Mercenary (band)
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| Mercenary | |
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| Origin | Ålborg, Denmark |
| Years active | 1991 – present |
| Genres | Melodic Death Metal, Thrash Metal, Power Metal |
| Labels | Century Media |
| Members | Jakob Mølbjerg Mikkel Sandager Morten Sandager Mike Park Martin Buus René Pedersen |
Mercenary is a six-piece metal band from Denmark that combines both power metal and melodic death metal genres, and in their earlier work thrash metal; however, they are simply "tagged" as a melodic death metal band by many. The band was formed in 1991. They have released a total of four albums.
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[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 vocalist Mikkel Sandager, as well as his brother Morten, who introduced keyboards into their songs. This new lineup 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 sophomore effort, Everblack. It was after this that the band fired drummer Rasmus Jacobsen, thinking 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, 11 Dreams. This proved to be their most commercially successful album, earning much international attention from fans and critics alike. tours. 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 of 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.
[edit] Events
Mercenary will be joining numerous other bands in the ProgPower USA festival. This will be taking place in September/October of 2006. Bands such as Evergrey, Epica, and Jørn Lande will be participating in this event.
For more info, visit the ProgPower USA homepage: http://www.progpowerusa.com/index.php
[edit] Band members
- Mikkel Sandager :: Vocals
- Martin Buus (b. 8 October 1983) :: Lead guitar
- Jakob Mølbjerg :: Guitar
- René Pedersen :: Bass, Backing Vocals
- Mike Park Nielsen (b. 21 August 1978) :: Drums
- Morten Sandager (b. 13 October 1973) :: Keyboard, Backing Vocals
[edit] Former members
- Henrik "Kral" Andersen :: Bass, backing vocals
- Rasmus Jacobsen :: Drums
- Signar Petersen :: Guitars
- Nikolaj Brinkman :: Guitars
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
| Year | Title | |
| 1998 | First Breath | |
| 2002 | Everblack | |
| 2004 | 11 Dreams | |
| 2006 | The Hours that Remain |
[edit] EPs
| Year | Title | |
| 1996 | Supremacy |
[edit] Compilations
| Year | Title | |
| 2006 | Retrospective |
[edit] Demos
| Year | Title | |
| 1993 | Domicile | |
| 1994 | Gummizild |
[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 bandname. 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.
