Silverchair they ain't. "Mortification" is a band with a significant meaning and a history. After building themselves a successful following in traditional thrash metal circles, while taking new strides in honing their sound, they've reached complete fruition on their current Metal Blade release. "Triumph of Mercy" catches one a little off guard the first time through. Preconceived notions of death-metal, or extreme black-metal, are squelched rather quickly, as surprisingly, "Mortification" leans less toward either of the two, and mixes driving grind-core with progressive thrash down a listening circuit that seems a bit of a struggle the first time through.

There is a positive message to "Triumph of Mercy," as the members are all of the born-again Christian philosophy - and with good reason, since founder bassist/vocalist Steve Rowe overcame great odds against cancer! Whereas many of those who've adopted an extreme point of view that's the polar opposite with this style of extreme music, and a message of evil and ill-will toward life's struggles, "Mortification" offers no such viewpoint, yet shows an aggressive intensity of comparable magnitude. While many of the songs won't mean much until you've read the the CD liner notes and can visualize the whole picture, they're all quite spiritual in nature. One in particular, that Rowe wrote during one of his bleaker moments, "Raw Is The Stonewood Temple," is a touching portrayal of how a faith in God could renovate and regenerate what was otherwise becoming a crumbling pile of rubble. Like a river flowing into its various tributaries, such is the music on "Triumph of Mercy." Establishing a formative core that makes something like "At War With War" simple and to the point, it isn't long before it branches out in several directions leaving us to wonder where it wandered off to - or if we are in fact listening to the same song. A number of instances can be picked out where this action takes its place in the form of varied time changes and musical digressions, giving the record its progressive groove, offsetting its otherwise extreme conditions. "A Triumph of Mercy" is triumphant in every way imaginable, and though it's a little advanced to the untrained ear, its glorious spiritual resolve should provide a glimmer of bright light through our usually dim view of life.