Missa Mercuria - Missa Mercuria

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Generation Records
Catalog Number: GR007-2
Format: CD
Total Time: 63:17:00

Missa Mercuria is a project consisting of members from Vanden Plas, Silent Force, Pink Cream 69, and Edenbridge. The wonderful aspect of the disc is that it doesn't sound like a project, but rather a highly polished band. Suffice it to say that maybe Vanden Plas could have released this disc and it would have been raved about from that perspective. As it stands, the disc is an excellent example of what musicians from different bands can do without making the disc feel "disjointed" or "contrived". In addition, the artwork (Sandro Klopfstein), the story (Karin Forstner), and the lyrics (D.C. Cooper) all contribute to a wonderfully played concept disc that shouldn't be missed by melodic metal fans.

The songs range in style from soft, acoustic tunes, to keyboard passages, to ballads, to rocking metal tunes. There is virtually something for everyone here. The lengthy story will take some time to go through (start a fire and make believe you're about to read a book), but each song tells the story of Missa Mercuria in its own way, and the songs are based on the intensity of the particular part of the story. At times, it can be a ballad, others it can be a hard rocking guitar driven tune that pays much homage to Vanden Plas (G?nter Werner, Stephen Lill (VP), Alex Beyrodt (SF) and Alfred Koffler (PC69) wrote the music).

The intriguing part of the disc is the use of various singers, much like on an Ayreon disc. Here, singers like DC Cooper (SF) and David Readman (PC69) belt out the more heavy tunes and ballads, while female singers like Sabine Edelsbacher (E) and Isold Gro? melt away the softer passages, making this a well-balanced project. Werno and Lill provide the musical melodies, and Dennis Ward (bass, PC69) and Andreas Lill (drums, VP) provide the bottom end. You will have to read the booklet to keep up with the players and their roles. Of note, DC Cooper is at his best here since his days with Royal Hunt and shows why he is one of the best singers on the planet.

The production, courtesy of Dennis Ward, is immaculate. Suffice it to say that the sound is about near perfect, and brings the music and story out all the more. Highlights are the vocal recordings, in which you can hear every word the singers are belting out, and when you have singers of the caliber of Readman and Cooper, it makes for an even greater enjoyment.

Anyone into melodic metal should check this disc out. Some of the softer, female-led songs might turn off some of the true metal heads, but the surrounding rockers should allow for total enjoyment of the disc. When you hear discs like this, it's natural to think that your favorite metal band should have released this disc (in this case I say Vanden Plas), but if you think about the caliber of the players on the disc, it should give you an idea of how well this disc is played and you soon forget that this is a plethora of players from other bands. Projects as a whole tend to turn people off as they have that "contrived" sound, and you can almost "see" the tape being mailed around the world to the various players, but in this case, you won't hear anything but a tight bunch of musicians cranking out some incredible melodic metal. Highly recommended.

Tracklisting:
Earth's Destruction / Requiem Mortale / Devine Spark (Firegod) / Whisper Of The Soul (Watergoddess) / Mother Earth (Earth) / Spirit Of Wisdom (Airgod) / Illusion Of Time / Missa Mercuria / Fairytale Of Truth / Farewell For Love's Sake / Departure To Fear / Strange Desert Walk / Bursting Ego / Down To Hell / Rectificando / New Eon Arises

Musicians:
DC Cooper - vocals (3, 10)
David Readman - vocals (9, 13, 15)
Andy Kuntz - vocals (6)
Sabine Edelsbacher - vocals (4)
Isolde Gro? - vocals (8, 10)
Laurie Williams - vocals (5)
G?nter Werno - keyboards
Dennis Ward - bass
Stephan Lill - guitars
Alfred Koffler - guitars
Andreas Lill - drums
Pedro Weiss ? percussion

Discography:
Missa Mercuria (2002)

Genre: Melodic Metal

Origin VA

Added: January 12th 2003
Reviewer: Larry "LarryD" Daglieri

Artist website: www.missamercuria.com
Hits: 2347
Language: english