MP3: Mercy - Heavy metal warriors
I went out record shopping last weekend and scored myself a nice short stack of classic early/mid-80s metal, including a few Swedish titles. Not exactly the sort of thing I usually expect to stumble across, so I extra stoked, especially since the records were actually pretty darn good (thank goodness for listening stations). One such title: Mercy's 1984 self-titled debut on Fingerprint Records. They've got a definite NWOBHM thing going on, but it's also has a nice bluesy swagger which shows a strong Black Sabbath/Deep Purple influence. Another thing it's got going for it: a pre-Candlemass Eddy "Messiah" Marcolin, already displaying his vocal talents at a very young age. With a lead-off track like "Heavy metal warriors" (hilarious billed as "Heavy metal worriors" on the sleeve), you know they're not aiming for a cerebral audience, but I don't care. Back in 1984 it was perfectly acceptable to sing about how awesome metal is and how awesome you were at playing it without ironic detachment or any other negative connotations. Those days are gone, but the music (and somehow, Manowar's career) lives on and I'm happy to celebrate it.
Mercy - Heavy metal warriors