Mercy Fall

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Mercy Fall is a rock act from Flagstaff, Arizona. During high school, a teacher of their's, Kevin Wiebe, saw them playing for a small group once and complimented them on their music. He asked if he needed a manager and they said that they would like to have him. They recorded demo tracks together which they would later play for Atlantic Records. Kevin left managing the band to move to Andover, Kansas to teach social studies courses at Andover Central High School. The band continues to keep in contact with Kevin, even giving him backstage passes when they toured through Wichita, Kansas. The band was signed to Atlantic Records in August 2004 by A&R Rep Leigh Lust, who also does A&R for the Jet, after playing the demos.

Mercy Fall's "For The Taken" LP was produced by My Chemical Romance/POD producer, Howard Benson. Billboard/All Music LP rating: 3 stars out of 5 (average-to-good). The band's first single to commercial rock radio in the USA is "I Got Life," with an accompanying video for the song.

All Music/Billboard Review: (original text -prior to subsequent alteration by All Music Guide- such as at http://www.spun.com/music/product-detail.jsp?id=2581760)

For The Taken is the debut full-length from Arizona-based alternative rock outfit, Mercy Fall. Seeing as the forceful opener "Insurmountable" is the album's generic brash song, it sets things up rather deceivingly for the remainder of the record, since Mercy Fall actually more often utilize an ethereal heaviness that is not reliant on just thunderous, in-your-face rock. The album's denser songs appear more during its first half, as most of the songs near the end are lighter, more provocative numbers that stand strong amid the powerful, aching vocals of Nate Stone. "No More Silence" might be an eccentric, quasi-outburst among the searching quality of the closing tracks, but even it leads directly into a hidden number with just Stone singing poignantly over an acoustic guitar. A better version of the opening track appears as "I Got Life," the band's first radio single with a big, airwave-ready chorus, ferocious rhythms, and even a searing guitar solo. Proving that they can be as vulnerable as they are heavy, however, tracks like the affecting "Not Broken Down" and the damn near sunny "Here I Am" flaunt their broad range of emotional release. Mercy Fall seem to be a band who sincerely want to use their hard rock as a means of making a passionate statement. A competent debut that could be the start of better things for them. ~ Corey Apar, All Music Guide