Mercenary - Bolt Thrower

'Mercenary' is the most difficult album in the Bolt Thrower discography, receiving belated release during a turbulent period of line-up changes, firings and walk-outs that unfortunately added no greater intensity to the battle-torn music itself. Although it's not a bad album by the standards of the death metal genre, it is significantly lacking the elements that made the earlier releases interesting, and the muddy production doesn't help in overcoming the feeling that these overlong songs are merely scraping along without incident. There are still a few nice touches to keep certain songs distinct, most evident in the melodic guitar lines of 'Powder Burns' that ...  Read the complete review