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Roadrunner Records has decided to open up the fault and extort more money from their original metal fan base by reissuing much of their original metal line-up. One of these releases happens to be the second studio full length album Don't Break The Oath by the legendary Mercyful Fate. While this is something that I typically dispise, this release is remastered for better sound quality, includes a bonus demo track, and is printed on a golden disc, so we'll not hold anything against them with this one. Don't Break The Oath is one of the most well known albums from this band. The music on this not only will kick you in the ass, but is catchy as hell. The composition is perfect and pretty much defines heavy metal with killer solos and melodies that will be stuck in your head. However, the main thing about this release was that, amongst all the other acts of the time, Don't Break The Oath was the most "evil" album, one that really embraced darkness and the devil himself, which really made the release stand out. Some may say the music is not as good as their debut full length, Melissa, and that may be so as far as some of the songs go. However it's hard to deny that the haunting introduction to the track "A Dangerous Meeting" and the well performed and sung chorus to "Desecration of Souls", among other tracks, will be coursing through your skull after one listen. While this album is definitely a masterpiece, it doesn't go without flaws. The song "Night Of The Unborn" overuses the falsetto vocal style, which may flat out kill the song for some. Another is the introduction sound effects to the song "The Oath". While it does set the tone to the music, it just feels a little too drawn out of a set up just to get to the song, which is worth the wait. This doesn't mean you can't gripe about it or fast forward past it a bit if you're able to. But the biggest flaw of all, which is not the band's fault, nor does it impact the album, would be the track "Welcome Princes Of Hell", which is spelled wrong on the artwork as "Welcome Princess Of Hell", and may mislead some of the listeners and confuse them. Another track worth mentioning would be "To One Far Away", which really is just an interlude that can be treated as an introduction to the ass kicking "Come To The Sabbath". So, we now know the album is amazing, even with a two minor flaws with the music, but how does this reissue pan out? Well, it's definitely worth the money. The original quality wasn't that bad, but the remastered quality of this release is superb and sounds much cleaner in comparison. As for the bonus track "Death Kiss (Demo)", this is simply the demo version of the track "A Dangerous Meeting". Of course, this song is not remastered, which is fine, but it is one hell of a listen. Musically, it isn't that much different, but the vocals sound nothing like they do on the full length. As a matter of fact, they are almost laughable as they sound like they should be to a band in the vein of W.A.S.P.. If you liked the original version, you're definitely going to love the remastered one. Don't Break The Oath will always be a classic in the metal world, and this version just further proves it by enhancing the quality of the product. If you never heard this release before, then this is a must have. If you own the original, the trade in is up to you, but this one comes highly recommended, not just for the improved quality, but for the demo track included, which you could probably grab from an on-line music retailer that sells MP3 tracks one would suppose. |
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