With the publication of ‘Those Who Reign Below’, Mercyless has now released exactly the same number of records after reuniting as they did when they called it quits in 2001. That they pulled out in 2001 was no surprise after all. While 1996’s ‘C.O.L.D.’ was already a major disappointment, ‘Sure To Be Pure’ from 2000 has gone down in the books as one of the worst French metal records. So the return of Mercyless was received with some scepticism, as the last album by these Frenchmen was indeed far below par, to say the least. But guitar tandem Max Otero and Stéphane Viard, with the former also providing the distinctive vocals, clearly felt like it again, and that showed in the recordings that followed. We were indeed treated to unadulterated Death Metal of French quality.
Perhaps the most recent albums do not have the level of the ‘Abject Offerings’ debut from 1992 or the 1993 follow-up ‘Coloured Funeral’, but that they have been able to find and hit the right chord again has been evident on basically all of the band’s recordings done after 2011. With ‘Those Who Reign Below’ the band has not only taken another step in further cementing their musical legacy and washing away the unfortunate missteps of 1996 and 2000, it also marks the definite cooperation with Osmose Productions. The French label had previously reissued the classic debut album and now presents Mercyless’ newest record.
Again, the level of powerful and youthful energy of ‘Abject Offerings’ is of course nowhere reached within the 40+ minutes of this eighth full-length album, but that is something that cannot be expected anymore. But what remarkably stayed the same is the similar straight forward song writing and production values. In other words, while Otero & Co (Viard already left the band in 2014) have grown as musicians, the music has been kept very much within the framework previously set. That is undeniably one of Mercyless’ post-2011 success factors, anyone who knows and cherishes the band’s first two records in particular will blindly recognise this latest work.
Like many of their French contemporaries, such as Agressor, Loudblast, Mutilated and Massacra, Mercyless also delivers their Death Metal in a fairly straightforward and more than brisk tempo – certainly not free of the necessary Thrash Metal riffs. While not necessarily comparable as a mirror image, musical parallels with bands like Vomitory, Cancer, early Vader and Pestilence in its first years are easily drawn. The slightly between Morbid Angel and Acheron steeped Death Metal is pleasing to the ears and with more than the occasional slashing riff and Otero’s rough vocals, it is actually mostly a feast of recognition. That it never really reaches the level of Morbid Angel, for instance, should not be a deal-breaker. Yet, it this does point out that the entire album more or less roars by without any major highlights.
Moving forward from the smaller XenoKorp label to Osmose Productions will definitely open more doors for the band, something they certainly more than deserve. And the best thing about it is that the band did not have to make any concessions, for ‘Those Who Reign Below’ is a downright jackhammer of a Death Metal record that is brimming with that typical French Thrash Metal punch. Yes, sweet record this is!
Mercyless
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Osmose Productions
- Country: France
- Style: Black Metal, Death Metal
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