Mercenary - Metamorphosis (2011)Release ID: 8308
I am the kind of metalhead who enjoys albums from bands that experiment with changing their sound in each release, except when one of those albums is non-metal. Take for example two gothic metal bands I used to listen to, Paradise Lost and Tiamat. They both started off as death-doom flirting with both sides of the genre in early 90s, switched to gothic metal in the mid-90s, discarded their metal in late 90s, and started bringing it back throughout the 2000s and early 2010s.
Throughout those years leading up to that point, Mercenary made a thrashy melodeath album in 1998 and a string of 4 epic power metal-ish melodeath offerings. The early 2010s is when the band began to take their modern influences to the next level in Metamorphosis. It's pretty great, though it can never beat their earlier discography...
Kicking things off is "Through the Eyes of the Devil", with an intro where the metal instrumentation is really building up. René Pedersen typically performs a more hardcore style of harsh vocals, but he can still do the shrieking and growling expected in melodeath. The chorus is when he starts to sing. Former clean vocalist Mikkel Sandager was a total master of melodic singing when he was with the band, and fans were concerned about if Rene's harsh vocal style would be all that's left in the vocal department. Fortunately, he can sing, almost as greatly as Mikkel. And that's what I enjoy about that track. "The Follower" is good but not really the best. There are nice moments but nothing so interesting. "In a River of Madness" throws back to the band's 2000s awesomeness with haunting symphonics.
"Memoria" is worth lots of listens. Rene once again proves his amazing talent to perform clean and harsh vocals, as bands like Scar Symmetry would. It's quite impressive, considering he can also play the bass at the same time. A melodic standout with nice pace! Mixing heaviness with emotion is "Velvet Lies" with nice melancholy. "In Bloodred Shades" has more of the clean/harsh vocal mix worth listening to. "Shades of Gray" sounds too poppy, especially since it has solely clean singing, common in melodeath albums but considered a sin by fans of the genre. With no aggression, it's just a lame song that would be better suited as a standalone radio single instead of on this album.
"On The Edge of Sanity" can strikes back as one of my favorite songs here. Rene's vocal ability is in mighty display. And even though the chorus is a bit a repetitive, that awesome catchy song can't be put down. "The Black Brigade" has lyrics about how love can prevent suicide. For a love song, I really like that one. The US edition comes with a bonus track, "Incorporate Your Demons", my overall favorite here that should've been in the standard edition. Wonderful All That Remains vibes in that chorus!
Far from their epic 2000s throne but still pretty great, Metamorphosis has a lot of expected and unexpected turns. The lineup can stand strong despite being much different. While some might hate this more commercial sound, I don't mind it. As the open-minded metalhead I am, I take no sh*t....
Favorites: "Through the Eyes of the Devil", "In a River of Madness", "Memoria", "On The Edge of Sanity", "Incorporate Your Demons"
