June 25th, 2026 - Let's Take a Trip Back in Time... Way Back to 1994

 

Hey there evil-doers, metalheads, and craft beer freaks!  Today I'm pairing "Time", the wonderful and very underrated 4th album by horror metal pioneers Mercyful Fate and a delicious 1994 Lager from the fine folks at Helper Beer!  Hell yeah! 

Album Info: 

• Artist: Mercyful Fate
• Title: "Time"
• Recorded: May through August 1994 at the Dallas Sound Lab in Dallas, Texas
• Release date: October 25th, 1994 (4th studio album by Mercyful Fate)
• Record company: Metal Blade Records
• Production: King Diamond, Tim Kimsey, and Hank Shermann 
• Album cover art: Anneli Adolfsson
• Personnel: Sharlee D'Angelo (bass), Michael Denner (guitars), Kim Bendix Petersen aka King Diamond (vocals, keyboards, and harpsichord), Snowy Shaw (drums), and Hank Shermann (guitars) 
• Musical style: Heavy metal, power metal, progressive metal, hard rock
• Sound: Maybe a little rawer and more aggressive than with previous Mercyful Fate albums, the sound is still that very complex and progressive MF sound!  The King's falsetto vocals are as haunting and insane as ever!  The rhythm section of D'Angelo and Shaw is a driving and thunderous force!  And Shermann and Denner lay down some killer, classic riffing!
• Major themes: Death, the occult, horror, the Necronomicon, evil, the devil, witchcraft, fear, darkness, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Nightmare Be Thy Name"
2. "Angel Of Light"
3. "Witches' Dance"
4. "The Mad Arab"
5. "My Demon"
6. "Time"
7. "The Preacher"
8. "Lady In Black"
9. "Mirror"
10. "The Afterlife"
11. "Castillo Del Mortes"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Helper Beer (Helper, Utah)
• Website: https://www.helperbeer.com/
• Brew: 1994 Lager 
• Style: Red Lager
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• Pour: The 1994 Lager pours a  with a billowy, 2+ finger, off-white head with great retention and lots of sticky, soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is bready, grainy, musty, slightly sweet, and nutty.  There are aromas of toasted barley, crackery biscuit, very light apple, toasted hazelnuts, and soft caramel. 
• Taste: Following the nose, the taste of the 1994 Lager is malty, bready, yeasty, and semi-sweet.  There are notes of barley grain, light apple, bready malts, toasted nuts, and soft caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium in body with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is very crisp and very smooth with a rather clean finish.

Overall pairing: Both the complexity of flavors and the overall drinkability of the tasty 1994 Lager from Helper Beer work perfectly as a foil to the aggression, musical prowess, and metal integrity of Mercyful Fate's killer "Time" album!  'Nuff said!

Check out my interview with former Mercyful Fate bassist Sharlee D'Angelo here: https://brewsandtunes.blogspot.com/2019/10/october-6th-2019-will-to-power.html

Skal and hails!!