, fully enjoyable to listen to and at times, as belligerent as the work on both members' past glories. That said, the album should be judged or reviewed as a culminative effort, and that's really the main reason why many debut efforts from solo musicians (or duos, in this case) crumble in the long run.
MAsters of Evil is no exception to that point.
For all the sound flaws however, there are moments of excellence to indulge in. Particularly the better side of Sean Peck's vocal delivery. It's frustrating that, when at his best, Peck brings to mind a very young Messiah Marcolin wailing his way through "Demon's Gate", but at the worst, he sounds doggedly tired and the accompanying instrumentation seems to be dragged down as a result. Even more frustrating is that these two vocal aspects often collide in the same song. Take "The Wolf Feeds at Night" for example. A song which, if wholly instrumental, wouldn't seem out of place on any of Mercyful Fate's first few efforts, but is also hampered because not everything is balanced to bring the listener the full force, essentially. The guitar work is blazing and those solo sections are absolutely OUTSTANDING. But knowing the guitarists themselves, who will be surprised to hear that? Yet even with the guitar work, some songs seem to fall flat. Ultimately, the best and worst songs seem to be sandwiched together, so there's no definitive answer whether the first half is better than the second. However, there is one song tying everything together with a hard, tight knot: the menacing closer "The Baroness". Finally, this is where every aspect of the band culminates to produce something spectacular. Alas, it's too little too late, because everything that went on before "The Baroness" seems forgettable in comparison.
So, is
Masters of Evil a good record? Yes, but that's about it. It's essentially unbalanced, because, as with other debuts by solo musicians/collaborations, one particular musical aspect is relied upon to make the whole record shine. It seems that this is where Denner/Shermann went wrong: They relied instinctively on guitar work to do the job, and assumed Peck would sound immune to any vocal flaws and the production was decent anyway. As it is, that wasn't the case, and that's why
Masters of Evil is as frustrating as it is enjoyable.
