Mercenary
Architect Of Lies

The Mercenary were born as a band devoted to melodic death in the early 90s. Danish by birth, but Swedish by vocation, their style continuously evolves until "11 Dreams," the turning point album, where melody begins to play a crucial role. The metamorphosis is completed with the departure of the historical bassist and vocalist (for growl singing) Kral and the creation of "The Hours That Remains," which remains, in my opinion, their artistic peak and which I will review later. For now, it's better to focus on the present of the Danish band.

"The Architect Of Lies" saw the light in March 2008, and it is the welcome confirmation of Mercenary as a band of absolute relevance in the European metal scene, as well as an ensemble of tremendous artistic depth. Having created a musical dimension that ranges from power/prog to gothic without forgetting their death metal roots, the Sandager brothers' band produces 10 tracks that exude a remarkable musical and emotional intensity.

The Danish band certainly does not lack class and technical skill, as evidenced by tracks like "Bloodsong", "The Black And Endless Never", "Embrace The Nothing", and "Isolation (The Loneliness In December)". While the first two focus entirely on sound impact and technique, the latter are based on melodies that guitarists Martin Buus and Jakob Molbjerg and keyboardist Morten Sandager demonstrate they can intertwine over the precise rhythm section crafted by drummer Mike Park Nielsen and bassist (and growl singer) Rene Pedersen.

The alternation between clean vocals and growl typical of melodic death is, of course, present in all the tracks, but it almost never falls into banality or the already heard; just listen to the chorus of the excellent "The Endless Fall", where growl and clean vocals overlap until they blend, creating a truly original effect. As mentioned earlier, the growl is entrusted to Rene Pedersen, and his immense power can be admired in tracks such as the opener "New Desire" and "I Am Lies", where he is often accompanied—but not overshadowed—by clean vocals, and where the importance of keyboards within the individual compositions can be noticed. Another track where Rene can unleash his vocal power is "Execution Style", the heaviest piece of the entire work.

Mikkel Sandager, on the other hand, is responsible for the clean vocals and deserves a separate discussion. The Danish singer delivers an outstanding performance; throughout the album, his impressive vocal range can be appreciated, from the high notes used alongside Rene Pedersen's growls to the more relaxed parts where he can lower his voice for a more theatrical and interpretative approach.

An excellent performance by Mercenary, who confirm the good work they have already done and above all continue to develop their increasingly personal musical discourse. An album recommended for fans of melodic death and beyond, I am quite sure that any open-minded metalhead will appreciate it.