Biography
There are at least 5 artists called Mercenary:
1) (Danish Metal band) Mercenary is a four-piece metal band from Denmark that combines both power metal and melodic death metal genres, and in their earlier work thrash metal. The band was formed in 1991, they have released a total of six albums.
Mercenary was formed as the brainchild Henrik "Kral" Andersen in Aalborg, Denmark, in 1991. After the release of two demos, 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 vocalist Mikkel Sandager, as well as his brother Morten, who introduced keyboards 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 sophomore effort, Everblack. It was after this that the band fired drummer Rasmus Jacobsen, thinking that 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 and Martin Buus Pedersen) 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, 11 Dreams. This proved to be their most commercially successful album, earning much international attention from fans and critics alike.
It was at the end of March of 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."
The band went about writing and recording their fourth full-length (The Hours that Remain) 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 René Pedersen to fill in the void left by Kral.
They have released their 5th full-length Architect of Lies in the beginning of 2008.
On the 11th of November 2009 the band announced, that Mike (Drummer), had left the band, and that shortly after the remaining members sat down and had the ''big talk''. The band came to the agreement that the only way to continue Mercenary was to part ways with Mikkel (Vocals) and Morten (Keyboard) as well. This was because they had grown to far appart musically. Martin, René, and Jakob wanted to play faster, heavier and more modern (yet old school) material, but for the band as a whole this did not work out.
With Morten Løwe being the new drummer, they released their latest album Metamorphosis in 2011, still keeping the Mercenary spirit alive.
Band members:
* René Pedersen – vocals, bass
* Martin Buus – lead guitar, keyboards
* Jakob Mølbjerg – rhythm guitar
* Morten Løwe – drums
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2) World music artist, Mercenary, with strong roots in reggae and with mostly creole lyrics. He is from the Seychelles Islands.
3) An American (New Haven, Connecticut) Heavy Metal band from the early 80s featuring Kevin Nugent and Fred Melillo of LEGEND (US) fame. One single "Shes Evil/Plastic Eyes" was released in 1982.
4) An American (San Francisco, CA) Thrash Metal band from the mid 80s that released 2 demos. Myspace page
5) Hardcore punk band from Atlanta, GA.
2013 - demo tape (Scavenger of Death)
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