The Mercy Now

The Mercy Now are simply a great Rock & Roll band. Tight and explosive performers they combine the Funk/Soul of James Brown, the aggression of the Dead Kennedys and a dash of Deep Purple’s Prog Rock tendencies. They’re at there best when the Prog leanings are held on a choke chain, but even when they break lose, it’s ok because the other elements already have your ass in their jaws.

– Jeff Vasey (Twitter @JeffVasey1)
- Spill Magazine

THE MERCY NOW – THE SILVER DOLLAR

The Mercy Now waste little time delivering their unabashed brand of rock and roll. This four-piece burned through a set of edgy, soul-powered garage-rock rekindling the flame of Motor City garage-punk combined with revved-up Philly soul anchored by riff-driven energy, drumming overdrive, fronted by the bass-heavy thump and raspy vocals of Russ Fernandes. Hard-hitting, sexy and infectious, The Mercy Now definitely have their mojo workin’ with scorching results. - Lonely Vagabond

By Benjamin Boles - NOW Magazine

By Bryan Banks - Music Vice

The Mercy Now shows specialize in exorcising the monotony and the compromise by summoning the soul and the moment. To best describe their sound I’d say take The King, James Brown and The Stones, and lock them in a room full of illicit substances, Lawd have Mercy” – Greg Harris, toohightogetitright.com - Greg Harris, toohightogetitright.com

The Mercy Now shows specialize in exorcising the monotony and the compromise by summoning the soul and the moment. To best describe their sound I’d say take The King, James Brown and The Stones, and lock them in a room full of illicit substances, Lawd have Mercy” – Greg Harris, toohightogetitright.com - Greg Harris, toohightogetitright.com

The Mercy Now were first up [a band that we almost saw back at NXNE, until a power outage cut their set short after one song.] From the look of them I was expecting a very heavy sound, but they were more hard rock than heavy metal. And definitely a lot harder than they sounded on their MySpace where they describe themselves as a rock/soul/garage band. The music was sometimes thrashy, but it was catchy. The musicians weren’t playing over-complicated stuff, there wasn’t any jazz drumming lying in wait or anything, but it was a fun mix of a bunch of different elements that kept me guessing. The first few songs had a bit of a 90’s California feel- equal parts thrash, surf, and pop. But just when I had my finger on it, they throw out a soulful hand-clapper with Robert Plant falsetto vocals so sexy that all the girls in the front row go home with wet panties. The band may not have had the shredding power of C’Mon, but the variety in sound and lead singer/bassist Russell Fernandes’ mad vocal chops make this my favourite band of the night. - Music Vice by Natascha Malta

The Mercy Now were first up [a band that we almost saw back at NXNE, until a power outage cut their set short after one song.] From the look of them I was expecting a very heavy sound, but they were more hard rock than heavy metal. And definitely a lot harder than they sounded on their MySpace where they describe themselves as a rock/soul/garage band. The music was sometimes thrashy, but it was catchy. The musicians weren’t playing over-complicated stuff, there wasn’t any jazz drumming lying in wait or anything, but it was a fun mix of a bunch of different elements that kept me guessing. The first few songs had a bit of a 90’s California feel- equal parts thrash, surf, and pop. But just when I had my finger on it, they throw out a soulful hand-clapper with Robert Plant falsetto vocals so sexy that all the girls in the front row go home with wet panties. The band may not have had the shredding power of C’Mon, but the variety in sound and lead singer/bassist Russell Fernandes’ mad vocal chops make this my favourite band of the night. - Music Vice by Natascha Malta

“brash, attitude-driven garage-blues energy filtered through glam swagger weaving through a car crash of dirty riffs, soaring vocals, and the joyous attitude-driven sprit of the past that still rings true today. A blazing, upper register sound where you can sense both the fun and danger.” – Lonely Vagabond, Exclaim.ca - Lonely Vagabound, exclaim.ca

“brash, attitude-driven garage-blues energy filtered through glam swagger weaving through a car crash of dirty riffs, soaring vocals, and the joyous attitude-driven sprit of the past that still rings true today. A blazing, upper register sound where you can sense both the fun and danger.” – Lonely Vagabond, Exclaim.ca - Lonely Vagabound, exclaim.ca

We knew it was just a matter of time before the spiritual children of Ian Blurton started making albums. And looky, this crew of grit rockers even went the extra mile in getting the Most Serene Blurton himself to produce their debut biscuit and he brings it clean and loud.

Still and all, many times we’ve been fooled again by kickass live acts that can’t cut it in the studio.

Well rejoice, this isn’t one of those. This is the other thing, a band that has honed its act on the hard rock circuit and with the help of The Great Loud One, jammed the juice onto the plastic.

The band say their sound’s a virile mix of classic hard rock, soul and garage rock, and it can all show up in the same song. That sense of impending head-on musical collisions is what keeps The Mercy Now from being just another bar band mining classic rock.

The soul’s mostly from belter Russ Fernandes, former Shikasta shouter; he’s rougher than that but owing a debut to Jagger; the blues rock courtesy of dual guitarists David Viva and Adam Burnett.

The playing’s tight and there’s passion aplenty but what elevates many a tune here are the vocals. Fernandes can go from throat shredding to a Plant-y falsetto without any apparent damage, then switch to a SoCal punk croon on the very next tune. Elsewhere on the album, when Fernandez isn’t being theatrical, he’s being anthemic, as on the first single “Hard Times’.

Recorded directly to analog tape using a ton of vintage gear and mostly live off the floor, the total sound comes over all old-school with that cops-at-the door urgency but you can tell it’s not from back in the day.

About now, it’s customary to say you’ll be hearing a lot from this band in the future. Know what? Frag the future. Hear them now.

Or as my bud Collie W, put it, 'This is righteous shit indeed'.

What’s here is slyly summed up on “Lean On The Music” No tricks, all solid licks and makes total sense it’s out on vinyl. We hear tell there’s a red version out there. Gotta get me one of those. - Cashbox Magazine Canada by James Lizzard

We knew it was just a matter of time before the spiritual children of Ian Blurton started making albums. And looky, this crew of grit rockers even went the extra mile in getting the Most Serene Blurton himself to produce their debut biscuit and he brings it clean and loud.

Still and all, many times we’ve been fooled again by kickass live acts that can’t cut it in the studio.

Well rejoice, this isn’t one of those. This is the other thing, a band that has honed its act on the hard rock circuit and with the help of The Great Loud One, jammed the juice onto the plastic.

The band say their sound’s a virile mix of classic hard rock, soul and garage rock, and it can all show up in the same song. That sense of impending head-on musical collisions is what keeps The Mercy Now from being just another bar band mining classic rock.

The soul’s mostly from belter Russ Fernandes, former Shikasta shouter; he’s rougher than that but owing a debut to Jagger; the blues rock courtesy of dual guitarists David Viva and Adam Burnett.

The playing’s tight and there’s passion aplenty but what elevates many a tune here are the vocals. Fernandes can go from throat shredding to a Plant-y falsetto without any apparent damage, then switch to a SoCal punk croon on the very next tune. Elsewhere on the album, when Fernandez isn’t being theatrical, he’s being anthemic, as on the first single “Hard Times’.

Recorded directly to analog tape using a ton of vintage gear and mostly live off the floor, the total sound comes over all old-school with that cops-at-the door urgency but you can tell it’s not from back in the day.

About now, it’s customary to say you’ll be hearing a lot from this band in the future. Know what? Frag the future. Hear them now.

Or as my bud Collie W, put it, 'This is righteous shit indeed'.

What’s here is slyly summed up on “Lean On The Music” No tricks, all solid licks and makes total sense it’s out on vinyl. We hear tell there’s a red version out there. Gotta get me one of those. - Cashbox Magazine Canada by James Lizzard

Meet The Mercy Now, a Toronto-based rock band that, after two EPs under their belt, decided to release a massive 13-track album (available in vinyl and digital formats October 26th). Their sound mixes rock and soul, but also brings in garage, surf, and even a little blues. Self Control was produced and mixed by Ian Blurton (C’Mon) and was mostly recorded live off the floor. There is a raw sound to the album, but it is clear that these fellas worked hard to create an album that rocks hard but still touches upon their pop sensibilities.

The absolute stand-out aspect of The Mercy Now lies with their vocals, courtesy of Russell Fernandes (vocals, bass), with harmonies from Lee Rogers (drums, vocals) and Adam Burnett (guitar, vocals). Every time I thought figured out their vocals, Fernandes seemed perform vocal gymnastics to completely catch me off guard. Throughout the album, the passion in his voice is evident and I expect this to translate especially well live. Along with David Viva (guitar, keys), these guys have put together with variety, as there are songs to groove to, as well as tunes that are just completely balls out rock and roll. There are heavy, arena-sized riffs, catchy yet hard-hitting drumbeats, and vocals that will leave you completely stunned. What more can you ask for in a rock album?

Check out The Mercy Now at their Self Control release show at The Silver Dollar Room this Friday, October 22nd. I expect it to be a loud, boisterous and rockin’ show. Check them out, along with Biblical and Mad Ones. Buy them shots while you’re there! - Buying Shots For Bands

Anticipation runs high for this first outing by vocalist/bassist Russell Fernandes since the demise of his soul-slathered rock outfit Shikasta, but thankfully he rises above all expectations on this stunner. Fernandes brings all of his Wilson Pickett rasp and wail but also reaches for the top shelf with some serious Prince-style falsetto crooning. Fernandez’s band are hardly slouches either, keeping the groove relentless and inventive, but also delivering some seriously catchy numbers that are, dare I say, almost poppy. If there is a better current rock band in Canada, I’ve yet to hear them. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Mercy” (Johnson Cummins) With Biblical, the Dry Heaves at Casa del Popolo, Sat., Dec. 4, 9 p.m. - Montreal Mirror by Johnson Cummins

Anticipation runs high for this first outing by vocalist/bassist Russell Fernandes since the demise of his soul-slathered rock outfit Shikasta, but thankfully he rises above all expectations on this stunner. Fernandes brings all of his Wilson Pickett rasp and wail but also reaches for the top shelf with some serious Prince-style falsetto crooning. Fernandez’s band are hardly slouches either, keeping the groove relentless and inventive, but also delivering some seriously catchy numbers that are, dare I say, almost poppy. If there is a better current rock band in Canada, I’ve yet to hear them. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “Mercy” (Johnson Cummins) With Biblical, the Dry Heaves at Casa del Popolo, Sat., Dec. 4, 9 p.m. - Montreal Mirror by Johnson Cummins

When you find yourself involuntarily banging your head 10 seconds into an album and the hard-rock fever doesn’t break until the end, that’s a very good sign. The Mercy Now describe their sound as a combination of garage rock and soul, which isn’t inaccurate but downplays the fist-pumping classic hard-rock influences that dominate the disc.

And while plenty of Page and Plant influences abound, the local quartet’s rough-and-ready garage rock minimalism and classic-soul sex appeal set them apart from the average Led Zeppelin-worshipping bar band. Other moments evoke the MC5, Slade and Cheap Trick, if they’d come up through the punk scene. Can-rock icon Ian Blurton was at the controls for these sessions, and his no-frills, loud-as-fuck approach suits their vibe to a T.

An impressive debut from an act we’re sure to hear more about.

Top track: Hard Times

The Mercy Now release Self Control at the Silver Dollar Friday (October 22). - NOW Magazine by Benjamin Boles

Meet The Mercy Now, a Toronto-based rock band that, after two EPs under their belt, decided to release a massive 13-track album (available in vinyl and digital formats October 26th). Their sound mixes rock and soul, but also brings in garage, surf, and even a little blues. Self Control was produced and mixed by Ian Blurton (C’Mon) and was mostly recorded live off the floor. There is a raw sound to the album, but it is clear that these fellas worked hard to create an album that rocks hard but still touches upon their pop sensibilities.

The absolute stand-out aspect of The Mercy Now lies with their vocals, courtesy of Russell Fernandes (vocals, bass), with harmonies from Lee Rogers (drums, vocals) and Adam Burnett (guitar, vocals). Every time I thought figured out their vocals, Fernandes seemed perform vocal gymnastics to completely catch me off guard. Throughout the album, the passion in his voice is evident and I expect this to translate especially well live. Along with David Viva (guitar, keys), these guys have put together with variety, as there are songs to groove to, as well as tunes that are just completely balls out rock and roll. There are heavy, arena-sized riffs, catchy yet hard-hitting drumbeats, and vocals that will leave you completely stunned. What more can you ask for in a rock album?

Check out The Mercy Now at their Self Control release show at The Silver Dollar Room this Friday, October 22nd. I expect it to be a loud, boisterous and rockin’ show. Check them out, along with Biblical and Mad Ones. Buy them shots while you’re there!
- Buying shots for Bands

Meet The Mercy Now, a Toronto-based rock band that, after two EPs under their belt, decided to release a massive 13-track album (available in vinyl and digital formats October 26th). Their sound mixes rock and soul, but also brings in garage, surf, and even a little blues. Self Control was produced and mixed by Ian Blurton (C’Mon) and was mostly recorded live off the floor. There is a raw sound to the album, but it is clear that these fellas worked hard to create an album that rocks hard but still touches upon their pop sensibilities.

The absolute stand-out aspect of The Mercy Now lies with their vocals, courtesy of Russell Fernandes (vocals, bass), with harmonies from Lee Rogers (drums, vocals) and Adam Burnett (guitar, vocals). Every time I thought figured out their vocals, Fernandes seemed perform vocal gymnastics to completely catch me off guard. Throughout the album, the passion in his voice is evident and I expect this to translate especially well live. Along with David Viva (guitar, keys), these guys have put together with variety, as there are songs to groove to, as well as tunes that are just completely balls out rock and roll. There are heavy, arena-sized riffs, catchy yet hard-hitting drumbeats, and vocals that will leave you completely stunned. What more can you ask for in a rock album?

Check out The Mercy Now at their Self Control release show at The Silver Dollar Room this Friday, October 22nd. I expect it to be a loud, boisterous and rockin’ show. Check them out, along with Biblical and Mad Ones. Buy them shots while you’re there!
- Buying shots for Bands

Meet The Mercy Now, a Toronto-based rock band that, after two EPs under their belt, decided to release a massive 13-track album (available in vinyl and digital formats October 26th). Their sound mixes rock and soul, but also brings in garage, surf, and even a little blues. Self Control was produced and mixed by Ian Blurton (C’Mon) and was mostly recorded live off the floor. There is a raw sound to the album, but it is clear that these fellas worked hard to create an album that rocks hard but still touches upon their pop sensibilities.

The absolute stand-out aspect of The Mercy Now lies with their vocals, courtesy of Russell Fernandes (vocals, bass), with harmonies from Lee Rogers (drums, vocals) and Adam Burnett (guitar, vocals). Every time I thought figured out their vocals, Fernandes seemed perform vocal gymnastics to completely catch me off guard. Throughout the album, the passion in his voice is evident and I expect this to translate especially well live. Along with David Viva (guitar, keys), these guys have put together with variety, as there are songs to groove to, as well as tunes that are just completely balls out rock and roll. There are heavy, arena-sized riffs, catchy yet hard-hitting drumbeats, and vocals that will leave you completely stunned. What more can you ask for in a rock album?

Check out The Mercy Now at their Self Control release show at The Silver Dollar Room this Friday, October 22nd. I expect it to be a loud, boisterous and rockin’ show. Check them out, along with Biblical and Mad Ones. Buy them shots while you’re there!
- Buying shots for Bands

Meet The Mercy Now, a Toronto-based rock band that, after two EPs under their belt, decided to release a massive 13-track album (available in vinyl and digital formats October 26th). Their sound mixes rock and soul, but also brings in garage, surf, and even a little blues. Self Control was produced and mixed by Ian Blurton (C’Mon) and was mostly recorded live off the floor. There is a raw sound to the album, but it is clear that these fellas worked hard to create an album that rocks hard but still touches upon their pop sensibilities.

The absolute stand-out aspect of The Mercy Now lies with their vocals, courtesy of Russell Fernandes (vocals, bass), with harmonies from Lee Rogers (drums, vocals) and Adam Burnett (guitar, vocals). Every time I thought figured out their vocals, Fernandes seemed perform vocal gymnastics to completely catch me off guard. Throughout the album, the passion in his voice is evident and I expect this to translate especially well live. Along with David Viva (guitar, keys), these guys have put together with variety, as there are songs to groove to, as well as tunes that are just completely balls out rock and roll. There are heavy, arena-sized riffs, catchy yet hard-hitting drumbeats, and vocals that will leave you completely stunned. What more can you ask for in a rock album?

Check out The Mercy Now at their Self Control release show at The Silver Dollar Room this Friday, October 22nd. I expect it to be a loud, boisterous and rockin’ show. Check them out, along with Biblical and Mad Ones. Buy them shots while you’re there!
- Buying shots for Bands

We knew it was just a matter of time before the spiritual children of Ian Blurton started making albums. And looky, this crew of grit rockers even went the extra mile in getting the Most Serene Blurton himself to produce their debut biscuit and he brings it clean and loud.

Still and all, many times we’ve been fooled again by kickass live acts that can’t cut it in the studio.

Well rejoice, this isn’t one of those. This is the other thing, a band that has honed its act on the hard rock circuit and with the help of The Great Loud One, jammed the juice onto the plastic.

The band say their sound’s a virile mix of classic hard rock, soul and garage rock, and it can all show up in the same song. That sense of impending head-on musical collisions is what keeps The Mercy Now from being just another bar band mining classic rock.

The soul’s mostly from belter Russ Fernandes, former Shikasta shouter; he’s rougher than that but owing a debut to Jagger; the blues rock courtesy of dual guitarists David Viva and Adam Burnett.

The playing’s tight and there’s passion aplenty but what elevates many a tune here are the vocals. Fernandes can go from throat shredding to a Plant-y falsetto without any apparent damage, then switch to a SoCal punk croon on the very next tune. Elsewhere on the album, when Fernandez isn’t being theatrical, he’s being anthemic, as on the first single “Hard Times’.

Recorded directly to analog tape using a ton of vintage gear and mostly live off the floor, the total sound comes over all old-school with that cops-at-the door urgency but you can tell it’s not from back in the day.

About now, it’s customary to say you’ll be hearing a lot from this band in the future. Know what? Frag the future. Hear them now.

Or as my bud Collie W, put it, 'This is righteous shit indeed'.

What’s here is slyly summed up on “Lean On The Music” No tricks, all solid licks and makes total sense it’s out on vinyl. We hear tell there’s a red version out there. Gotta get me one of those
James Lizzard
- Cash box magazine

The Mercy Now
Self Control (independent)By Benjamin Boles
When you find yourself involuntarily banging your head 10 seconds into an album and the hard-rock fever doesn’t break until the end, that’s a very good sign. The Mercy Now describe their sound as a combination of garage rock and soul, which isn’t inaccurate but downplays the fist-pumping classic hard-rock influences that dominate the disc.


And while plenty of Page and Plant influences abound, the local quartet’s rough-and-ready garage rock minimalism and classic-soul sex appeal set them apart from the average Led Zeppelin-worshipping bar band. Other moments evoke the MC5, Slade and Cheap Trick, if they’d come up through the punk scene. Can-rock icon Ian Blurton was at the controls for these sessions, and his no-frills, loud-as-fuck approach suits their vibe to a T.

An impressive debut from an act we’re sure to hear more about.

Top track: Hard Times

- NOW MAGAZINE

THE MERCY NOW: I had never heard of these guys before, and I definitely was unprepared for The Mercy Now. When I saw the keyboard and the tambourine on stage, punk rock was the furthest thing from my mind. But they came out with all guns blazing, playing a fast-paced, balls-out number, their singer screaming "Mercy!" repeatedly. They slowed down the pace afterwards, with their frontman, who kinda looked like a dark-skinned Elvis, alternating between Elvis impersonator and Mick Jagger singing Emotional Rescue throughout the set. To best describe their sound, I'd say take The King, James Brown and The Stones, and lock them in a room full of illicit substances. Lawd have mercy!
- too high to get it right

The Mercy Now were first up [a band that we almost saw back at NXNE, until a power outage cut their set short after one song.] From the look of them I was expecting a very heavy sound, but they were more hard rock than heavy metal. And definitely a lot harder than they sounded on their MySpace where they describe themselves as a rock/soul/garage band. The music was sometimes thrashy, but it was catchy. The musicians weren’t playing over-complicated stuff, there wasn’t any jazz drumming lying in wait or anything, but it was a fun mix of a bunch of different elements that kept me guessing. The first few songs had a bit of a 90’s California feel- equal parts thrash, surf, and pop. But just when I had my finger on it, they throw out a soulful hand-clapper with Robert Plant falsetto vocals so sexy that all the girls in the front row go home with wet panties. The band may not have had the shredding power of C’Mon, but the variety in sound and lead singer/bassist Russell Fernandes’ mad vocal chops make this my favourite band of the night - Music Vice