Can I go higher than five?| Posted July 24, 2007
Count my screen name as the sixth star for this album! Released in 1995 shortly before The Prayer Chain disbanded, Mercury is easily the band's masterpiece, epitomizing everything The Prayer Chain is (including the most misunderstood artists this side of Steve Taylor). From the opening of the deep echoing bass of Humb, which accompanies a short excerpt of Psalm 136, Mercury dares to be different. Musically impossible to pigeonhole, the slow bass sets the mood of the entire album, which artisticly blends tribal rhythms, eastern melodies, cavernous vocals, and careful use of distortion to create what can only be described as an epic journey. Lyrically, The Prayer Chain marries deep with subtle to complete this journey across the angst of Waterdogs and the searching of Creole, which lead into the beautifully introspective 9 minute pinnacle, Sky High, a song that in itself is a microcosm of the entire Mercury experience. From there, the title track takes a rhythmic, catchy look at apathy whcih sinks into remorse and temptation across the back half of the album before ending on the brilliant redemptive Sun Stoned. If you like alternative music, you will want to track this one down!