“Mercenary is a band that’s given me fits over their career. I was very much taken with their fusion of melodic death, power-prog and metalcore on early albums like Everblack and especially The Hours That Remain. Architect of Lies lost some of the charm the older stuff had and didn’t hit me as hard, but it was still decent. However, things really fell apart on their 2011 Metamorphosis release which came across like a generic mix of emo/screamo metalcore and pop. I wrote it off to the massive line up changes the band was weathering at the time and there were a few decent tunes that gave hope they could regain their footing on subsequent releases. Despite this half-hearted optimism, the eternal Law of Dimishing Returns suggested their best days were behind them and I wouldn’t find much to praise on their new album.” Can Mercenary get themselves back on track or is this another nose dive into metalcore hell? Steel Druhm has thoughts and conclusions.
