Ég hef skrifað nokkum sinnum um þessa hljómsveit hérna, í fyrsta sinn fyrir 2-3 árum síðan hygg ég, þegar þessir guttar gáfu út plötuna Everblack. Sú plata var það góð að ég skellti á hana einkunninni 9,5/10. Í fyrra kom svo út platan 11 Dreams (í Evrópu) og bætti verulega um betur. Þessi plata var valin besta plata ársins í Danish Metal Awards og þýska Metal Hammer hana sem bestu alþjóðlegu/erlendu plötu ársins, og nokkur önnur tímarit í Evrópu hafa gert svipað.

Þessi plata kom svo út núna í febrúar í Bandaríkjunum og síðan þá hefur hver monster-umsögnin á fætur annari rúllað inn og viðtökurnar, ef eitthvað, betri en í Evrópu.

Tékkið á þessum tveimur lögum af þessari plötu:

Firesoul - http://notendur.nh.is/thorsteinn/sounds/Mercenary/Mercenary_Firesoul.mp3

11 Dreams - http://notendur.nh.is/thorsteinn/sounds/Mercenary/Mercenary_11_Dreams.mp3

Hér er svo yfirlit af umsögnum sem þessi gripur hefur verið að fá í Bandaríkjunum:

Ottawa Metal (US) - 10/10 - http://www.ottawametal.com/reviews/m-1d.html
-“ This band sounds like no one else and if they continue on this path, they will most definitely become one of the biggest Metal bands in the world”

Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles (Can) - 10/10 - http://www.bravewords.com/hardwares.html?id=1000797
- “Mercenary have a masterpiece on their hands”

The Pit Report (US) - 5/5 - http://www.thepitreport.com/
- “nothing short of amazing. … Mercenary accomplishes a sound of pure aggressive energy, smashing out song after song of in your face non stop beauty…”

Blistering (US) - http://www.blistering.com/fastpage/fpengine.php/link/1/templateid/8536/tempidx/4/menuid/2
“11 Dreams is a flawless listen, with the uncanny ability to alter lives and inspire all in one sitting … the finest display of melodic metal since In Flames bust onto the scene with The Jester Race , and it is an instant classic, one that will be looked upon in the same manner as Slaughter Of The Soul and Heartwork.”

http://metalvault.bravehost.com/Reviews/mercenary.htm
11 Dreams (Century Media)
I don't know even where to start. This is one of the most complex albums you will ever find. It features blazing Swedish metal, power metal, classic heavy metal, and even a bit of death metal. The band has left no stone unturned while creating one of the most talked about albums in the metal scene in years. This is like listening to a cross of Primal Fear, “Painkiller” era- Judas Priest, Evergrey and Dark Tranquility. You will find nothing like this anywhere. I feel like I am listening to a Mister Bungle album that focuses on every form of metal ever created. The ban is original and all encompassing and has a bit for every metalhead to listen to. It is like the Catholic Church of metal, speaking to every person and every sect. Mercenary is obviously the “Wyld Stallions” of metal, so it is only a matter of time until world peace sets in and death metal fans and power metal fans sit down to dinner together. It is the start of a new revolution and it starts with the most diverse metal record of the year.
Myk Rudnick

Digital Metal - http://www.digitalmetal.com/reviews.asp?cid=6279
[...]
11 Dreams meets and goes beyond the expectations I set for the band after 2002's Everblack. It's hard to predict what the follow up will be like, and perhaps I don't even want to know if it fails to reach the ridiculously high goals I've now set for it in my head. But even if everything fails in the future, at least the band has produced an album to which one can fall back to and admire its greatness similar to the perverted monolith seen in Kubrick's Space Odyssey 2001? without further unnecessary rhetorics: metal at its finest - worth everyone's attention. Get it!
[ Apollyon ]

Go check it out folks!!