The Mercenary

How good is The Mercenary on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    35

gor

Ancient Mariner
as posted by killer666 on th imbb a long time ago:

1) Diablo Come again,To make trophies out of Men
Diablo is what that native girl in the movie referred to the Predator as. As a matter of fact I believe Diablo come again is a direct quote from the movie,and of course if you seen the movie you know Predator had a Trophy room on his ship.

2) Lose your skin ,Lose your Skull.One by one the sack is full The Predator skinned his victims and took thier skulls as a trophy and he killed them one by one.

3) Watch the jungle burning bright
The killings in the first movie takes place in the jungle.and at the end remember he blew himsef up and there was a huge bright light.
 
'the Mercenary'

I had the same kind of feedback some years ago when I posted the commentary of 'The Mercenary'. However, I have no references in interviews or anything that this was the intention of the band to write about Predator.

Bruce mentions somewhere that it's about bounty hunters, and that's all the info I have.

Re-read what I wrote [a href=\'http://www.maidenfans.com/imc/index.php?url=album12_bnw&lang=eng&link=albums#track5\' target=\'_blank\']on the commentary[/a]. [!--emo&:)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
'the Mercenary'

Now you can read other visitors' comments on 'The Mercenary' as well as post your own. Any contribution to the commentary will be much appreciated, may it be cultural references relevant to the song (links to related websites, interpretations that may have been overlooked in the Commentary, and the like) or personal essays related to the topic of the song. Just be aware that messages that are either off-topic or too wacky may be deleted.
 
'the Mercenary'

The letdown-track on the album, together with Fallen Angel. The saving grace of this song is the general mood of it. It fits perfectly into the album, it just isn't my style. Therefore I'll give it a fair rating:

3 1/2
 
'the Mercenary'

Agreed, it's a fairly average song, would be a standout track on No Prayer or Fear Of The Dark, but there are much better songs on BNW.
 
'the Mercenary'

With or without this song, Brave New world should be the same.

I'll prefer it without ! [!--emo&:D--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

I don't like this song. I find it laboured. And the chorus isn't very interesting.

But Adrian's solo is very good (so he did the same on 'New Frontier' [!--emo&:p--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] ) and save the song, so I give it a 2/5
 
Re: 'the Mercenary'

Also, this is one of the rare cases where the guitarist songwriter (Gers) doesn't play the solo.
 
Re: 'the Mercenary'

Zare said:
Also, this is one of the rare cases where the guitarist songwriter (Gers) doesn't play the solo.

interesting!

Jordan said:
I think it's an awesome track and very underrated.

I like a lot this song -and I don't consider it that underrated -at least there was in BNW setlist
 
Re: 'the Mercenary'

I've always thought the lyrics to this were Predator-influenced, although I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

This was the first Maiden song I ever heard, and as such it holds a special place in my heart. The music is really catchy; Adrian's solo and the following interlude are really the high points. I could actually see Janick giving up his solo in the song HE wrote just so H could get an extra solo (what is that, 4 solos for him on BNW total?!)

I like how Bruce changes the chorus' vocal melody up a bit in the Rock in Rio version - it makes the lines a bit less repetitive.
 
Re: 'the Mercenary'

I have to admit I like this song and am puzzled by those who critique it - it may be simple but it rocks !

Not sure I would argue the Predator connection is a coincidence - the line about "diablo come again..." comes straight from the movie - that's one hell of a coincidence isn't it? And that the movie is set in a jungle and that the predator collects trophie body parts - all in the movie and song...

Detective Beauregard said:
I've always thought the lyrics to this were Predator-influenced, although I'm sure it's just a coincidence.

This was the first Maiden song I ever heard, and as such it holds a special place in my heart. The music is really catchy; Adrian's solo and the following interlude are really the high points. I could actually see Janick giving up his solo in the song HE wrote just so H could get an extra solo (what is that, 4 solos for him on BNW total?!)

I like how Bruce changes the chorus' vocal melody up a bit in the Rock in Rio version - it makes the lines a bit less repetitive.
 
Re: 'the Mercenary'

Just finished watching Predator. I think the song isn't about the movie, but merely makes three pretty clear references to it (Diablo, trophies made out of men, the jungle burning bright) I think it's an ok song, but as far as less known tracks go, I think The Fallen Angel is better.
 
Re: 'the Mercenary'

I like this song aswell, 4/5 for me. Not one of the best of the album, but it doesn't let down BNW for me.
 
Daily Song: The Mercenary

Welcome to the Daily Vote Thread! Rules are here.

Remember, only a decent review will count towards the contest.

Today's song: The Mercenary

Yesterday's song remains open for voting! You can find it here.

This is a decent little rocker with a good pace. It was rather nice to hear live on RiR. It is obviously not a timeless classic, but I consider it to be in the same level as other "pretty good" rockers. I give it a 7/10.
 
Re: Daily Song: The Mercenary

This is one of the weaker songs. It is still pretty good though. The vocals are pretty good but there isn't much to the lyrics or the music. 8/10
 
Re: Daily Song: The Mercenary

I like this song in the context of the album - it really does work well there - but as a stand-alone song it's fairly weak. I like the chorus, and it is actually quite memorable, but all in all it's not a particularly outstanding piece of music. 6/10.
 
Back
Top