MERCILESS - Live Obsession [DVD]

Escapi

Posted: 2/6/05

Reviewed by: Steve Gottlieb

Category: Death/Thrash Metal

Released: 2004

Label URL: www.escapi.com

Artist URL:

To say this Swedish quartet is not too well known is probably somewhat of an understatement.  I must confess, I had never really heard this band, save for their easily overlooked performance on Slaytanic Slaughter, a mediocre Slayer tribute album from 1995.  This two-disc, live DVD, valiantly tries to rectify the situation, and focus the spotlight on this little known band.

A few minutes into Disc 1, taken from a 2003 concert in Stockholm, it becomes clear that these guys mean business.  Their brand of Scandinavian death thrash (that aggressive combination of classic thrash and brutal death metal with a howling banshee singer that results in an ‘early-Kreator-on-steroids’ sound) is concise and to the point.  Despite the crowded stage set, the band whips the crowd into a frenzy with their blistering, solid performance.  Roger Pettersson’s raspy vocal onslaught is relentless, and how this guy screams through song after song is beyond me.  Bassist Fredrik Karlen and drummer Peter Stjarnvind keep the blistering pace moving along, and provide the only onstage action. Guitarist Erik Wallin, who unfortunately keeps his feet firmly planted throughout the set, is the musical soul of the band, and keeps the riffs and solos coming.  It’s actually pretty amazing when you realize that all this noise (and I mean that in a good way) is created by just one guitarist.  You wonder if there might be a second guitarist playing just offstage.  Ripping through “Unearthly Salvation,” “Branded by Sunlight,” In Your Blood,” and nine other tracks, these guys keep the between song banter to a minimum and focus purely on the music.  If you’re into Merciless, I have no doubt that you’ll think this is a great performance.

Disc 2 has some useless home video clips and backstage footage of the band just hanging out talking about a lot of things, every now and then throwing in some tidbit about the band’s history.  Mostly, it’s just jibberish, sort of like a Swedish Viva la Bam but without Don Vito or any hijinks.  Interspersed through the home videos is some concert footage from a show in Hultsfred, which visually isn’t as good as the concert from Disc 1, plus a black and white video clip for “Pure Hate,” and some additional live footage of “Cold Eyes of Grey” and “The Land I Used To Walk” from undisclosed locations.

The Bloody Truth:  My guess is that there aren’t all that many videos of Merciless floating about, so if you’re a fan you really have no other choice than this DVD.  Fans of European death thrash may want to check this one out, too, as the tunes are decent, as is the quality of Disc 1.