Mercenary (band)
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| Mercenary | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Aalborg, Denmark |
| Genre(s) | Melodic death metal Power metal Thrash metal Progressive metal |
| Years active | 1991 – present |
| Label(s) | Hammerheart Records Century Media |
| Members | |
| Jakob Mølbjerg Mikkel Sandager Morten Sandager Mike Park Martin Buus René Pedersen |
|
| Former members | |
| Hans Jørgen Andersen Henrik "Kral" Andersen Nikolaj Brinkman Andreas W. Hansen Jakob Johnsen Signar Petersen |
|
Mercenary is a six-piece metal band from Denmark that was formed in 1991. Although they are usually labelled as a melodic death metal band[1], they use aspects of power metal in their music, as well as thrash metal in their earlier work.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Mercenary was formed in Aalborg, Denmark, in 1991. After the release of two demos, Domicile (1993) and Gummizild (1994), they were able to sign with Black Day Records, and released a four-song EP, Supremacy (1996). In 1997, they were signed to the Danish label Serious Entertainment, and in 1998 they released their full-length debut, First Breath.
In 2002, the band decided to expand their sound with the addition of pianist Morten Sandager, who greatly contributed with his keyboard as well as his brother Mikkel, who helped expand their songs with vocals into their songs. This new line-up added new dimensions to their sound, blending more melody into their more aggressive heaviness.
Mercenary's fame increased that year with their slot on the ProgPower music festival in the United States, as well as with the release of their second album, Everblack. It was after this that the band fired drummer Rasmus Jacobsen, thinking he invested too little time into Mercenary and too much into other projects. During this time, guitarist Signar Petersen also left the band, due to personal reasons. Two old friends of Kral’s (drummer Mike Park Nielson, whom he had met in 1993 at a concert in Copenhagen, and Martin Buus Pedersen, whom Kral knew since he was seventeen years old and working in a music store, when Martin was testing a guitar) would soon fill in the two spots, and with this new lineup, Mercenary were signed to Century Media Records.
In 2004, Mercenary released their third full-length album, 11 Dreams. This proved to be their most commercially successful album, earning much international attention from fans and critics alike. That year, Mercenary toured as a supporting act for Evergrey, and then later with Brainstorm who were on their first headlining tour in Europe. They also played on the 16th Wacken Open Air in 2005, and supported Nevermore on a European tour later that year.
It was at the end of March 2006 that the band announced that Kral left the band. Mikkel Sandager said in a recent interview that Kral’s departure was due to “being away from his family and...trying to make it with the band for 15 years. I think that he simply got tired of trying and trying."
The band went about writing and recording their fourth full-length as a five-piece, with Mikkel Sandager performing all vocals, and the album’s producer Jacob Hansen handling bass duties. On April 7, 2006 the band finished the recording at Jacob Hansens Studios. Shortly after this, the band managed to snag bassist/vocalist René Pedersen to fill in the void left by Kral.
At the May 19-20th Saegfestival (held in Greding, Germany), Mercenary had their first live performance with René. It was at this show that they played Soul Decision, a song from their upcoming fourth album. On August 1, 2006, Mercenary released a compilation of their early demos, titled Retrospective, and on August 22, their new album, The Hours that Remain, was released.
In September 2006 Mercenary joined numerous other bands such as Evergrey, Epica, and Jørn Lande in the ProgPower USA festival.
On October 21, 2007 they announced a follow up album to The Hours that Remain was being recorded and produced. On December 12, 2007 the band announced on their myspace page that the new album is complete. Eight days later, the band announced the title of the new album to be Architect of Lies. It was released in March 2008.[2]
[edit] Band members
- Mikkel Sandager - Clean Vocals (since 2002)
- Martin Buus - Lead guitar (since 2002)
- Jakob Mølbjerg - Rhythm Guitar (since 1993)
- René Pedersen - Bass, Harsh Vocals (since 2006)
- Mike Park Nielsen - Drums (since 2002)
- Morten Sandager - Keyboard, backing vocals (Since 2002)
[edit] Former members
- Lead Guitars
- Nikolaj Brinkman (1996-2000)
- Signar Petersen (2000-2002) (Behind The Curtain, Transparent)
- Rhythm Guitars
- Hans Jørgen Andersen (1991-1993)
- Bass
- Henrik "Kral" Andersen (1991-2006, also Harsh Vocals, Lead Guitars) (Geronimo)
- Andreas W. Hansen (1991-1993)
- Drums
- Jakob Johnsen (1991-1993)
- Rasmus Jacobsen (Illnath) (1993-2002)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Year | Title | |
| 1998 | First Breath | |
| 2002 | Everblack | |
| 2004 | 11 Dreams | |
| 2006 | The Hours that Remain | |
| 2008 | Architect of Lies |
[edit] EPs
| Year | Title | |
| 1996 | Supremacy |
[edit] Compilations
| Year | Title | |
| 2006 | Retrospective |
[edit] Demos
| Year | Title | |
| 1993 | Domicile | |
| 1994 | Gummizild |
[edit] Videography
- Firesoul (from 11 Dreams)
- My World is Ending (from The Hours that Remain)
- Isolation (from Architect of Lies)
- The Endless Fall (from Architect of Lies)
Their official homepage's media section has the videos available for download [1]
[edit] Trivia
In 1991 when Kral and Andreas were forming the band, they heard a song of Slayer called "Ghosts of War" that contained a lyric featuring the words Fallen Mercenary and decided to take Mercenary as their band name. They also used to paint as soldiers but stopped when it got too difficult to get painted before the show and to remove the paint after the show.
In 2006, while playing the ProgPower USA fest, Mercenary covered Pantera's Cowboys from Hell at the request of the show's promoter.
[edit] References
- ^ "Tags for Mercenary @ Last.fm". http://www.last.fm/music/Mercenary/+tags.
- ^ "New Album Update". Mercenary.dk. 2007-10-21. http://www.mercenary.dk/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1192981283&archive=&start_from=&ucat=1&. Retrieved on 2007-11-10.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mercenary |
