Artist: MERCENARY
Album: 11 DREAMS (CD)

Year: 2004
Media type: CD

Emerging initially in the '90s as a midpaced melodic death-thrash metal four-piece around songwriters Kral (bass & vocals) and Jakob (guitars), it wasn't until the year 2002 which saw Danish outfit MERCENARY take a giant leap forward with the release of the album "Everblack". Recruiting additional clean-vocals-style singer Mikkel Sandager and his brother Morten on keys changed the band's sound drastically towards a new and rather unusual combination of melody and aggression, which lead to praising media feedback all over the globe for their challenging and quality delivery. MERCENARY gradually evolved their sound into a fusion of diverse inspirations ranging from progressive and 'classic' metal to (Swedish) melodic death metal. Balancing memorable atmospheric passages and choruses with equal amounts of drive and aggression, the band took a definite turn towards focusing on songwriting rather than plain riffing. This "trademark" mixture earned the band much attention and praise, eventually leading to a new worldwide deal with Century Media Records. Marking the debut of newly recruited drummer Mike Park and lead guitarist Martin Buus, the new MERCENARY album "11 Dreams" showcases a new found band energy and crystal clear production courtesy of Jacob Hansen (Invocator, Raunchy, Hatesphere, etc.) as well as suitably atmospheric artwork courtesy of Niklas Sundin (Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Naglfar, etc.). Following up on the band's strong diversity, the new album's material, including a cover version of Kent's hit-single "Music Non Stop", draws upon the members' widely different inspirations and personal musical backgrounds. The mixture of these individual different approaches into an integrated whole, displays the band's development as songwriters and defines the uniqueness of MERCENARY's sound: Multi-layered vocals and intricate ideas merge into simple, catchy song-structures, while delivering by far the band's most aggressive and powerful expression and production yet. By weaving a touch of almost symphonic Scandinavian melancholy into their particular blend of the atmospheric with the aggressive MERCENARY has, however, taken their trademark expression even further…

Tracklisting:

1. Into the Sea of Dark Desires (1:05)
2. World Hate Center (4:59)
3. 11 Dreams (6:51)
4. reDestructDead (5:47)
5. Firesoul (7:36)
6. Sharpen the Edges (5:35)
7. Supremacy v2.0 (8:12)
8. Music Non Stop (4:12)
9. Falling (6:56)
10. Times without Changes (2:58)
11. Loneliness (7:38)

Discography:
Supremacy - MCD 1996 (independent)
First Breath - CD 1998 (Serious Entertainment)
Everblack - CD 2002 (Hammerheart Records)
11 Dreams - CD 2004 (Century Media Records)

Line-Up:

Mikkel Sandager - Vocals, Kral - Vocals & Bass, Jakob Molbjerg - Guitar, Martin Buus - Leadguitar, Mike Park - Drums, Morten Sandager - Keys/Pianos, backing vocals

Website: www.mercenary.dk