UMUR "Building Rome" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Mercury Rising. The album was released through Noise Records in 1998. It´s been 4 years since the release of the debut album "Upon Deaf Ears (1994)" and there have been a couple of lineup changes as guitarists Gary Goldsmith and Hal Dolliver have been replaced by Mike Evans and Judd Rizzo.

The music style has also changed a bit since the debut album. "Upon Deaf Ears (1994)" featured a sound that was a combination of guitar/vocal driven progressive metal and US power/thrash metal but "Building Rome" is more strictly a progressive metal album. The music is still guitar/vocal driven with very limited use of keyboards. There are lots of distorted guitar sections layered with clean guitars on the album and that element is very similar to the way Fates Warning arranged their songs in the early nineties. The harder edged riffing on the album remind me of early Dream Theater at their heaviest.

So "Building Rome" is a "classic" progressive metal album in almost every respect. Unfortunately the band neglect to write memorable tunes and especially the vocal lines come off as unremarkable. The fact that the sound production lacks a bit of bite isn´t exactly a contributing factor to a positive listening experience either. But it is first and foremost the songwriting that´s the issue. While that may all sound very negative, "Building Rome" isn´t a horrible release by any means. In fact it´s rather enjoyable while it´s playing and as the musicianship is generally on a high level, there are still some quality factors that save the album.

Compared to the debut album I´m definitely disappointed though. I guess I miss the more imediate heavy metal/US power metal element that was a big part of the sound on the debut. The focus on progressive ideas and playing have not worked in the band´s favour. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Upon Deaf Ears" is the debut full-length studio album by US progressive/power metal act Mercury Rising. The album was originally released through Dominion Records in 1994, but it´s probably the 1997 Noise Records re-release that´s most readily available.

The band play a guitar/vocal driven progressive/US power metal with only limited use of keyboards. Acts like early Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, Lethal and Heir Apparent are valid references but Mercury Rising often cross into harder edged power/thrash territory too and I´m reminded of acts like Sanctuary and Mystic Force when that happens. The latter style is best heard in the powerful power thrashy track "Halfway to Forever" while the more progressive side of the band´s music is heard in tracks like the opener "Upon Deaf Ears", "Light to Grow" and especially in closing 9:15 minutes long "Where Fear Ends".

The band are very well playing but if I have to mention a slight issue it would be that lead vocalist Clarence Osborne occasionally lacks a bit of power. It´s actually a bit odd because other times he sounds great. The sometimes unremarkable vocal lines/melodies probably also have something to do with this and the vocal production could be another issue. Most of the time the vocals sound great though. As touched upon the sound production features a couple of minor issues but all in all the sound suits the music well and overall I appreciate the production.

I´m not sure how much success "Upon Deaf Ears" earned Mercury Rising, but my guess is not much. Had it been released just 5 years earlier things would have looked different for the band. In 1994 most progressive metal acts had included a keyboard player in the lineup as that was the big thing at that time and compared to that, Mercury Rising sound a bit old fashioned. Personally they play exactly the type of progressive metal that I enjoy the most so I´m thrilled there are few keyboards on the album and overall "Upon Deaf Ears" is a quality release. A 3.5 - 4 start (75%) rating is deserved.