The Mercy House have returned from their slumber to tackle, what I consider, one of the toughest tracks to remake in the form of Alice In Chains’ ‘Dam That River’. Anyone who is anyone in music can guess why this is so hard to reproduce. The vocals alone are almost impossible to replicate. One of my old bands actually tried this and, lets just say, we’re not around anymore. Having said that, I can also say that this is exactly what we need in this time of isolation and quarantine. We need that angst ridden adrenaline fueled music done right and righteous with the confidence of youth and the swagger of cool. Serious, this is done by a group of musicians who could BE in Alice In Chains. Not just because of the talent involved but the conviction. The attitude behind the song is there, in every detail, with that signature style of each musician embedded within to take it to that next level that we all need to be at right now. Take a listen and you will se what I mean.
Check out our features with front-man Drew Davies HERE.
About The Mercy House & ‘Dam That River’
The Mercy House, a fan favorite underground combo from the UK scene, has stepped out of its long-term hiatus to honor one of their fallen heroes on the 19th anniversary of his passing. The band has released a smashing cover of the Alice In Chains classic “Dam That River” as a tribute to their late singer, Layne Staley.
The track was recorded across various locations during lockdown, then mixed by Jem at Renshaw Productions in Salford, Manchester and mastered by Graeme Lynch at Two Zero Nine Mastering in Liverpool.
The Mercy House erupted onto the London scene like a clenched iron fist in 2009, releasing their critically acclaimed debut album, “A Broken State of Bliss”, in 2012. Produced by the band itself under the moniker of The Picasso Brothers, the self-released effort was mixed by Donald Clark (Muse, Guns N’ Roses, Korn) and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Mandy Parnell (Bjork, Depeche Mode, The Prodigy). It received rave reviews across specialist rock press, with the band touring the UK and Europe over the next two years and working its way up to the stages of Download Festival and Bloodstock Open Air. The lead single off the album, “Greed”, was also made available as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band.
The band last played live at the now defunct Purple Turtle club in Camden, North London, in June 2015 before going on an indefinite hiatus later that year, while working on what would have become their sophomore album.
Speaking of their AIC tribute track, the band says: “Alice In Chains were a major influence on us as a new band, and we couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute to one of our heroes than to release this cover on the anniversary of his passing. Layne Staley was one of rock music’s most unique and iconic frontmen and we truly hope we’ve done the song justice. It is certainly something that we’re enormously proud of, and reminded us just how much we’ve missed making music as The Mercy House. It is also our small gift to the fans that followed us during our first outing and the new ones that have discovered us since. The fact that people continue to come across our music and reaching out via social media was definitely an encouragement for us to put this out there. And while we’ve all been busy with our own projects over the last six years, who knows… never say never!”
The Mercy House are: Drew Davies – vocals, Dany Serrano – guitars & backing vocals, Dan Edwards – lead guitars, Nick Schlesinger – drums. The band’s joined on bass by guest Hugh Richardson for this recording.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/themercyhouseband
https://www.instagram.com/themercyhouseband
