Sydney underground bruisers Hand Of Mercy formed in 2005 and have been inciting manic pits and stage dives since – but today they dropped a bombshell.
Touring with heavyweights Buried In Verona next month, the national dates will be the last ever for Hand Of Mercy. Scott Bird (original vocalist) will be back for the circuit, taking the mic from Nick Bellringer who took the reins last year.
We've been Hand Of Mercy 2005-2015This will be our final tour, we will be playing songs off all our releasesScott...
Posted by Hand Of Mercy on Sunday, 2 August 2015
Becoming a mainstay in the Australian hardcore scene with one of the most identifiable sounds within the genre. A string of strong independent releases and impressive local touring saw the boys become the go-to choice to complement bigger bills and also lead to them signing to Australian indie label UNFD who have released the bands last two albums, 2012’s 'Last Lights' and last year's 'Resolve'.
Recording their third (and final) 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.
{youtube}Imb1TaE6el8{/youtube}
That singer was announced in May 2014 to be Take Us To Vegas’ member Nick Bellringer from the Sunshine Coast. Stepping in midway through a tour, Nick added a bit of spice to the new record when they re-recorded. "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."
Hand Of Mercy have toured with, played with and supported nearly everyone on the Australian and international hardcore scene. The relentless workhorses recruited Nick to fill Scott's shoes and the album that launched his start in the group, 'Resolve', scored a Top 50 Aria chart position with the album plus a swag of favourable reviews. Their heaviest album and their most successful.
Playing songs of all their releases, this will be the heaviest, hardest and most passionate tour the boys have rocked. See you in the pit.
Hand Of Mercy Tour Dates
Thurs 17 Sep – Fowlers Live (Adelaide)Fri 18 & Sat 19 Sep – Evelyn Hotel (Melbourne)
Sun 20 Sep – Magpies (Canberra)
Wed 23 Sep – Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)
Thurs 24 & Fri 25 Sep – Bald Faced Stag (Sydney)
Sat 26 Sep – The Brightside (Brisbane)
Sun 27 Sep – The Lab (Brisbane)
Sat 3 Oct – Amplifier Bar (Perth)
Sun 4 Oct – YMCA HQ (Perth)
