Band:	Denner / Shermann
Album:	Masters Of Evil
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	June 2016

01. Angel’s Blood
02. Son Of Satan
03. The Wolf Feeds At Night
04. Pentagram And The Cross
05. Masters Of Evil
06. Servants Of Dagon
07. Escape From Hell
08. The Baroness

Judging a book by the cover.

When I first saw this record, I thought I was in front of one of my favorites records of all time, Mercyful Fate’s Don’t Break The Oath, obviously because of Thomas Holm's art; as it turned out, it was something not much different and not far from Mercyful Fate.

This history began in Denmark, Copenhagen: the year, 1981. Rene Krolmark AKA Hank Shermann (guitars) and Kim Petersen AKA King Diamond (vocals) gave life to a new project named Mercyful Fate from the ashes of the punk metal band Brats, alongside virtuoso guitarist Michael Denner, Ole Beich (bass) and Kim Ruzz (drums). After two years of hard work, they finally developed a sound, adding concepts of occultism, mysticism and satanism. In 1983, they released their debut record, Melissa, with Don't Break The Other the year after, both landmarks in heavy and black metal; the most relevant facts were King Diamond’s voice and the virtuosity of the guitar duo of Hank Shermann and Michael Denner. Mercyful Fate disbanded in 1985, reforming first in the mid-90s and again in the late 2010s. However, the history continues...

Hank Shermann formed the band Demonica with ex-members of Forbidden and Testament, also filling in as a guest musician on Volbeat’s South American tour, while Michael Denner went with King Diamond in the first years of Diamond’s solo career, after which he worked with several new bands in Sweden and Denmark. Furthermore, Hank Shermann teamed up with Michael Denner to celebrate the 30-year anniversaries of Melissa and Don’t Break The Oath; during that process, the idea to form a new band was born. They recorded an EP called Satan’s Tomb, released in 2015, and a first full-length album, Masters Of Evil, was released in 2016 on Metal Blade Records. The art work was made by Holm, the artist for Don’t Break The Oath and a number of King Diamond’s records, including Abigail, "Them" and Conspiracy.

Masters Of Evil starts with the demolition “Angel's Blood“, where Sean Peck (singer) shows his own personality; despite the comparison with the screams and singing of King Diamond, Peck has a wide vocal range, from Ozzy to Halford if you want a example. The guitars of Denner and Shermann sound in perfect shape, more aggressive and speedy than their previous works. The bass of Max Grabowski has lots of presence, especially on “Servants Of Dagon”; the drums come courtesy of Snowy Shaw, which means the performance is naturally above average.

The record finishes with, in my opinion, the best song, “The Baroness“: about 7 minutes of epic and instrumental complicated metal full of great solos and amazing voice work... the song really expressed what the record is. Masters Of Evil is a powerful speed/thrash/heavy metal album; it sometimes turns repetitive, especially the lyrics, but you never get bored. Overall a great record, although If you ask me, this is not a Mercyful Fate reincarnation, like it or not.

The Aftermath
According to recent interviews of Hank Shermann, the Denner/Shermann band will not be able to continue doing records. Furthermore, the guitar duo Shermann and Denner will not be featured in Mercyful Fate’s upcoming reunion; although Shermann has been confirmed, Denner reveals he was never even approached to take part in the band’s plans.