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THE MEZMERIST
The Innocent, The Forsaken, The Guilty (Reissue)

Shadow Kingdom (2013)
Rating: 8/10

If you’re looking for a cult band then look no further than The Mezmerist, a one-man band from Los Angeles, California with quite a history.

We have to cast our minds back to the early 80s to witness the inception of this artist, the brainchild of Thomas Mezmercardo, who likes to call himself The Mezmerist – a magician of doom who has clearly spent his life adorned in a black cloak, armed with a guitar, and inhaled too many lethal potions of Black Sabbath, Cirith Ungol and all manner of 70s occult-influenced rock.

The result is an intriguing and often spooky slab of ritualistic heavy metal that the likes of Ghost have been trying to imitate for a few years now. However, The Mezmerist is a far darker and more sincere art form, the sort of cosmic nightmare that reeks of the obscure and never sounds as if it was recorded at any time other than in the early 80s.

Any music fan who calls themselves a lover of occult rock should lap the blood from this platter, because this is the perfect cocktail of Blue Öyster Cult, Mercyful Fate, Led Zeppelin and Hawkwind. It’s no wonder that legendary Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward appeared on this EP, which was first released back in 1983!

First time round this peculiar composition boasted four tracks, but aeons later it has resurfaced with an extra three tracks from 1985, which were to form the previously unreleased Beg For Forgiveness, Pray For Your Life EP. In addition, there is also a DVD portion featuring a new interview with Thomas Mezmercado. Overall it’s a must-have for anyone who likes stodgy, occult rock. If anything, this creepy little record is ideal background music, such is its oddness.

‘Dead Ones Cry No More’ combines the moody blues of Led Zeppelin with the darker aspects of Coven, The Mezmerist wailing accordingly, akin to some maniacal wizard perched upon his lofty tower as the bats circle around him. ‘Arabian Nights’ follows suit, kicking in with a solid drum attack and Eastern-influenced guitar. Despite the vocals being off-key in their strain, it has all the creaky weirdness of a Mercyful Fate opus.

It’s very much stuffy metal throughout. Some strange unseen presences clearly make this a more spooky experience, but one can’t help bang the head to ‘Victim Of Environmental Change’ – a straight up rocker, as is the glorious ‘Kingdom Of The Dead’ – the sort of rainy anthem that should have attracted more fans back in the day.

This whole affair is shrouded in a fog of mystery. As the clandestine one weaves his magic through ‘No Family, No Friends’, I’m somehow reminded of the gothic realism of those early Witchfinder General records, such is the primitive nature of this rock ’n’ roll release.

I know I must fault it somehow and somewhere, but like some lost, ancient scripture it rolls out before us with a soundtrack of plodding guitars and dragon-slaying drums. Even before it reaches the climatic nine-minute instrumental chaos of ‘The Jam Song’, we are simply left with a puff of smoke as The Mezmerist disappears into the night, leaving us with a true heavy metal gem.

Neil Arnold

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