Artist: Mercenario
Country: USA
Label: Atolinga Records / Hell’s Headbangers Records
Formats: Cassette EP / CD EP
Year: 2024
In a conversation about the recent split up of Morbosidad, my interlocutor reported that Tomas Stench of that band had already got a new project off the ground. I had completely missed that. Odd really, because I had received the promo in my mailbox and Hells Headbangers Records is not a label I easily overlook. Anyway, fortunately I have the chance to put that right. And that’s well deserved because like Morbosidad, Mercenario is also more than worthwhile…
Ever since the inception of Morbosidad the band stood for both quality and quantity, quite a rare gift. The band has spawned an impressive discography and basically everything is worth getting your hands on. Mercenario is largely continuing the path of Morbosidad, with blending Death- and Black Metal. Yet, there are also some evident differences. Mercenario is quite a bit more Death Metal-driven, with a meatier sound in both the guitar sound as well as in the overall production. Most significant are the somewhat early Malevolent Creation-meets-Deicide-like riffs that typifies the guitar department. Yet, the rather chaos-ridden overall sound gives this 15-minute EP a position on at the juncture between primal Death Metal and typical unpolished American Black Metal. Erik Stroude (Apocalypse Devastator 666) is responsible for the full range of instruments while Tomas Stench provides his trademark bellowing roar to the four tracks. Consequently, Morbosidad never really feels far away, but it may also be clear that Mercenario is treading a slightly different musical path. While nothing sounds truly original or really hugely elevating, that seems to have never been the main focus anyway. Instead, ‘Tormented Souls’ is a thundering and rock solid debut EP from this duo that just feels like the two of them having lots of fun with cranking out some good riffs in their most beloved style. Recommended to fans of primitive Black/Death Metal in the vein of Perversor, Necroholocaust, Proclamation, Sadomator, Anal Vomit, Goat Semen, Impurity, Nocturnal Graves, well… you know the drill, don’t you?
