Mercyless reborns with this eighth album.
Led by Max Otero (guitar/vocals, Undead Prophecies) since its formation in 1987 as Merciless, and now accompanied by Gautier Merklen (guitar, ex-Akthesis, ex-Dehumanize), Johann Voirin (drums, Mortuary) and Yann Tligui (bass), the band unveils Those Who Reign Below with Osmose Productions.
The band kicks things off with Extreme Unction, where an occult sample introduces us to thick, effective riffs before the furious vocal parts join in. The track remains rooted in its dark but aggressive Old School approach, with a few heavier moments and piercing leads, but the sound returns in full force on I Am Hell, which immediately takes over with an acceleration. The catchy chorus remains in raw, jerky tones, ensuring a real cohesion between musicians and live audience, but the rhythm suddenly stops and gives way to Evil Shall Come Upon You, where harmonics take a more prominent place. Phantoms Of Cain follows without delay, providing heady tones at full speed and in the rare slower passages found on the introduction to Thy Resplendent Inferno, for example, but the track shows us that it’s ready to explode, and it doesn’t take long to do so, adopting vivid Thrash influences. The musicians continue their menacing approach with Crown Of Blasphemy, a continuous tornado of violence that throws us right into its irregular flow to lacerate us before we are trampled by the greasy tones of Prelude To Eternal Darkness. The drums play a predominant role in the composition, offering blast and double kick at will to accompany the numerous accelerations before Chaos Requiem allows us to take a temporary breather with its introduction. As we’ve all come to expect, the band return to their savagery and lacerate us before taking an instrumental break on Absurd Theatre, where the violence is obviously still present, but in a slightly different way. The vociferations return on Sanctus Deus Mortis, revealing some interesting melodies that pair wonderfully with the rhythmic violence, before the album comes to a fairly restrained end with Zechariah 3:1, where simple but disquieting riffs greet a sampled vocal.
Mercyless‘ Death Metal has not changed over time, keeping its raw, uncompromising edge. The riffs on Those Who Reign Below are solid, and it’s great to see such an important band from the French scene still active.
85/100