Warthur
One of the things I love about both classic-period Mercyful Fate and the first few albums from their successful reunion is that back in those days they were a band wholly devoted to their own musical direction, and consistently resisted the temptation to water down that distinctive Fate sound by drawing on transient trends in metal in a misguided attempt to modernise their sound.
Perhaps that's why I find Dead Again so disappointing; with its rawer production and more distorted guitars, all of a sudden it doesn't feel like Mercyful Fate any more - it feels like King Diamond popping in on some very generic mid-1990s metal band and singing a few songs with them. It's an interesting departure and I suppose it's good that they attempted to stay fresh, but in this case I think the end result is an album which has good moments but doesn't reflect the greatness Mercyful Fate are capable of.