Mercenary return with their sixth studio album and anyone familiar with this band already knows what to expect.  We as listeners, and they as musicians, have together developed over the course of their illustrious history an expectation for excellence. This is a group who has been steadfast in not only their delivery of album after album, but said quality of musicianship they’ve shown time and time again. Truly a world-class, professional group who consistently deliver substantial Metal releases and Metamorphosis is no exception.

For those of you unfamiliar with this band, they’re a little hard to really nail down. They exhibit a base of say Melodic Death Metal meets Power Metal with generous amounts of Traditional, Progressive, and even some other Extreme Metal styles thrown in to lesser or greater degrees. Really across the spectrum they don’t fit any one genre, they’re like musical chameleons, with an outstanding pedigree. I think of them as fearless and always striving to push their boundaries and merge these styles to make their own spirit of metal that is inspired and from so many other styles and of varying degrees of heaviness or vice versa.

“Through the Eyes of the Devil” opens the album with a fast-paced, semi-aggressive melody that gives way to power-chord, palm-muted riffing and gruff shouting to fall into a catchy but not-clean sing-a-long chorus which brings the intro back into its chorus. Then just as quickly after the second verse and chorus fades into something else entirely that could almost see radio play if it wasn’t so progressive in nature. It shows the versatility of their vocalist to switch places and crank out three distinctive vocal styles all in the first song alone and basically this is what they continue with through the rest of the album. Interestingly though, always flirting between playing really heavy, but not quite “extreme” extreme, or stay in that mode before shifting gears. They’re like tightrope walkers, never content to just walk a tightrope but throwing new tricks into the routine to branch out in all these musical directions and catch us off guard. As far from heavy/clean Melodic Death Metal ala Soilwork (heavy verses/clean choruses) as can be, this is a band not content to even attempt something so mundane or formulaic.

Take for example the fifth song “Velvet Lies,” maybe the most boring and straight forward of songs on the album that is basically a ballad until just under half way through giving way to a furious burst of double bass-happy bombast, then stops to chunking gap stop-time chords, and then a scream empowered sinister tremolo mode that quickly gives ground to a short bit of sustained moody soloing before backing into an aggressive Black Metal tremolo, then back to double bass routine giving to chunky thick with a heavy booming back-beat followed by a de-evolution into almost radio-friendly land concluded by an eerie/haunted sounding fading out piece. It’s ridiculous! It’s fantastic. And there’s just too much to really describe this release across so wide a range of sounds and styles.

Overall Metamorphosis doesn’t really see this band breaking any new ground substantially so to speak, but they’re still as blisteringly tight, frenetically fierce in playing ability, and unafraid to merge heaviness and smoothness as ever with a multi-faceted arsenal of metal goodness. Even more, they’re not showing off, like many a band has done or these guys easily could, they’re challenging themselves and listener alike trying to find some golden path and version of metal that is familiar yet unique, aggressive yet rich, powerful and memorable. I don’t want to name bands they might remind me of, they remind me of Mercenary and they’re a band that is as ready for the spotlight as any I’ve known and heard over the years, and deservingly so.

TRACK LISTING

*By clicking "Submit" you agree to the following Terms of Use. You agree not to post any material that is obscene, slanderous, or threatening, or that may violate any law of your country of origin or the United States or of international law. Should you wish to restrict viewing of your email address by third parties, you must select "Hide My Email." You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Metal Psalter from any claims, actions, suits, damages, or other costs arising out of any breach of these Terms of Use.

*Comments:

1.  Through the Eyes of the Devil
2.  The Follower
3.  In a River of Madness
4.  Memoria
5.  Velvet Lies
6.  In Bloodred Shades
7.  Shades of Grey
8.  On the Edge of Sanity
9.  The Black Brigade
10.  Incorporate Your Demons
       (US bonus track)

Total playing time:  48:40

Release Date: March 29, 2011
Label: Prosthetic Records

Mercenary - Metamorphosis

Reviewer: Greg

May 8, 2011