Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band, and helped inspire black metal (by playing a form of speed metal that introduced black metal elements). The band was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1980 from the ashes of Hank Shermann's band Brats' and King Diamond's band Black Rose. Shortly thereafter, in the Spring of 1981 they helped out a fellow Dane, Michael Denner, with demos for his band Danger Zone. Soon it was apparent that Shermann, Denner, Diamond and Denner's bassplayer, Timi Grabber, fit well together as a unit and those players performed under the Mercyful Fate moniker for the first time in Denmark. There were the usual member changes for a young band; Denner left and then returned and drummers came and went, but finally Kim Ruzz established himself as the drummer.
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Fifteen Men Lyrics
Mercyful Fate
(music: denner/lyrics: diamond)
1640. the caribbean sea, the wind was just a breeze
Heading for a western shore, the barque was sailing east
Close hauled into the eye
The "unicorn" was riding high on the tide
And the rum went down their throats...with a twist of wine
Just...after midnight, nobody saw the antigua shore
Just...after midnight, nobody heard the thunder roar
Ohh...they were heading straight for the reefs
Just...after midnight, they were caught by the storm
Solo: shermann - denner
1640. the caribbean sea, the wind was not just a breeze
The captain and the crew were fighting for their lives
But they didn't stand a chance with their drunken minds
Going down...to their watery graves
Going down...going down...
Fifteen men and a bottle of rum
It's the captain and the crew of the "unicorn"
Listen hard on a stormy night
And you just might hear them singing that rhyme
Oh yeah...a ghost that never dies
Fifteen men and a bottle of rum
It's the captain stuck in the "unicorn"
Oh yeah...a ghost that never dies
It's a warning, storm is coming, yeah, you better look out