R E V I E W S

Mercenary - 11 Dreams (2005) Century Media --EC

Track Listing1. Into The Sea Of Dark Desires 2. World Hate Center 3. 11 Dreams 4. reDestructDead 5. Firesoul 6. Sharpen The Edges 7. Supremacy v2.0 8. Music Non Stop 9. Falling 10. Times Without Changes 11. Loneliness 12. 11 Dreams (3D edit) 13. 11 Dreams (radio edit)

Occasionally I run across that one individual album that really goes beyond music, beyond words and melody into a whole new mental landscape, a record that runs through a deeper thought pattern than all of the rest. At times it is refreshing and invigorating to simply step away from the music itself and embrace a higher level of creativity, to go within the music and experience the aura and mystique of the metal genre. With these rare releases one can experience a whole new vision of metal's shadowy cinema, those dark and dreary moments when all things dead of night become real and evident through musical art. One can experience just such an occasion with Mercenary's newest release "11 Dreams".

With this chapter, Mercenary begins a brand new journey that will take them full course through metal's various sub-genres. I remember buying Mercenary's debut album in 1998 and completely becoming absorbed in the band's refreshing salute to traditional metal while taking a huge step further in the death metal circle. With "First Breath" the band began their career deeply trenched in the powerful movement of Swedish melodic death metal. Finely tuned chapters of In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, and At The Gates could be found within the group's first effort. I was a believer then, but had no idea the band could take their creativity this far.

With the band's sophomore release, "Everblack", the musical approach took a huge stride in the right direction. With the addition of clean vocalist Mikkel Sandager and his brother Morten on keyboards, "Everblack" saw a rich environment filled with melodic strategy and modern aggression. The group kept the same signature as before but went one step further to incorporate a bit more depth to their sound, something that other bands in the genre were experimenting with also.

With new drummer Mike Park and lead guitarist Martin Buus on board, the band have hit the studio with famed producer Jacob Hansen (Ancient, Raunchy) to create their biggest album to date, a diverse tapestry of darkest delights. With "11 Dreams", Mercenary go well beyond the genre's limited space, establishing a whole new level of musical creativity. Breaking the chains of traditional melodic death metal, Mercenary stay within the guidelines of progressive power metal by adding in well placed keyboards and traditional guitars. But don't think for a second that this is a power metal record. It goes beyond that as well, beyond both death and power-prog to a whole new course. The band have really created something extraordinary and new within heavy metal, an epic vision of aggression and melody crossing through both power and prog.

At times the album seems to feed off of the new power metal stable we have, with many distinct references to Evergrey, Circle II Circle, and Nevermore. I can hear moments of Soilwork, In Flames, and Dark Tranquillity within this realm as well, really bringing into focus the group's earlier work on "First Breath". Clean singer Mikkel Sandager really meshes well with extreme vocalist Kral with both of them seeing a lot of action this go around. New leadman Martin Buus delves deep into his soul to offer up some extremely tight riffs and I really like what Morten Sandager has done with the keys and piano, really creating a solid backdrop for all of this musical talent to come together.

From the murky depths of "Firesoul" and "Falling" to the emotional title track, Mercenary craft a midnight world of all things dusky and sinister. With "Sharpen The Edges" the band explore the "dead heart" of Nevermore and Morgana Lefay, with plenty of clean vocals and Crimson Glory styled story telling. Evergrey's somber progressive elements come into play with "World Hate Center", an excellent opening cut that really sums up the mood and vibe of the album with one fell swoop. "reDestructDead" bursts through with a strong ability to run with the likes of Soilwork and In Flames. Other notable cuts are "Supremacy v2.0", with its strong Hypocrisy feel and "Music Non Stop", an interesting experimental rock track.

Never before has metal's darkest hour burned so brightly. Beyond the gritty underworld of Mercenary lies a sincere passion for beauty through pain. With "11 Dreams" the very essence of dark romanticism is brought to life through a stirring, emotional trek of musical experimentation. "11 Dreams" is a quite an achievement, and one that will bring more and more listeners into this nightmare world of haunting dreams and captivating sounds.

--EC 01.28.05

CD	TITLE	BAND	DOR	REVIEWER	DATE
	11 Dreams	Mercenary	2005	Ken Pierce	1/2/2006
	11 Dreams	Mercenary	2005	Nailer	3/9/2005
	11 Dreams	Mercenary	2005	EC	1/28/2005

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