This album has all of the markings, good and bad, of a typical "post-Scrolls of the Megilloth" Mortification album. Steve Rowe's bass playing and various vocal styles are on par with other releases, giving the songs a familiar feel, and the music ranges from death metal to classic metal. Also present and accounted for are the occasionally awkward vocal deliveries or musical passages which have plagued this band since their second album. For the most part, the lyrics are still straight ahead, simple, and unpoetic. Steve Rowe seems to just say what he means to say and that's that. Not really much thought was given to the phrasing or how the words go with the music.
An unfortunate example of this weakness comes up in the song "Unified Truth." This is a slow-moving, lurching song with a very uncomfortable vocal delivery during the following lyric:
Black, Asians, Reds, Jews, Whites.
What is a "Red"? The song really bothers me.
Nonetheless, there are some really great moments musically and emotionally throughout this album. Following along with the lyrics to the title track (which are a narrative of Steve Rowe's fight with cancer) can add a lot to the experience of the song, with an especially moving moment near the end:
Warrior upon warrior around our distant globe
Kept the vigil fight of prayer of power that can't be stopped.
And as the folks cried out to God, He heard them and I live to stand for Him.
The music sounds very triumphant at this point. Truthfully, I got a bit choked up the first few times I listened to this song.
All in all, I would recommend this album to any Mortification fan who likes the last three albums (Envision EvAngeline, Primitive Rhythm Machine, Bloodworld). For those fans who have been disappointed since Scrolls of the Megilloth or even Post Momentary Affliction, this album will likely generate similar sentiments.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #72Reviewed by Chad OlsonWhat's been up with Mortification . . . no new studio album for 2 years? As if you have to ask! Most of you have read by now about Steve Rowe's immense struggle with Acute Lymphatic Leukemia. For that story you can read issue #71. Anyway, Triumph Of Mercy is full of the heavy stuff we can expect from the guys. Steve's voice doesn't sound quite as guttural as some of the past efforts, but he…The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by Josh SpencerSteve Rowe, under the Mortification moniker, has put out more Christian metal albums than anyone else. Fans held their breath and tossed up prayers over the past year or so as Rowe struggled for his life with leukemia, until he was apparently cured miraculously (even visited by an angel, as he sings on the imaginatively-titled "Visited By An Angel"). As soon as he could summon the strength to…Similar sounding releases
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1991Mortification
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