Album
Mercenary
Mercenary is the sixth studio album by the British death metal band Bolt Thrower, released in November 1998 on Metal Blade Records. It was recorded at Chapel Studios in Lincoln between December 1997 and January 1998, with the band producing alongside Ewan Davis. It is the only Bolt Thrower record to feature Alex Thomas on drums.
It sits in the middle of the band's run, after …For Victory and ahead of Honour – Valour – Pride. The links to other records are worth knowing. "Powder Burns" carries on the story of "Embers" from The IVth Crusade and leads into "The Killchain" on Those Once Loyal. The cover painting, "Contact – Wait Out", gives its name to the opening track of the next album. For fans who like to follow a band's threads across albums, this one rewards a closer listen.
Mercenary: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 46:44Tracklist
- 1ZeroedThomson, Ward, Thrower5:46
- 2Laid to WasteThomson, Ward, Thrower4:40
- 3Return From ChaosThomson, Ward, Thrower5:04
- 4MercenaryThomson, Ward, Thrower5:55
- 5To the Last...Thomson, Ward, Thrower5:25
- 6Powder BurnsThomson, Ward, Thrower4:46
- 7Behind Enemy LinesThomson, Ward, Thrower5:18
- 8No Guts, No GloryThomson, Ward, Thrower4:08
- 9Sixth ChapterThomson, Ward, Thrower5:41
- Produced by
- Bolt Thrower, Ewan Davies, Ewan Davis
- Recorded at
- Chapel Studios (Lincoln, England)
- Recorded
- December 1997 – January 1998
- Mixed at
- Chapel Studios
- Engineered by
- Ewan Davies, James Anderson
- Labels
- Metal Blade Records, Metal Blade
- Length
- 46:44
Line-up
- Jo Bench · electric bass guitar
- Alex Thomas · drums (drum set)
- Barry Thomson · electric guitar
- Gavin Ward · electric guitar
- Karl Willetts · lead vocals
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) · 1998 | 87 |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
48.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
897
ListenBrainz listeners
18k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
2.7k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1998-11-10 vs 1998-11-21 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 21 November 1998 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 10 November 1998 | |
| Wikidata | 1998 | |
| US release | 1998 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1998 | earliest UK or European date |
9 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | GB | Metal Blade Records | 039841414721 | other |
| 1998 | US | Metal Blade Records | 039841414721 | other |
| 1998 | XE | Metal Blade Records | 039841414721 | other |
| 1998 | DE | Metal Blade Records | other | |
| September 1998 | DE | Metal Blade Records | 039841414721 | original |
| 21 November 1998 | JP | Victor | 4988002379361 | other |
| 12 April 2011 | XW | Metal Blade Records | 886443073517 | other |
| 22 January 2021 | XE | Metal Blade Records | 039841414738 | other |
| 19 May 2021 | JP | Daymare Recordings | 4988044064348 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1417x1417, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1417×1417 | upscaled: minor: best source 1417x1417, upscaled to 1500 (x1.06) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |