Melissa (reissue) vinyl

Originally released in 1983, Melissa was not only the debut album from Danish first wave black/extreme metal pioneers Mercyful Fate, but legitimately the first ever release on, what can nowadays be considered to be easily one of the biggest record labels in all of the heavy sphere, Roadrunner Records. Often cited as a quintessential influence on the subgenres of black, death and thrash metal, the album's prevalence of intricate prog rock-inspired lead guitar lines, abundance of solos, constant barrage of double-kick drumming and macabre Satanic imagery and lyricism have led many to consider the work to be one of the first true examples of anti-mainstream extreme metal. Introducing listeners as well as eventual peers in Metallica and Slayer to a far darker, boundary-pushing form of heavy music, whilst along with Venom and Bathory, paving the way for the second wave Norwegian black metal scene of the late 80s/into the early 90s, this iconic debut from the creative visionary lunacy of King Diamond and Hank Shermann should really require no introduction to fans of the extreme. They were even one of the first metal acts to draw the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center when advocating for Parental Advisory labels on audio recordings, citing 'Into The Coven' among their "Filthy Fifteen" objectionable songs due to its perceived occult content.