Don't Break the Oath: the demon who points straight at you
Horns, empty white eyes, flames everywhere, and a long clawed finger pointing right out of the picture. Wherever you stand in the room, it is pointing at you.
Everything is on fire. Yellow and orange flames curl across the whole sheet, and out of them leans a dark, horned head with two empty white eyes. One clawed hand reaches forward, finger raised, pointing straight out of the picture. Not at someone in the painting. At you. Up in the corner, in blood-red letters, the warning: don't break the oath.
It is a simple trick, and it works. One critic remembered spotting the record in a mall record shop and feeling that the demon was pointing at him personally.
The painter behind the demon
The cover is by Thomas Holm, a painter who became one of the key visual names in heavy metal. For him Don't Break the Oath was the breakthrough, and he went on to paint covers for King Diamond's solo albums as well. His portfolio is reportedly far wider than devils and ghosts, stretching to children's cartoons and even pet portraits. Hard to imagine the same hand painting this and someone's golden retriever, but there you go.
Over the years the demon has picked up plenty of praise, and has been called one of the most striking pictures of evil ever put on a record. No band photo, no logo on a black background. Just one figure, one gesture and a lot of fire.
Copenhagen, 1984
Mercyful Fate formed in Copenhagen in 1981 around singer King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Don't Break the Oath, their second album, was recorded at Easy Sound Recording in Copenhagen in May 1984 with producer Henrik Lund, and released on Roadrunner on 7 September 1984. The line-up was King Diamond, Hank Shermann and Michael Denner on guitars, Timi Hansen on bass and Kim Ruzz on drums.
A small bonus for collectors: on some editions one song appears as Welcome Princess of Hell. It was meant to be Princes.
An oath broken quickly
Ironically, the band did not keep their own oath for long. In April 1985 Shermann wanted a more commercial sound, King Diamond refused, and Mercyful Fate split. They came back in 1992. In between, King Diamond's corpse paint and the band's dark lyrics had already left a mark on black metal, and in 1998 Metallica recorded a whole medley of their songs.
About the poster
This is the Don't Break the Oath artwork printed as a large 75 × 55 cm (30 × 22 in) landscape poster, from 2020. It is an original magazine insert, never hung, with no staple holes, folded three times as issued. The sheet is double-sided, with Megadeth "Rust in Peace" on the back.
Browse all original Mercyful Fate posters.
Quick answers
Who painted the Don't Break the Oath cover?
Thomas Holm, who later also painted covers for King Diamond's solo albums.
When was Don't Break the Oath released?
On 7 September 1984, on Roadrunner Records. It was recorded in Copenhagen in May 1984.
Who played on Don't Break the Oath?
King Diamond on vocals, Hank Shermann and Michael Denner on guitars, Timi Hansen on bass and Kim Ruzz on drums.
How big is the poster?
75 × 55 cm (about 30 × 22 inches), landscape. It is a separate insert, so it has no staple holes, and it is folded three times as issued.
What is on the other side?
Megadeth "Rust in Peace". The sheet is double-sided, so you choose which cover goes on the wall.