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DEATH DEALER
'Death Dealer'
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MASTERPLAN
'The Game'
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OLIVA
'Father Time'
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PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS
'Bedridden'
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HARDWARES

THE MERCY HOUSE A Broken State Of Bliss (Independent) Reviewed by : Greg Pratt Rating : 7.5

This is some top-notch downer rock here, delivered with all the class and skill of classic “No, this stuff doesn’t get me down, really” bands like ALICE IN CHAINS and BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. I’ve never been sold on that Layne Staley/Eddie Vedder vocal style, and I find the tunes too plodding and draining, like the stuff that’s playing when I’m picking out onions at the grocery store after work. But I’m not blind to the skill here, nor am I blind to the hit single/arena-ready sounds of cuts like ‘My Disease’ (but doesn’t the song title along just bum you out?). The guitar work in particular is a treat to listen to, filled as it is with tons of Wylde-ian burly-man riffing and a more enjoyable subtle touch, as displayed on the cool, moody ‘The End’, which makes me think of ’80’s hard rock bands more than grunge, or some of those grunge bands that were just ’80’s hard rock but we pretended they weren’t (Hi, MOTHER LOVE BONE!). As long as the world needs bands like this, my money’s on THE MERCY HOUSE.

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