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Force Of Evil is, as many of you already know, the new band formed by former and current King Diamond / Mercyful Fate musicians Hank Shermann, Michael Denner, Hal Patino and Bjarne T. Holm. These well-known Danish musicians have teamed up with former Iron Fire vocalist Martin Steene to write classic heavy metal. To be honest I was not very impressed with their self-titled debut album from 2003 so I sat down to listen to their second opus with very modest expectations. When I had listened to the album once I was stunned, what had happened? Everything fell right into place, every song spoke for itself and the whole album was built around a horror story concept. The classic Shermann / Denner riffs are easily recognized and as a result the music is closely related to latter day Mercyful Fate in particular but with a larger, heavier and cleaner production.
I was never a big fan of Iron Fire but Martin Steene is a very talented vocalist which he proves several times on this album. You could critisize the way he tries to imitate the dramatic King Diamond style of singing but he adds his personal touch and does not attempt to copy his high-pitched voice. The material on this disc is very strong and if this is what Force Of Evil will be about in the future as well then all you Mercyful Fate fanatics out there may not need to get down on your knees in front of a King Diamond show and beg for a new MF album. This is all you need. Most of the music is based on classic 80s hard rock and heavy metal riffs but there are a few things that stick out. "Days Of Damien" has an obvious "Operation: Mindcrime" vibe and in "Hobbs End" Martin Steene has borrowed some vocals from Dave Mustaine and Megadeth's "Youthanasia" album.
If you are a fan of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate then there is no doubt you should go out and buy this album right away. Hell, if you're a fan of classic heavy metal in general you can not possible be disappointed with this release. Rock solid material from the finest musicians Denmark has to offer.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Black Empire |
| 2. Back To Hell |
| 3. Cabrini Green |
| 4. Death Comes Crawling |
| 5. The Sinister Show |
| 6. Days Of Damien |
| 7. Disciples Of The King |
| 8. Beyond The Gates |
| 9. Hobbs End |
| 10. Dead In Texas |
| 11. Vorhees Revenge |
| 12. S.O.S. |
: 59.36
| Buy other Force Of Evil albums |
