Mercyful Fate 9 (PICTURE DISC)

Mercyful Fate: King Diamond (vocals); Hank Shermann, Mike Wead (guitar); Sharlee D'Angelo (bass); Bjarne Holm (drums). Recorded at Nomad Recording Studio, Carrollton, Texas in February & March 1999. It's somewhat odd that the reunited Mercyful Fate has now recorded more prolifically than the original group did in their classic early-'80s period, especially since there seems to be a personnel shift with nearly every '90s album. Their fifth full-length since the reunion, 9 does feature the same lineup as its predecessor, Dead Again; the downside is that there are now only two original members remaining -- King Diamond and Hank Shermann. While Mike Wead is a fine guitarist, the telepathic interplay Shermann had with Michael Denner provided a goodly portion of the band's spark, and that energy was the main reason Mercyful Fate could get away with sticking to their tried-and-true style upon making their comeback in 1993. Now they've started to sound flat, essentially repeating the same