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Mercy's Dirge, originally formed in 1991, are said to be one of the very first Romanian Black/Death Metal bands. They only recorded a couple of demos before disbanding in 1997, but now they're back with this, a compilation of re-recorded demo songs along with a new one called "Meherat" and a modified cover of Venom's "Countess Bathory", here called "Senseless Agony".

As the name suggests, all the songs were recorded live and likely in one take, and that's actually a point in the album's favor. This is raw, dirty, unadulterated Black/Death Metal where the instruments are conduits of sonic torment first and music makers second. Growler Catalin "Clepi" Dragos sounds like a deranged mutant beast descended from the likes of Chris Reifert and Killjoy, and he stands out among the distorted fury found on here. Overall, I had a smile on my face the whole time this was on, and if you like your metal primal and vicious, you will too.