Don't Break the Oath

This is the record on which a Danish band finished building its own sound, on only its second try. It was recorded in May 1984 at Easy Sound Recording in Copenhagen, produced by Henrik Lund and engineered by Lund with Niels Erik Otto. The line-up is five: King Diamond singing, the two guitars of Hank Shermann and Michael Denner, Timi Hansen on bass and Kim Ruzz on drums. The harpsichord and keyboards under the voice are King Diamond's own. "A Dangerous Meeting", "The Oath" and "Come to the Sabbath" keep the speed of the heavy metal of their day while changing metre and scene several times inside a single song. The voice moving between falsetto and chest, and the occult subject matter, are what later black metal bands named again and again as a reference. The seventh title, "Welcome Princess of Hell", is a misprint on the sleeve: it should read Princes. The running order here is the original's as printed.