Mercenary- The Hours That Remain

[Harvester]

Wow....

You ever sit down and listen to a disc straight through and feel like your have been hit upside the head with a baseball bat? My initial thoughts..

1. It's on par, if not better than Eleven Dreams.
2. It's heavy as hell.
3. They have the best guitar sound in metal. That crunch is unmistakable.
4. Mikkel's vocals get better and better. His transition between his smooooooooth side and his Halford demon is unreal. Also, he doesn't stay in the high zone (ala Fire Blossum) the entire time. That really improves things in my book and makes the loss of Kral easy to digest.
5. The balance with the keys is perfect.
6. Favorite songs thus far: Year of the Plague, My World is Ending, & Lost Reality.
More thoughts to come as I sit down and really listen to it.


This thing is going to get people *excited.*

Glenn H.

 

[General Zod]

I'm really hoping this CD kicks my ass. Mercenary is one of those bands whom I should be in love with. But unlike my friend DarkTide, "11 Dreams" just never clicked for me. It's so strange... I love where they are in terms of heaviness. I think the vocals are well done. I love the dark vibe. Yet... nothing. Hopefully whatever was missing for me on the previous disc, will be abundant on the new one.

Zod

 

[longshot9]

Outstanding Glenn, this and Symphony X are my most anticipated CD's of 2006. Can't wait to hear it.

 

[VenomGA]

When is the release date guys for this cd?

 

[The Invisible Guest]

Awesome news, Glenn. I've been worried about that loss of Kral, but you have helped make me feel a little more calm about it with your review.

Britt

 

[The Invisible Guest]

I'm really hoping this CD kicks my ass. Mercenary is one of those bands whom I should be in love with. But unlike my friend DarkTide, "11 Dreams" just never clicked for me. It's so strange... I love where they are in terms of heaviness. I think the vocals are well done. I love the dark vibe. Yet... nothing. Hopefully whatever was missing for me on the previous disc, will be abundant on the new one.

Zod

Yep, not sure why that one never clicked with you Sometimes things that seem to click for everyone else don't seem to float my boat either. Just of late people have raved about the new ones from Eidolon, Pharaoh, and Sieges Even, but I haven't taken to any of them.

Britt

 

[booB]

*in best Ned Flanders voice* Slay-diddly-ay!

This is my current most anticipated release.

 

[Metalhed]

From the Mercenary website - I see a release date of August 21, 2006

 

[VenomGA]

From the Mercenary website - I see a release date of August 21, 2006

2 weeks after SLAYER!!!! works for me.

 

[lifesadream]

I am looking forward to this. Mercenary and Evergrey are my Friday night must see bands. Hearing that the new album kicks ass is great news.

 

[The Invisible Guest]

Outstanding Glenn, this and Symphony X are my most anticipated CD's of 2006. Can't wait to hear it.

Those two are the only ones that will have any shot of knocking Vanden Plas - Christ Zero out of my top spot for 06'.

Britt

 

[High Speed Kurt]

So there are no harsh vocals at all on this disc?

 

[Harvester]

So there are no harsh vocals at all on this disc?

Incorrect. There are plenty of harsh vocals (less than on Eleven Dreams though). However, the difference is that Mikkel drops an octave for the growls in most places. He has more of a traditional deathy sound instead of the over the top Painkiller approach and it works sooooo much better for my personal taste.



Glenn H.

 

[General Zod]

Those two are the only ones that will have any shot of knocking Vanden Plas - Christ Zero out of my top spot for 06'.

Beyond the new SX, there are a few '06 releases that may overtake Vanden Plas:

Zero Hour
Novembers Doom
Circus Maximus
Amon Amarth
Kiuas

Zod

 

[The Fiddler]

Excellent! Can't wait!!!

 

[Joel-RZ]

Sweet! Im really looking forward to this one. I love Mikkel's voice, so much so that losing Kral, although dissapointing, wasn't a big deal for me. This years performance should kick all our asses!!! Thanks for the heads up Glenn!

 

[BlackenedDawn]

Those descriptions to this new Mercenary made me just want to spontaneously combust on the spot. LOL. Mercenary kicks my ass every time I listen to them; The thought of hearing another ungodly heavy, dark and beautiful masterpiece from Mercenary very soon sounds almost too good to be true. I also like the idea of the lower octave vocal approach. If it's anything like I think it's going to be, When will this album be released? I NEED to hear this record. Be it on a CD or in front of my very eyes at PP, haha! All Hail MERCENARY!

 

[Taliwakker]

Looking forward to this very much....and as for Christ 0? It'd be lucky to crack my top 10 for 2006 so far.

 

[Imagikafan]

I can't wait to hear it!

 

[AngraRULES]

Sounds interesting enough.