When, following the release of the excellent Of Human Bondage in early 2002, German Power Metallers Angel Dust seemed on the verge of breaking up due to conflicts within the band, vocalist Dirk Thurisch took it upon himself to use his time away from that band to pursue other musical avenues he had always wanted to explore. The final result is Mercury Tide and its debut release, Why?

So what does Why? sound like? You might consider it Angel Dust-lite, if you're so inclined. With former AD axeman Bernd Aufermann in tow as session lead guitarist, much of the album certainly has the vibe of that other group's rockier moments. Make no mistake however in thinking this is Angel Dust under a different moniker. It's definitely not power metal; it's hard rock, maybe even power rock at moments as Thurisch's voice can certainly get into the higher registers, but any significant trace of the leather clad, troll-killing, sword-in-hand "metaaaaaal" Angel Dust flirted with on occasion hasn't come along for the ride.

So, what has? The album description explains that Thurisch with "a strong affinity toward emotionally charged, personal experience-laden music rooted in rock, decided to pursue the need to realize his own, individual songwriting vision." His vision seems to attempt to exorcise some of his peskier demons as songs "Confusion," "Alone," and the title track would suggest. He's able to accomplish this task relatively well as most of the music is well-written, catchy fare and his voice is still sounding fantastic. The production is clean, none of the instruments are really pushing the rest out of the picture and I don't get the urge to puncture my ears with giant Q-Tips like that poor guy in Nightmare on Elm Street 6 had done. So, we're all good, right? Well…

Life is not all wine and roses in Thurisch-land. Why? too often feels unbalanced, like they wanted to get all of these different vibes and sounds crammed onto one album and didn't quite know how to do it. The first three tracks "Why?," "This Never Ending Dreaming" and "Lost and Torn" feel the most like Angel Dust while "Back to Reality (and really, was Thurisch on one hell of an Ozzy Osbourne bender when he recorded this song or what?)" seems ready to fully embrace the rock. "Another One" with obvious help from Thurisch's cousin, keyboardist Dennis Riehle, is by far one of the coolest, most infectiously catchy tunes on the album, but is laden with electronic pops and bleeps that appear nowhere else on the album and makes it stick out like a sore thumb.

Another complaint falls into the hands of one-half of Century Media's in-house production team, Siggi Bemm (The Gathering, Tiamat), the other half being the similarly sounding Waldemar Sorychta (Lacuna Coil, Flowing Tears). Seriously, it seems to be a requirement that new bands, or in this case new incarnations of bands on Century Media, must be produced by one of these two dudes. Are they bad producers? Not at all, but all of their work has a tendency to feel extremely safe, extremely user-friendly; indeed the perfect compliment to a new band trying diligently to grow their sea legs. Unfortunately, Bemm's production efforts also have a tendency to feel extremely similar, which might explain why this often sounds a lot like Angel Dust (he produced their last three albums).

In the end, after laying out my laundry list of gripes about Dirk Thurisch's Mercury Tide, I can still recommend its debut release, Why?, if with a few reservations. Despite the seemingly impossible ability to both feel unbalanced and the same all at once, it's still a pretty good listen. Songs like "Souls of the Ocean" will have you pulling your dusty, ill-kept air-guitar out for one more thrashing while "Lost and Torn" will make you appreciate Thurisch's new vision just a little more. One can only hope that, come time for Mercury Tide 2, the band will fully embrace its obvious potential and demand listeners to not ask why but rather, why not?

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Mercury Tide

Why?

Released: September 09, 2003
Origination Year: 2003
Time: 46:01
Tracks: 11
Produced by: Siggi Bemm
Style: Studio
Format: CD
Enhancement:N/A
Label: Century Media Records
Website:
www.mercury-tide.com

Why?
This Never Ending Dreaming
Lost and Torn
Souls of the Ocean
Back to Reality
Save This World
Set Me Free
Confusion
Another One
My Dear Enemies
Alone