Black Empire

When I heard that Mercyful Fate guitarists Michael Denner and Hank Shermann were forming a new Danish "supergroup" so to speak, of course there was reason to be excited. The classic twin guitar assault of Mercyful Fate was a driving force in the early 80's and a major influence on heavy metal as well as black metal. The pair reunited with King Diamond to record In the Shadows, a sort of comeback album for Mercyful Fate and continued to record new albums throughout the 90's. With King Diamond's sights firmly entrenched on his solo work, Michael Denner and Hank Shermann decided to put the "Fate" on hiatus and concentrate on a new project involving former Iron Fire vocalist Martin Steen as well as bassist Hal Patino (King Diamond) and drummer Bjarne T. Holm (Mercyful Fate). Their first self-titled album, released in 2003 was O.K. but many (including myself) were a bit disappointed that two such talented guitar players couldn't come up with a better effort. Force Of Evil now presents us with the all important sophomore album Black Empire, produced by veteran producer Neil Kernon (Queensryche, Judas Priest, Dokken, Nevermore). After careful scrutinization of this album and comparing it to their first, the result is a much better effort this time around with a better sound and far better songwriting than on the debut album.

Force Of Evil's music can be described as traditional heavy metal with detuned guitars, killer riffs and an ominous and foreboding sound. Thrash metal and U.S. style power metal also flavor much of this album as well as elements of the Judas Priest Jugulator era. With vocals that ranges from a Rob Halford style with well placed screams and wails to a more aggressive tone with the occasional King Diamond falsetto, vocalist Martin Steen sounds like a more sinister version of Jon Bon Jovi and helps give this album the feel and atmosphere of early Metal Church (with David Wayne on vocals). Martin Steen's voice is more suited for the power metal style of his former band Iron Fire but with Black Empire, he's branching out and diversifying his vocal delivery to give Force Of Evil a more menacing sound. Most of the tracks are based on horror movies and other horror themes with the title track, Black Empire telling the tale of the Amityville Horror. Lots of Black Sabbath style hypnotic and pounding heavy repetitive riffs can be found with many of the songs having abrupt tempo changes mid-track to set the tone for the guitar solos. A good example of that formula is Cabrini Green. This mid tempo track tells the tale of the Candyman with chants of "Candyman" for the chorus and there's a great change to a speedy tempo for the dual lead guitar trade-offs by Michael and Hank. Death Comes Crawling uses slower and pounding riffs to create a cool ominous atmosphere and with a more progressive attention to detail as far as the riffs and song arrangement. Days Of Damien, a track written about The Omen series of movies also has a haunting and eerie tone and Disciples Of The King with it's mid tempo Mercyful Fate style, plays tribute to the King of horror Stephen King. Martin Steen also throws in some King Diamond style falsettos on this one. Dead In Texas tells the story of Leatherface and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Vorhees Revenge recounts the classic Friday The 13th tale of Jason Vorhees. The tempo gets charged up for tracks like Beyond The Gates and The Sinister Show which is highlighted by Accept style riffs and chanting chorus of "Evil comes alive!!!".

The heaviness of this album will please fans of chunky palm-muted riff-laden metal but the vocals of Martin Steen may be a bitter pill to swallow for some. I personally like his vocals but others may find that Force Of Evil would be better off with a vocalist that has a more menacing and aggressive tone. For an album that has two of metal's premier guitarists in Michael Denner and Hank Shermann, I find that it lacks the intricate riffs and lead solos that were such a staple of classic Mercyful Fate. There are times when they both shine with their riffs and lead trade-offs but there's just not enough of that on this album. Most tracks are filled with repetitive riff patterns with some having very little lead guitar at all. However, great riffs and a killer chunky sound don't always guarantee a great song. The vocals really have to come through to deliver the goods so to speak and on several tracks, Martin Steen just doesn't deliver. It seems as though he's still trying to find a way to shed his power metal past and transform his vocal style to more properly suit the sound of Force Of Evil. I'm excited about the progression of this band over their first album and if the trend continues, their next album should finally solidify their place on the metal scene. The several killer tracks on this album make it worth picking up and if you love very heavy, chunky mid-tempo traditional metal and the riffs are all that matters for you anyway, look no further than this album.