Review by Shezma for Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath (1984)

Ok, I am done. I have been listening to this off and on for a few weeks being saved in my library and I have had problems listening to this every time. I just finished the album in it's entirely as of starting to write this review. I could not figure out why this album was so difficult for me to put on and listen to until I turned it on today and with no distractions while I cleaned my place and took it all in. I do not have a problem with King Diamonds vocals, I think they are a unique and powerful tool for this band and I think for the most part the instrumentation accompanies it well. The guitars and drumming on this album can be absolutely supreme with some of the best riffs I've heard of the early years and with King Diamond's succinct screams they can be mesmerizing. However, my problem with this album that I never noticed before is the abrupt tone changes. They happen so frequently, I first noticed in Nightmare when I was really enjoying one passage then the drums suddenly slowed down but then one of the guitars stayed it's same pace while the other did a mini solo for about 20 seconds then it would subtly go back to a resemblance of the same melody I was enjoying before but I was already snapped out of it again. I call it the anti-breakdown, because there were plenty of times where a solid breakdown could've taken the place of these frustrating moments for me and it would've done nicely. Now I understand that a breakdown was not something that was really a thing in '84 but whatever you call what they were doing didn't work for me and it made for a very difficult listen. I couldn't just put this on and want to listen to it, even before I noticed what was happening when I would have it in the background over the years. I always debated that I think King Diamond is revolutionary to show different vocal styles that work but I still had it in the back of my mind was that he really didn't fit, but all these listens later and I can't just take the whiplash that these songs give me. It's hard to continue to like something I get really invested in and headbang to and it transitions out of it so unexpectedly then I just get angry cause I won't more of that. I lose my interest and I don't think I will listen to this again.

2-star because I can't deny that when it is really good, it's great in the small doses before the changes in song but I almost think that is too high for me but that's where I stand.