What?: Debut album, London band, championed by Metal Hammer/Classic Rock.
Why?: It came free with Classic Rock (or was it Metal Hammer?). At first we received an EP of a few songs, and later the full CD.
Tell me more!:
Being free I probably gave it less attention than I normally would. When I buy an album, even randomly, I give it a lot of attention, even if I don't like it. I like to try to justify my purchase, find something to love, even if I despise it.
I don't despise this album, but I don't like it. It's received a LOT of love in reviews. Everyone loves it. I would have loved it in my youth. I really would. This is one of those debuts that should gain a lot of fans, as long as they haven't first heard and loved anything from the 90s.
The Mercy House sound like Alice In Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden, and Guns'n'Roses, and like they have Faith No More's Bill Gould on bass. The production is huge. The bass is up-front and interesting and sometimes even solo, which always gains extra points for a band. The guitar riffs are awesome.
The vocals sometimes work, but they don't vary enough throughout the album. His big STP 90s whine might be news to some, and it's a nice change to most modern singers, but it quickly bores me. It gets a little too Marylin Mason at times, and by that I mean rough and a bit out of tune (sounding) in the lower range.
Weirdly I hear a little Load era Metallica in there... I hear that a lot in recent music, and older music. I think I might have a problem. Metallica were clearly hugely influenced by Dio era Black Sabbath, and I guess a lot of modern bands were influenced by them too, and by Metallica. I LIKE the Load album, but that's a review for much later my friends...
The Mercy House should be huge, they've thrown everything at this album, they've received an amazing leg-up getting the magazine-cover, and I can only assume they sound great live (I must YouTube them...).
There is a lot to love, but I don't. After the first few tracks I just lose interest, and after numerous listens I just can't get past the dull vocals. Sorry guys.
3/10
Check out "Greed", a song which not only shares a name with a Faith No More song, but a bass-slappin' sound as well.
