Mother Of Mercy

IV: Symptoms Of Existence

While New York City and Boston seem to have the most prominent hardcore grounds (or at least the most visible), Philadelphia has consistently turned out bands who stand nose-to-nose with their East Coast brethren, and Mother Of Mercy’s fourth full-length is ready to fight all challengers. While boasting a thick sound with a lot of low end, these 10 tracks are lean and mean, designed to land with maximum impact; despite their moniker, there is nothing vaguely approaching mercy shown. Think the Hope Conspiracy fighting for their lives against Argentina’s Nueva Etica, and you’ll have an idea just how visceral this record is, the sweat and blood the band poured into it practically dripping from every track.

For the most part, the band’s m.o. is simple, the songs kept reasonably short, propelled by driving rhythms and bursting at the seams with simple yet deadly riffs, all of this presided over by the tortured larynx of Bob Wilson, whose every utterance is devastating. Best among these are the snub-nosed ferocity of the title track and “Control,” while the immensely heavy, chugging thunder of “Live Through Darkness” is magnificent. The band do deviate from this down-the-line ethic in places in that they swing into the kind of dense, groove-laden territory first marked out by Black Sabbath and embraced by the likes of Crowbar and Cancer Bats, and they are every bit as proficient in crafting these monsters. Of these, “World Of Pain” stands at the front of the pack, though “Drown” seethes with almost impossibly potent menace, the band steamrolling everything in their path and forcing you to love every moment of it.

Taken together, these flavors complement each other perfectly, helping to forge an album that is riveting from start to finish, situating the band comfortably alongside their fellow Philadelphians in Blacklisted and Paint It Black. In fact, they go so far as to throw down the gauntlet to the NYC and Boston scenes, daring them to do better.

Bridge Nine http://www.bridge9.com

“Live Through Darkness”