Mercenary parts way with drummer, singer and keyboardist

 

(Danish Press statement below.)

Statement from the band:

"Well, well, changes that have been underway for a long time can sometimes come about in the blink of an eye. Last week, Mike told us that he wanted to leave the band permanently. The rest of us did some serious thinking and soul-searching, sat down and had ‘the big talk’ and came to the agreement that the only way to continue the band was to part ways with Mikkel and Morten as well. During the last year we have been working on a new album and it has become clear that we no longer share the same vision and enthusiasm about the direction and the future of the band. Martin, Rene, Mike and I wanted to play faster, heavier and more modern (yet old school) material, but for the band as a whole this evidently didn't work out.

We hope that our fans will understand and appreciate the fact that we actually tried for the better part of a year to make the situation work, despite our differences. In the past we managed to turn those very differences into our strength by complementing and inspiring each other. But during the last couple of years we all felt that we had to compromise ourselves in different ways, which of course frustrated us all - both when we played the old material and when we tried exploring a new and fresh sound. Martin and I actually came frighteningly close to disbanding the band less than a year ago, but luckily we came to the agreement that we owed ourselves and the fans to try a final time to make things work. We tried to overcome our frustrations by perfecting, evolving and invigorating our style together as a band. However, the natural joy and the ease with which we had cooperated in the past didn't return and for a long time we have felt further apart musically than ever before.

In many ways this is a painful choice. But it also allows us to close a chapter in the band's career and our shared lives, that we're all immensely proud off, in a dignified way that doesn't let ourselves or our fans down. Nobody would be better off if we released an album that we didn't all truly believe in and felt as fiercely passionate about as we have done about all of our past albums.

The sad but obvious truth is that the past will never return. Mercenary as you know it is now dead and buried. Rest assured, however, that René, Martin and I will continue Mercenary in the best way we possibly can and with a newfound sense of integrity and purpose. So far we have had an immensely fruitful songwriting process with lots of mutual inspiration, understanding, synergy – and most importantly – good, plain, old fashioned fun, which is what it all ought to be about. We feel that we’re finally all in agreement about the future direction of the band and that this will be the strongest and most united incarnation of Mercenary ever. In terms of creativity, motivation and the everyday-practical-getting-shit-done-aspects, the band remains fully intact. The new Mercenary will be back to shatter everybody's balls in 2010.

On behalf of all of the guys, we'd like to give our most humble and sincere thanks to all the fans, bands, press, promoters and others who have supported us throughout the years and made this one hell of a damn fine ride. As a final nod from the old incarnation of Mercenary to the fans, we've included a video from our tour with Arch Enemy, where Mikkel joined them on stage Italy for the track 'Burning Angel,' as this tour and this experience was in many ways the highlight of what we managed to achieve together.

Jakob / Mercenary"

As mentioned below, Mikkel is participating in a new project, Mike has joined a new band (to be revealed soon), and Morten is still a member of Pretty Maids, with whom he is currently working on a new album.

The following e-mails will remain functional for the purpose of any future interviews or concerns: mikkel [a t ] mercenary.dk, mike [a t ] mercenary.dk, morten [a t ] mercenary.dk.

To request interviews with the remaining band, please contact Century Media:
Gerrit.Mohr [a t ] CenturyMedia.de

To contact the band directly, please use this mail: info [ at ] mercenary.dk

 

 

Statement from Mikkel:

"Dear friends.

This is the letter I was sure 2 -3 years ago that I would never write. But the way things have evolved in regards to our musical differences makes it impossible for us to continue the Mercenary project together. What was once our biggest strength has become the thing that has finally torn us apart. I have been denying the obvious ever since we wrote the Architect of Lies album (which was quite a difficult process for the band) but with the relatively sudden departure of Mike Park last Thursday it became inevitable. We had to be honest towards each other and we have simply drifted too far apart musically. I love each of the guys dearly and that makes it so much harder. Needles to say I am destroyed and very, very sad that this part of my life with Mercenary has come to a close. The 9 years I have been in the band has not only been a dream come true but has also given me the chance to work closely with my brother and for that I am eternally grateful. I am very proud to have worked (and practically lived) with Martin, Jakob, Mike and Rene. The things and places we have seen, venues we played and people we met and partied with. I am so thankful for this and you will remain in my heart until the day I die. We have had so many great moments together - too many to single out really, but if I had to point out some great moments for me personally, it would have to be standing along side Angela Gossow and singing Burning Angel, standing on the stage with Megadeth and of course touring with Nevermore, Brainstorm, Arch Enemy, Death Angel, Megadeth, King Diamond, The Haunted and so on. I am so honored and so proud of every single song we have created and know deep within myself that I gave it 100%. I wish we could continue along the same style that "The hours That Remain" or "Architect of Lies" had, but Its not only up to me and besides I have always been a corny son of a bitch so it's probably for the best :-) I would spend a year of my life thanking each and every one of you for your support and for every kind word you ever spoke to me or about the band - I think that I heard, saw or read it all.
There are too many people to thank individually for supporting Mercenary through the years but you know who you are.

I am currently involved in a new project that will see the light of day within the next year I hope and one way or the other I know I will meet you all again. Remember to enjoy the hours that remain. You never know how many you have left.

Take care all and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Mikkel Sandager."

Statement from Morten:

"As a guy once wrote...”Mercenaries never die, they just go to hell to re-group”
I guess that's what is happening now.

This is a huge chapter in my life ending.
I still can't understand that it has ended yet.
I will dearly miss the tours, fans, shows, people around us, venues and promoters
that have all been a great part of why Mercenary was what it was.

Sometimes things don't always go as planned, and you just have to move in a different direction.
I will never stop playing music, so I will see you out there again, I'm sure.

Thanks to the Brothers of Slaughter; Jakob, Martin, Mike, Rene and Mikkel - for the greatest times in my life.
It's been a time I will never forget, never regret and always look at with a good feeling inside.

Thanks to you for supporting Mercenary!!!
DCLXVI – Morten"

 

Statement from Mike:

"Dear friends, fans and whatnot.

I’m a man of relatively few words, but to shed some light ... here we go:

When I saw the release of our (in my opinion) strongest album March last year I wouldn't have thought I would be sitting here writing this statement the following year. Well, things change and I've decided to leave the band for various reasons. First and foremost because I feel that in the last year or so we have all drifted in different directions musically. Another important factor is that I moved to Copenhagen in August this year which wasn't really a problem in itself. The problem is that I don't have the same contact with the band and I've started to see the band as six very different components instead of one unit.
It was a hard decision to make and I had to think it through for a month or so. I wanted to make the right decision and personally I'm pretty sure I went with what’s best for me. I am very happy and proud to have played with the other guys, for the albums that we've made together and for the band that we have build up. We have seen some amazing places, toured with some amazing bands and played some amazing festivals. These are experiences I would not have been without. I wish all the best for the guys and I'm looking forward to their next release.
I’ve already joined another band, which will be revealed in a few days or so, and I’m sure I’m going to see some of you crazy bastards on tour in the near future.

Soo ... Cheers and horns and all that ... Thanks for your support...

/Mike"

 

Dansk Pressemeddelelse:

 

Trommeslager, sanger og keyboardspiller forlader Mercenary

 

Udtalelse fra bandet:

Store forandringer kan ske på kort tid. I sidste uge meddelte Mike (Park, trommer) os, at han ville forlade Mercenary permanent. Det var en stor overraskelse og et hårdt slag, og det resterende band overvejede situationen nøje og tog 'den store snak.' Vi blev enige om, at eneste måde at fortsætte bandet på var ved også at skille veje med Mikkel (Sandager, vokal) og Morten (Sandager, keyboard). I løbet af det sidste år har vi arbejdet på et nyt album, og det blev tydeligt, at vi ikke længere delte visionerne og entusiasmen om bandets fremtid og udvikling. Martin (Buus, leadguitar), René (Pedersen, bas/vokal), Mike og jeg (Jakob Mølbjerg, guitar) ville spille materiale, der var hurtigere, tungere og mere moderne, men dette fungerede ikke for bandet som helhed.

Vi håber, at vores fans vil kunne forstå, at vi i løbet af det sidste års tid prøvede at løse situationen på trods af vores forskelligheder. Før i tiden var det lykkedes os at anvende vores forskelighed som en styrke ved i årevis at komplementere og inspirere hinanden. Men vi følte i stigende grad, at vi alle måtte gå på kompromis på forskellige måder, hvilket var en konstant frustration - både når vi spillede det ældre materiale og når vi prøvede at arbejde hen imod en ny og frisk lyd. Martin og jeg var af bl.a. disse grunde tæt på at opløse bandet for under et år siden, men vi blev heldigvis enige om, at vi skyldte bandet, vores fans og os selv at prøve en sidste gang at få tingene til at fungere. Vi prøvede derfor i fællesskab at udvikle og perfektionere bandets lyd. Desværre vendte den tidligere glæde og naturlige arbejdsfællesskab ikke tilbage, og vi har nu i længere tid følt os mere splittede musikalsk end nogensinde før.

Af mange indlysende grunde er dette et smertefuldt valg. Vi har haft et fantastisk fællesskab; skrevet musik vi alle var umådeligt stolte af, og turneret med fantastiske bands i Danmark såvel som i udlandet. Men det vigtigste hensyn må være, at denne beslutning lader os lukke et kapitel i bandets historie og vores fælles liv på en ordentlig måde, hvor vi hverken svigter os selv eller vores fans. Ingen ville være bedre tjent ved at vi udgav et album, som vi ikke alle troede fuldt ud på og brændte lige så lidenskabeligt for, som vi har gjort for alle vores tidligere udgivelser.

Den triste men selvfølgelige sandhed er, at fortiden aldrig vender tilbage. Det gamle Mercenary er et overstået kapitel. René, Martin og jeg fortsætter det nye Mercenary med nyvunden fælles vilje og tørst på at afprøve nye musikalske retninger. Indtil videre har vi haft en meget frugtbar sangskrivningsproces med masser af gensidig forståelse, inspiration og synergi. Processen med at skrive de 10-12 nye numre, vi nu har liggende, har givet os glæden og begejstringen tilbage ved at skrive musik sammen, hvilket er det vigtigste for os efter så mange år i bandet. Vi føler, at vi nu endeligt er enige om vores fremtidige retning, og at dette vil blive den stærkeste inkarnation af Mercenary nogensinde. Hvad angår kreativitet, motivation og de forretningsmæssige aspekter er bandet fuldt ud intakt. Det nye Mercenary vender tilbage som aldrig før i 2010.

For dem der gerne fremover vil følge de gamle medlemmer, har Mikkel det sidste års tid deltaget i et projekt, der vil se dagens lys næste år, Mike er kommet med i et nyt band (der bliver offentliggjort senere), og Morten er stadig medlem af Pretty Maids, som han for tiden er ved at skrive et nyt album med. Vi ønsker dem selvfølgelig det bedste fremover som musikere og som personer, vi har været fælles om noget helt unikt med.

På vegne af bandet vil jeg gerne rette en særlig tak til alle vores fantastiske danske fans; de bands, vi har spillet med; folk i pressen, der har støttet os, landets forskellige bookere og alle andre, som har støttet os gennem årene og derved været med til at gøre de sidste par år til den mest fantastiske tid i vores liv.

Horn.
Jakob & Mercenary"

Link-adresse til bandpic: http://www.mercenary.dk/images/IMG_5666.jpg

Link til statement fra bandet og de medlemmer, der forlader bandet: www.mercenary.dk/statement.php.

Det vil fremover stadig være muligt at anvende følgende e-mails i forbindelse med interviews eller andet: mikkel [a t ] mercenary.dk, mike [a t ] mercenary.dk, morten [a t ] mercenary.dk.

Det 'nye' Mercenary kan kontakes på info [ at ] mercenary.dk