Don't Break the Oath

Don't Break the Oath is the second studio album by Danish heavy metal band Mercyful Fate, released in 1984.

Don't Break the Oath
Studio album by Mercyful Fate
Released	7 September 1984
Recorded	May 1984
Studio	Easy Sound Recording, Copenhagen, Denmark
Genre	Heavy metal, black metal[1]
Length	47:30
Label	Roadrunner (Europe) Music for Nations (UK) Combat (USA)
Producer	Henrik Lund
Mercyful Fate chronology
Melissa (1983) Don't Break the Oath (1984) The Beginning (1987)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	10/10[3]
Sputnikmusic	5/5[4]

The style Mercyful Fate employed on Don't Break the Oath resembled a mixture of heavy metal with progressive elements, lyrically preoccupied with Satan and the occult and distinguished by King Diamond's theatrical falsetto vocals. Although very influential to future black metal bands due to its lyrical content, the music itself is more reminiscent of traditional heavy metal. The album was remastered and subsequently re-issued on Roadrunner Records in 1997. This reissue came with the bonus track "Death Kiss (Demo)", which would eventually evolve into the album's lead-off track, "A Dangerous Meeting". Metal Rules named this the greatest extreme metal album of all time.[5]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by King Diamond.

Side one

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"A Dangerous Meeting"	Hank Shermann	5:10
2.	"Nightmare"	Hank Shermann	6:20
3.	"Desecration of Souls"	Hank Shermann	4:54
4.	"Night of the Unborn"	Hank Shermann / Michael Denner	4:59

Side two

No.	Title	Music	Length
5.	"The Oath"	King Diamond	7:31
6.	"Gypsy"	Michael Denner / King Diamond	3:08
7.	"Welcome Princes of Hell[6]"	Hank Shermann	4:03
8.	"To One Far Away"	Michael Denner / King Diamond	1:31
9.	"Come to the Sabbath"	King Diamond	5:19

1997 re-release bonus track

No.	Title	Length
10.	"Death Kiss" (demo)	4:30

Personnel

Mercyful Fate

• King Diamond - vocals, keyboards, harpsichord
• Hank Shermann - guitars
• Michael Denner - guitars
• Timi "Grabber" Hansen - bass
• Kim Ruzz - drums
• Benny Petersen - guitar (on track 10)

Production

• Henrik Lund - producer, engineer
• Niels Erik Otto - engineer
• Thomas Holm – cover art

Charts

Chart performance for Don't Break the Oath

Chart (2020)	Peak position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7]	66

References

1. Bukszpan, Daniel (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Barnes & Noble Publishing. p. 149. ISBN 9780760742181.
2. Huey, Steve. "Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath review". AllMusic.
3. Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 220. ISBN 978-1894959315.
4. Nash, J. "Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
5. "Top 50 Extreme Metal Albums". Metal Rules. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
6. Ludwig, Jamie (October 22, 2014). "King Diamond Interview". Wondering Sound. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
7. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mercyful Fate – Don't Break the Oath" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 June 2020.