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Review:
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Throughout metal history there have been examples of
'fifth' albums being the change in musical direction for
a band. e.g: Metallica's 'Metallica', Sepultura's 'Chaos
A.D.', Children of Bodom's 'Are You Dead Yet?' and Sonata
Arctica's 'Unia', amongst others. Some have a lost a certain
band a large number of dedicated followers, while some have
gathered newer legions of fans. But what surprises does
a certain Danish band named Mercenary bring with its latest
release 'Architect of Lies'? ***
Well, the 1st thing that one notices is the definite
change of sound, but not to the point where the musical
direction changes altogether. One noticeable change is the
introduction of industrial keyboard effects amongst the
trademark overdriven and symphonic tones. Ordinarily this
would have weakened the emotional content of the music to
the point of being called bastardization. But Morten Sandager
has interwoven the modern with the archaic very deftly to
actually RAISE the emotional content of the songs. The album
starts with 'New Desire', a song that begins with very trademark
Mercenary-esque crashing riffs amongst a keyboard atmosphere.
But once the verse begins, one notices the bad side of the
change of sound as well; the very alternative rock style
verse riff. Mercenary have used this staccato-laced riffing
style (characteristic of bands like Scar Symmetry and Disarmonia
Mundi) on a few other songs on this album as well like the
single 'Embrace the Nothing' and 'I Am Lies'.But thankfully,
this album has the traditional Mercenary touch as well.
And LOTS of it. The riff barrages continue, as do the low-end/high-end
harmonic rhythms and of course the very intricate double
bass and roll styles of drummer Mike Park. I also heard
the 1st guitar-keyboard harmonic from this band on 'The
Endless Fall'. ***
The fact that Mercenary hired a separate producer for
vocals is evident but very one-sidedly i.e. in the clean
vocals. Mercenary had 'pleasantly shocked' metal fans with
their 3-layered singing/screaming/growling style on their
2004 release '11 Dreams' but alas, their attempts to replicate
the same have gone in vain this time. Bass player Rene Pedersen
may have the right tone and skill with his instrument, but
is MILES away from the magic that former bassist/harsh vocalist
Henrik 'Kral' Andersen created in the 1st 3 albums. On the
other hand, lead vocalist Mikkel Sandager sounds better
than ever before with the vocal harmonies and epic higher
pitches. Guitarist Jakob Molberg and Martin Buus Pedersen
also seem to have learnt a lot more shredding and have implemented
it quite well here. Lyrically, the band has taken more of
a political turn but the 'me against myself' lyrics still
exist. ***
So, to answer the 1st question, Mercenary have chosen
to play for the jackpot; if they get it right, it could
make legends out of them, but one screw-up and they could
lose a LOT of purist fans. This album has an epic/emotional
sound, yes, but not one as powerful or consistent as 'Everblack',
'11 Dreams' or 'The Hours that Remain'. But as far as the
music is concerned, it remains highly enjoyable. Highlights
of the album: 'New Desire', 'This Black and Endless Never',
'Isolation (The Loneliness in December)', 'Black and Hollow'
and 'I Am Lies'.
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