Mercenary

Mercenary is a six-piece metal band from Denmark that was formed in 1991. Although they are usually labelled as a melodic death metal band, they use aspects of power metal in their music, as well as thrash metal in their earlier work.

Biography

Mercenary was the brainchild of Henrik "Kral" Andersen. The band formed in Aalborg, Denmark, in 1991. After the release of two demos, Domicile (1993) and Gummizild (1994), they were able to sign with Black Day Records, and released a four-song EP, Supremacy (1996). In 1997, they were signed to the Danish label Serious Entertainment, and in 1998 they released their full-length debut, First Breath.

In 2002, the band decided to expand their sound with the addition of pianist Morten Sandager, who greatly contributed with his keyboard as well as his brother Mikkel, who helped expand their songs with vocals into their songs. This new line-up added new dimensions to their sound, blending more melody into their more aggressive heaviness.

Mercenary's fame increased that year with their slot on the ProgPower music festival in the United States, as well as with the release of their second album, Everblack. It was after this that the band fired drummer Rasmus Jacobsen, thinking he invested too little time into Mercenary and too much into other projects. During this time, guitarist Signar Petersen also left the band, due to personal reasons. Two old friends of Kral?s (drummer Mike Park Nielson, whom he had met in 1993 at a concert in Copenhagen, and Martin Buus Pedersen, whom Kral knew since he was seventeen years old and working in a music store, when Martin was testing a guitar) would soon fill in the two spots, and with this new lineup, Mercenary were signed to Century Media Records.

In 2004, Mercenary released their third full-length album, 11 Dreams. This proved to be their most commercially successful album, earning much international attention from fans and critics alike. That year, Mercenary toured as a supporting act for Evergrey, and then later with Brainstorm who were on their first headlining tour in Europe. They also played on the 16th Wacken Open Air in 2005, and supported Nevermore on a European tour later that year.

It was at the end of March 2006 that the band announced that Kral left the band. Mikkel Sandager said in a recent interview that Kral?s departure was due to ?being away from his family and...trying to make it with the band for 15 years. I think that he simply got tired of trying and trying."

The band went about writing and recording their fourth full-length as a five-piece, with Mikkel Sandager performing all vocals, and the album?s producer Jacob Hansen handling bass duties. On April 7, 2006 the band finished the recording at Jacob Hansens Studios. Shortly after this, the band managed to snag bassist/vocalist Ren? Pedersen to fill in the void left by Kral.

At the May 19-20th Saegfestival (held in Greding, Germany), Mercenary had their first live performance with Ren?. It was at this show that they played Soul Decision, a song from their upcoming fourth album. On August 1, 2006, Mercenary released a compilation of their early demos, titled Retrospective, and on August 22, their new album, The Hours that Remain, was released.

In September 2006 Mercenary joined numerous other bands such as Evergrey, Epica, and J?rn Lande in the ProgPower USA festival.

On October 21, 2007 they announced a follow up album to The Hours that Remain was being recorded and produced. On December 12, 2007 the band announced on their myspace page that the new album is complete. Eight days later, the band announced the title of the new album to be Architect of Lies. It was released on March 25, 2008.

Band members

Current
Mikkel Sandager - Clean Vocals (since 2002)
Martin Buus - Lead guitar (since 2002)
Jakob M?lbjerg - Rhythm Guitar (since 1995)
Ren? Pedersen - Bass, Harsh Vocals (since 2006)
Mike Park Nielsen - Drums (since 2002)
Morten Sandager - Keyboard, backing vocals (Since 2002)
Former
Lead Guitar
Nikolaj Brinkman (1996-2000)
Signar Petersen (2000-2002) (Behind The Curtain, Transparent)
Rhythm Guitar
Hans J?rgen Andersen (1991-1993)
Bass
Henrik "Kral" Andersen (1991-2006, also Harsh Vocals 1991-2006, Lead Guitar 1991-1993) (Geronimo)
Andreas W. Hansen (1991-1993)
Drums
Jakob Johnsen (1991-1993)
Rasmus Jacobsen (Illnath) (1993-2002)

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercenary