Metal Mayhem ROC was recently joined by Vixen vocalist Lorraine Lewis and Mercyful Fate / Fury bassist Becky Baldwin to celebrate Women’s History Month. They talk about the evolution of women in hard rock and heavy metal over the last five decades, and the trendsetters that have contributed to the emergence of females in this music genre. 

Lorraine talks about her coming of age in the 80s and carrying Vixen forward, and Becky touches on diversity in music, women taking on more prominent roles in metal bands, and her heartwarming path to landing the Mercyful Fate gig. Plus, they examine all of the leaders, both past and present, that have empowered women in rock music.

This past January, it was announced that Mercyful Fate and bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint) have mutually decided to part ways, with King Diamond stating: “Our friendship and respect for each other will always remain the same, and we all sincerely wish each other the absolute best for the future.”

Mercyful Fate then announced that their new bass player is Becky Baldwin of Birmingham, England, who toured North America with the band in late 2022

“It is a great honor to now be a permanent member of Mercyful Fate”, said Baldwin. “I can’t wait to join the recording of the new album. When I joined as a stand-in on the 2022 US tour, the acceptance and encouragement from the fans was exceptional. A huge thanks to the band, team and fans for the warm welcome. See you in Chile and Brazil this coming April.”

In a recent interview with That Metal Interview Podcast, Baldwin talks about her experience touring with Mercyful Fate in 2022, and her feelings now that she's a full-time member. She also gives us an update on her band Fury, and their future plans and recordings.

On when we can expect new music from Mercyful Fate, Becky reveals: "My guess is gonna be toward 2025, maybe towards the end of 2025. But it depends how it all goes, 'cause King is working on a King Diamond album first, so we've got a little bit of time there. And they'll have to tour that as well, give it the full world tour treatment and everything. But there is something in the works. I've listened to (Mercyful Fate guitarist) Hank (Shermann)'s demos. He sent me, I think about nine songs, a couple of weeks ago and I've been listening through those. So it's on the way. It's all just been in the works for kind of a while, and now things are just starting to fall into place."