In aligning with Michael Denner and Hank Shermann, guitarists of Mercyful Fate, the pioneering King Diamond-fronted Danes, Sean Peck knowingly takes a sip from the poisoned chalice, particularly with Snowy Shaw – also of Mercyful Fate – battering the drums.
Though the San Diego native doesn’t possess a register as stratospheric as that of the King, he’s a vocal monster, blessed with his own, impressive high-pitched scream.
Last year’s four-song EP Satan’s Tomb was ecstatically received and this full-length picks right up where the Fate fans hoped it might – crammed with smoking lead solos and twin guitars, occult-obsessed lyrics and tight, rampaging rhythms. Utilising the full range of Peck’s delivery and based upon a series of juddering time changes, the album’s most stunning offering, The Baroness, is saved till last. Old timers Denner and Shermann know exactly what they’re doing. It shows.
