Review by Krys on March 10, 2007.

Let's get one thing out of the way, for those who hopped "The Hours That Remain" will be "11 Dreams Pt. 2", it is not. The follow-up to its groundbreaking predecessor is much simpler and easier to digest for the casual listener but that doesn't mean Mercenary took shortcuts sacrificing the quality of the final product. This time around their blend of death\thrash and progressive\power elements simply lost a little on its progressive side that resulted in much straightforward compositions. Still very dynamic and at times aggressive riffing is built around very catchy choruses and band's trademark multilayered vocal arrangements. Aside from guest appearances by Soilwork's Bjorn "Speed" Strid and Marcus Bischoff of Heaven Shall Burn, executed to perfection vocals of Mikkel Sandager are mostly in clean territory only spiced up by few blackened snarls and few growls. There's really nothing wrong with this record and Mercenary have nothing to be ashamed of but by rising the bar so high with "11 Dreams", very good is now below their standards and capabilities. 2007 is still very young but I'm confident "The Hours That Remain" will end up almost on every the best of list by the end of the year.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8
Originality: 8
Production: 9
Overall: 8

Rating: 8.4 out of 10