Mercyless

France

Biography

The group was formed in 1987 by Max OTERO, Stéphane VIARD, Gerald GUENZI & Boris MANDAVIS under the name Merciless, before they realised that the name was already the property of a Swedish group. Mercyless was born.

The combo spent their time between local concerts and rehearsals, recording two demos, 'Immortal Harmonies' in 1988 and 'Visions of the Past' in 1989, which made them stand out from the crowd. Their style is influenced by the Death/Thrash Metal of Floridian bands such as Death, Obituary and Morbid Angel.

In 1990 the band made its first real discographic appearance on the Jungle Hop label & its E.P. "VomiSng Nausea" but also on the now cult compilation "Total Virulence" with its Stre "Without Christ", a solid reputation thanks to its incisive Death metal and above all its concerts with Loudblast, Cannibal Corpse, Agressor, Massacra,
Hypocrisy ...

In 1992, Mercyless changed bass player in the person of Rade Radojcic and recorded his first album " Abject Offerings ", for the English label Vinyl SoluSon & producer Colin RICHARDSON ( Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Machine Head, etc ... ) at the maneXes. The album was very well received by the fans and the European press & allowed Mercyless to sign with a label more
important, Century Media for its second album.

In 1993 "Coloured Funeral" was released, still recorded and produced by Colin Richardson, and allowed the band to parSr for two European tours, one with Death and Anacrusis, the other with Morgoth, Unleashed, Tiamat and Samael. Thanks to an international distribution and a large distribution to the media Mercyless quickly became one of the spearheads of the hexagonal Metal. Unfortunately, Century Media, feeling the wind turning (the great Grunge period) will leave the band in 1994.

In 1995, Mercyless is reinforced with a Tom Smith keyboard & changes its rhythmic sound with the arrival of Pierre Lopes on bass and David Kempf on bass while elaborating a new musical direction. The compositions are darker, colder, heavier and in spite of some appearances on compilations, it will be necessary to wait until 1996 for the release of their third album " C.O.L.D " which will be released on the German label Impact Records. This was followed by concerts throughout France and a tour of Spain. The evolution of the sound will be known on the 4th album "Sure to be Pure". But the will to evolve towards other very different projects will meXer the career of the band on stand-by in 2000.

In 2010, Legion of Death Records released a double collector's album with demos, live performances and a 34-page booklet that will mark the return of MERCYLESS to the forefront of the scene. And it is with the integration of MaXhieu MERKLEN on bass and Laurent MICHALAK behind the drums that the band comes back to the Death Metal style of its genesis. After that, a great series of concerts with IncantaSon, Nervo Chaos, Ad Patres, Loudblast, Agressor, Misanthrope, AfflicSon Gate, No Return etc... The realisation of a new album is no longer done aXendre and "Unholy Black Splendor" will be released in October 2013 on the label Trendkill Recordings, mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö ( Opeth, DissecSon, Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath ... ) sees the return to the style of predilecSon of the group.

2014 sees one of its founding members Stéphane Viard having to take the most difficult decision in quiXant Mercyless for health reasons. He is then immediately replaced by GauSer MERKLEN. The new team decides to push the nail in with a new partnership signed on the French Label Great Dane Records which gives birth to the reedition of the first album " Abject Offerings " remastered by Jipouille de St Loup. After a mulStudy of concerts and FesSvals in Europe ( Hellfest, Fall of Summer, EradicaSon Fest, Ragnaorock Fest, Ear Terror, Brutalmeria Fest.....) 2015 sees the signature of the band with the label Kaotoxin for the realisation of a new album. In November 2016 "PatheSc Divinity", MERCYLESS' 6th album, will be released. Dark, intense, without concession, this album marks the will of the band to come back to the essenSel, that is to say a raw, fast and irreligious Death metal as usual. Mixed by Phil Reinhalter at the Psykron Studio and mastered by Fred MoXe at the Conkrete Studio ( Loudblast, Otargos, Gorod... ), this album will give back its Xres of nobility and at the same time will allow the band to perform everywhere in order to promote this album at best, especially during tours with LOUDBLAST, PUTRID OFFAL, AVULSED all over Europe. The release of this album, in 2017, will allow the band to celebrate its 30th anniversary by releasing a 7" split EP with the Spanish band Avulsed as well as a memorable concert in its home town of Mulhouse. Xenokorp took the opportunity to remaster and re-release the emblematic 2nd album "Coloured Funeral" (collector's edition and vinyl), released in 1993 by Century Media. The band will be on the road throughout 2018 for fesvals and concerts, before preparing the sound of the new album.

In 2017, Yann Tligui replaces MaXhieu Merklen on bass, bringing a more direct and even more old school side to the rhythm section. In June 2018, the band enters the "hedgehog" studio to start recording the new album which will be released again on the XENOKORP label. The mixing and mastering of the album will be entrusted to HK Krauss of the Vamacara studio ( Loudblast, Sinsaneum ... ). "The mother of all plagues" is the 7th album and will be released in August 2019. Darker, direct, unhealthy, without compromise, it marks the return of a style that is reminiscent of the first 2 albums ( Abject Offerings, Coloured Funeral ). The cover is entrusted to the Mexican arSsteste Nestor Avalos ( Bloodbath, Dark Funeral ) who creates a drawing following the inspirations and the very dark texts of the band. This is followed by a huge promoSon campaign through the press, fanzines, webzines, radios and download platforms which shows that in 2020 MERCYLESS still has a lot to say and demonstrate. The excellent feedback from the media tends to say that we will have to rely on their old school death metal style in the coming times.