Five-piece hardcore moshers Hand Of Mercy had a rocky start to the year but have come back in full force with their latest release – ‘Resolve’.
The Sydney underground bruisers formed in 2007 and have been inciting huge pits and manic stage dives while grinding it out ever since. Becoming a mainstay in the Australian hardcore scene with their riff-heavy moshcore, the boys have toured with basically everyone in the biz – Parkway Drive, Northlane, IKTPQ, A Day To Remember, The Ghost Inside, Deez Nuts, The Amity Affliction and a tonne more – and in doing so have gained respect and adoration from fellow bands and punters alike. Even enticing fence-sitters of the genre to stroll merrily through the gates of heavy.
Recording their third album ‘Resolve’ in Boston at the end of 2013, its release was delayed when their lead singer Scott Bird parted ways with the group. With no bad blood between the boys, guitarist Josh Campiao says though it took a bit longer than they anticipated, they’re glad they took their time finding a new singer.
Scott Bird“It was originally set to come out in March/April but we parted ways with our singer Scott, who has been singing with us since we started. So rather than release an album with him on it, we decided to put everything on hold and find a singer, do it properly.”
That singer was announced in May to be Take Us To Vegas’ member Nick Bellringer from the Sunshine Coast. Stepping in midway through a tour, Nick added a bit of extra spice to the new record when they re-recorded. “The last tour that we did was the Rampage tour, in the middle of the year with Deez Nuts and Confession. That was the first one that we did with Nick … He did really well, it was mad … He missed the first couple of shows so we got Dre from Hellions to sing for us for the first few shows.
“We had [the music] already done, there were a few bits and pieces, like a few lyrics that Scott wrote that we had to change, but for the most part they're exactly the same as they were when Scott did them initially. Nick did add some stuff in there that wasn't there at the start too, which was cool. He added some more melodic sort of background clears, not too much … actually made some of the songs better than they initially were.
“He actually has a side project, like a little acoustic thing, so we can sing real well. We weren't originally trying to get much clean singing on this record, there wasn't any in the initial one with Scott on it. But, because he can sing he had some ideas he wanted to put down, we were more than happy to see if they worked and the ones that he did, they definitely worked.”
Having delved into a heavier style on this release, Josh explains how the band was more involved in this recording process. “We didn't really go out and say 'this record has to be heavy' or 'this record has to be more of this or more of that', it just kind of turned out the way it did. I think we all had a lot more to do with it as a band this time. Normally like Adam and CJ, our guitarist and drummer, will get together and do a lot of stuff and bounce a lot of ideas off each other and then they'll bring it to us. I mean we all have our say of course, but I think this time there was a lot more input from everyone. I think with all of us listening to different sorts of music and having different ideas it just ended up the way it did.
“We also wanted to make the heavier songs a lot heavier and the melodic songs a lot more melodic. Not have such a middle mix of the two. We wanted to have that divide; a bit stronger this time around. We already wanted to make a lot more melodic stuff and then when we wrote that stuff, not they're not heavy, but they're definitely lacking in the heaviness and punch that we were looking for. We definitely wrote a few songs to be super heavy.”
As for their first single off the album, 'Desperate Measures', Josh says it was a really personal song for all the boys. “I personally know a lot of people who have been affected by mental illness and depression and things like that and … It's just a bit of an open letter to people who are dealing with mental illness and might be a bit afraid or embarrassed or stubborn to come forward to open up about it. It's nothing to be ashamed of and if it's there and you're dealing with it, there's no point dealing with it on your own. I've know people that have lost friends who were in that frame of mind. That's horrible, no one should ever have to feel that way and feel that hopeless.
“It's not as taboo as it was before [to talk about], a lot more people are opening up about it and there's a lot more awareness about it and I think that's another reason why we wrote it, to create more awareness for people who are a bit apprehensive about coming out about it or need that little extra push to deal with it in any way that they need to deal with it in.”
Releasing 'Resolve' on vinyl – like many quality musicians do now – Josh thinks that the era we're living in where CDs are disposable and downloading is free, it's exciting to have something collectable to value and cherish. “There's nothing better than owning a record of a band you really like ... The way it's laid out is different to a CD, it sounds different, it's more collectable than a CD as well. It's just a better way to have the physical copy of the music ...When I was growing up my dad collected records, he still has all his records from when he was young and he's pretty old now,” he laughs.
Embarking on their 'Resolve' tour with Hellions and Void Of Vision over November, the boys are excited to get the crowds moshing and the pit rowdy. “We live for it. I mean personally, I love stage diving and crowd surfing and hand walking, anything like that I live for it.”
Hand Of Mercy will also be playing the new heavy music boutique camping festival Unify next year with some other big names in the scene. Unfortunately for now though, it's only playing in Gippsland, Victoria – oh, and it's sold-out. “A lot of the bands on Unify are our friends and I think it's a cool way of making more awareness of that kind of music. I mean with bands like Amity and In Hearts Wake and Deez Nuts and all, everyone's super aware of those bands even if they don't necessarily listen to them. I think it's a cool way to see bands who are in a similar vein and to broaden people who mightn't have heard of them before, get some newbies … I think its success has been measured pretty well. If they weren't to tour it around, I think it would be a bit silly of them if they choose to do it again. But in saying that, with it being in just one location it makes it a bit of a special event, kind of like a hardcore/punk/metal version of Splendour.”
Hand Of Mercy Tour Dates
Thurs 6th Nov – Yac (Byron Bay)Fri 7th Nov – The Brightside (Brisbane)
Sat 8th Nov – The Lab (Brisbane)
Sun 9th Nov – Gympie Civic Centre
Tues 11th Nov – Magpies (Canberra)
Wed 12th Nov – Masonic Hall (Wodonga)
Thurs 13th Nov – Evelyn Hotel (Melbourne)
Fri 14th Nov – Phoenix Youth Centre (Melbourne)
Sat 15th Nov – Fowlers Live (Adelaide)
Sun 16th Nov – The Edge (Mildura)
Thurs 20th Nov – Hombre Records (Newcastle)
Fri 21st Nov – Bald Faced Stag (Sydney)
Sat 22nd Nov – Masonic Hall (Blacktown)
Sun 23rd Nov – Towradgi Surf Club (Wollongong)
Fri 28th Nov – Elliot Street Bar (Burbury)
Sat 29th Nov – Villa Nightclub (Perth)
Sun 30th Nov – YMCA HQ (Perth)
