Album Spotlight: III by Mother Of Mercy

By Ryan Germ
 Today we’re delving into one of my favorite PAHC records. So much so that everyday in art class I blast this on my headphones whenever my Chromebook isn’t dead. It’s punk, it’s thrashy, it has vocals that make me ask “how the fuck did Bob do that”, the mosh parts hit like crack, the drumming is super tight, and the riffs? Chefs kiss. Yes everyone, we at Shadowtalkers are FINALLY spotlighting III by Mother Of Mercy. So while I’m waiting for my cheesesteak to get to my place (shoutout Donkey’s) let’s listen to and gush about this record.

The opener, Divide, starts out with feedback before just exploding into the verse. The drumming is at a breakneck pace that I can barely replicate. I will admit the lyrics are kind of basic (“I see the divide/grow everyday/in front of my eyes/slipping away”) but it’s perfect for singing along at shows and the delivery makes it sound fresh and full of passion, this was tailor made to mosh to. After the first verse it goes into a side to side part with Bob screaming “hung out/broken down” before going right back to that verse. It goes into the side to side again before slowing down, not in a breakdown way more so a bridge-y type of way. A slow kind of long buildup on the toms over a palm muted guitar ensues after the slow down. The mosh part’s riff comes in over that with the crash being hit on each driving note whilst slowly speeding up for the most perfect build. The track goes into the big moshy two step part that is perfect with how hard it hits. Bob does the first lines of the track again and that ends it.

Back To The Agony follows that up with a straight thrash riff that hooked me when I first heard it. There’s a buildup on the hi hats before it throws you into the verse, after the verse the chorus-y esque bit on the ride bell leads in the next verse. But the groove on the ride bell through that chorus-y bit is unreal. Anyways, it goes a very short 2nd verse before going into that super groovy chorus again which transitions perfectly into another big bridge-y moshy bit that slows the track down. It then goes into this super moshy two step bit with Bob just screaming “I’m going back/to the agony” to end the track. Which is perfect timing as my cheesesteak just got here.

We pick up with the track Black Skies which begins with a riff that slows down the pace of the record before going into a fast part. After the first verse it goes back to the intro riff. It then goes back to the fast part for the verse, then it goes into this groovy part to end the record.

Cold Sun picks the pace up with another fast riff to start the track. It goes into the verse where Bob comes in super aggressive. After the verse it goes to a 2 step part before going back to the verse. After the second verse it goes into the 2 step part again. It then slows down similar to Back To The Agony. Then it goes to the breakdown to end the track.

The next track is an interlude, there’s not much to write about at all. It starts with piano and ends with heavy rain, I don’t know what more you want me to say.

However Bob called this next track the Philadelphia Mosh Anthem during a show in 2014 and it delivers. It’s Inside and Out. It starts off with a super fast thrashy riff before a hit on the crash and a bell sample begin the build up. After a snare roll the track stops for a fraction of a second before coming back with a nasty mosh part that I would throw down to. It speeds up significantly for the verse. Then it goes back to a small breakdown to lead into the second verse. Verse 2 is more of the same as the first but it continues through the mosh part which is the same mosh part the broke up the verses. It goes into a 2 step part which I love because Bob says “picking up the scraps but there's nothing left for me” and when he says picking up it goes into the 2 step part thus doubling as a mosh callout. It’s one of my favorite strokes of songwriting on the record because it doesn’t feel forced like other “picking up/pick it up” lines. Anyways the 2 step part ends the track.

The next song is titled No One and it starts off with a full and a gritty two step part. It slows down to a stop and start riff with each stop in the drums and main riff being replaced with a killer lead. It then goes into a heavier 2 step part over a nasty riff. It then goes back to the slow stop and start part. After that it goes to the lead in for the main mosh part and a fill on the toms signals that mosh part to come in full swing. It then goes into a kinda jagged rhythm if that makes sense to end the track.

Slip starts with feedback and then goes to a side to side part on the toms before a 2 step part kicks in for the first verse. It then slows down to this very nice moshy riff. It goes back to the 2 step verse and then goes back to the slow moshy riff. The drums make the slow moshy riff turn into a 2 step part before slowing back down again which I really enjoyed. It then ends with one of the heavier breakdowns on the record.

Ghost is next and it starts off super super fast. The drums switch between the hats, the ride, the toms, the crash, the whole kit really in about 20 seconds. The track then stops before bass leads in a super stompy mosh part which then transforms to a fast as fuck 2 step part to end the track.

The final and longest track, Suffer, is next. It kicks off with a slow intro with a very lead heavy riff before going to verse 1. It has this kinda slow 2 step type of rhythm. The intricacies in the drums, such as them following the riff and starting and stopping with said riff is something I love as someone who’s first love and first instrument they didn’t suck at was drums. Anyways it goes back to that main intro riff for the chorus which has that same 2 step type of rhythm, but it’s not fast enough to be super moshy (minor foreshadowing). Anyways we go into the 2nd verse, not too different from the first besides Bob’s vocal delivery changing slightly to be just marginally more ferocious. Then it goes to this build up with Bob screaming “Suffer beneath” before everything cuts out for the final words spoken on this record. Bob does his most unhinged yell on the whole record of “suffer the agony” and it’s followed by a snare hit and an absolutely perfect 2 step part to end the record. Holy. Fucking. Shit. A perfect end to an almost perfect record. Thats all I can say. Even after listening to this record so many times it still blows me away. Wow. Just wow.