Vivè la France! After hosting the most controversial and Metal as fuck Olympics that saw countrymen Gojira performing next to a headless Marie Antoinette and a feast of mythological proportions; all in the opening ceremony. Mercyless are also from France, and although they play a significantly different style of Death Metal than Gojira, they bring the feral, crushing heaviness they had on 1992’s debut Abject Offerings and 1993’s Coloured Funeral.

They released C.O.L.D. (1996) and Sure to be Pure in 2000. Neither were well received and the band ended up splitting soon after. I guess some members lost interest in Death Metal (as if that’s possible) and made a Trip Hop side project called Day Off Sin, which sounds about as cool as it wasn’t.

Thankfully for their Death Metal fans, they reunited in 2013 for Unholy Black Splendor and it was a welcome return to form .I am going to jump ahead a few years, otherwise I’ll be doing a History lesson instead of a review; which is why I’m here now in 2024… time traveling like a mofo.

Those Who Reign Below is a bristling Death Metal album front to back. “Extreme Unction” is the opener and it brings the brutality while reminding me of Morbid Angel, especially Domination and Hate Eternal’s Upon Desolate Sands and the comparison pretty much stays present throughout Those Who Reign Below. You know what though? I fucking love it. Like fellow countrymen Loudblast, who are releasing a new album next month, it’s an old school French Death Metal return indeed.

“I am Hell” grabs you by the throat with a slew of massive blasting and the beefiest riffing imaginable, it’s followed by  “Evil Shall Come Upon You” and “Phantoms of Caïn”. To keep things interesting this isn’t a complete blast fest; Mercyless knows how to slow down and pulverize your fragile eardrums till they fall out and then you have to staple them back into your ears. Savage riffs, holy fucking shit!

It doesn’t stop there either, there’s eleven tracks on this album and I’ve only cracked the surface. “Thy Resplendent Inferno” is just that, a fucking Infernal track, the drumming on this album is fucking amazing, Johann Voirin (according to Metal Archives he’s the current drummer, so there you go) is a maniac, his blasting is powerful and precise. According to the presser: There are three guests on the album: Patrick Bonvin (Construct Of Lethe / Near Death Condition), Thomas Münch (Manzer), Stephan Baillot (Ritualization / Misgivings). So that’s cool as fuck as well.

“Crown of Blasphemy” is a brutal Morbid Angel meets Angelcorpse whirlwind of Death Metal fury, while “Prelude to Eternal Darkness” is a mid-paced rumbler with intermittent blasts thrown hither and yon, some killer guitar work at the mid-track mark propels it forward.

I love press releases: The cover was designed by Mexican artist Nestor Avalos, whose talent represents all the darkness emanating from this album. The production was entrusted to Raph Henry of Heldscalla Studio, who sculpted a sound highly representative of the violence and anger of this extreme and irreligious music.

I couldn’t have said it better, but anyway, this album kicks like a mule, the build up on “Chaos Requiem” is a bit reminiscent of Morbid Angel’s “Blasphemy” then there’s that discharge blasting that’ll put a smile on your face.

“Absurd Theatre” brings more blasting and some killer guitar acrobatics that reminds me again of Morbid Angel, “Sanctus Deus Mortis” is the next track and it sets the stage for the creeping evil of “Zechariah 3:1” from the New International Version of the Bible: “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you!”

So there’s that, in case you were wondering, constant reader. With that, Those Who Reign Below ends. This album is a happy trip down memory lane, Mercyless, and Loudblast are considered the first real French Death Metal bands and if you’re looking for the for fans of; look no further than the aforementioned Loudblast, Morbid Angel and Angelcorpse. An awesome return indeed!

[Visit the band's website]

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