Mercenary Posts Song And Tour Footage Online

In 2004 Denmark’s Mercenary unleashed their Century Media debut "11 Dreams" to electric fanfare across Europe. Just in time for the Feb. 8 American release date Century Media has posted a second MP3 from the album, this time it’s the viciously aggressive “Firesoul” (Real Media).

The band has also put together 2004 tour footage recorded on their personal cellphones and put together as a video for the song “World Hate Center,” click here to view. The video includes surprise appearances from the bands they toured with last year including Michael Hakansson from Sweden’s Evergrey.

The North American release of "11 Dreams" will include two bonus tracks, one of which is the 3D remix of title track “11 Dreams.” Vocalist/guitarist Kral talks about his introduction to 3D technology: “In 1998, our former guitarist Nikolai Brinkmann (RIP) got a mind blowing demo CD of Binaural sound (3D sound) from the university. The CD had on it an interrogation where this policeman is questioning you about a murder. I first listened to it over headphones with my eyes closed (this enhances the effect), and I felt like I was right there in the room myself. It gave me goose bumps. I immediately thought, ‘What if this was used in music?’ From that day this was my mission, and on/off for the next 3 years I spoke to different people from the university about using this technology to render a Mercenary track. The guys I spoke with were very interested, as it helped to further their technology and also to get it more exposure. It took so long to arrange because one, the technology was not quite ready for a 50-track recording in 2001 and two, I still needed the right Mercenary track for this experiment. At the end of 2003 when mixing the "11 Dreams" album, I really thought the time was right and we had a very qualified track. I contacted am3d again and they were ready as well. Jacob Hansen, the album’s producer, had all our recorded tracks on hard disk, so he burned it to DVD and sent it to Michael Holmberg, the guy that did the rendering. We spent 5-6 days perfecting this one song and at the same time we made sure that the 3D presentation was effective. For our 3D version of "11 Dreams" all 50 tracks (drums, guitar, bass, keys and vocals) were rendered providing a full-sensory effect.

“Currently, the effect cannot be reproduced normally (through speakers), and you have to listen with headphones. Additionally, remember that the 3D effect will be better with higher quality headphones. It gives you the feeling that you are surrounded by ‘11 Dreams,’ like you are right there in the middle of the song, or in the middle of our rehearsal room. It’s like Mike, the drummer, is right behind you drumming. When the vocals come in you feel like Mikkel is singing one meter to your left, and I am singing one meter to the right. You are also able to separate the vocals, which is nearly impossible in a normal stereo mix. When Martin cranks up the guitar solo, you’ll really be in for 3D: it almost makes you dizzy. The guitar solo feels like it is going out of the headphones, similar to the movies where the images seem to go further out than the screen’s borders. The solo circulates 360 degrees around your head; it’s the coolest effect ever (more detailed info on the 3D technology can be found here). We are very proud to be pioneering this technology, making a full-blown 50-track 3D rendition of our song. It is truly a totally new experience, and not the last time we will be doing this. So put on those headphones, close your eyes, strap yourself in, and get ready for a new ride: free your ears!!!”

Mercenary will be touring Europe with Brainstorm and At Vance in late April and early May 2005. The band will also play this summer at Germany’s distinguished Wacken Open Air, and Turkey’s Rock Station Festival.

Source: Century Media Records