I first came across The Mercy House when they supported former Tigertailz frontman Steevi Jaimz in Camden last year and I can remember before the show a mate describing who they sounded like and me being me automatically thinking that I wasn't gonna like them...but boy was I wrong! As soon as they hit the stage you could see there was something really special about these guys........ so who exactly are The Mercy House?

Hailing from London the guys have been together for just over a year now and already in that short time they have taken the UK rock scene to another level, from having their tracks appear on both Classic Rock and Metal Hammer cover-mounted CDs to winning the latter magazine's Unsigned Band competition to open for Biohazard and also having a track featured on the Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock game. Their three track self titled EP was released last year and has gone down a storm with fans and music critics all over the UK, even getting the thumbs up from the legendary Iron Maiden frontman (and radio host) Bruce Dickinson. If you think Alice In Chains mixed with Queensryche with more attitude thrown in then you're somewhere close to what these guys sound like, and whoever said British rock was dead ain't ever heard this band. The three tracks featured on that aforementioned EP - 'Greed', 'Lead The Way' and 'Inversions' - fuse a definite street rock sound to a more classic metal template. While the Queensryche comparison is solely down to frontman Drew's voice, there is also a whiff of classic GN'R to the whole affair and, on opening cut 'Greed', a nod to Stephen Pearcy and Ratt. Wrap all this around the metallic grunge AIC stylings and there is certainly a band that need to be checked out...for curiosity value alone. So, with that in mind, I recently had the chance to speak to singer Drew...............

For all those reading this tell me, who are The Mercy House?

Drew - throat, Dan - lead guitars, Dany - guitars, WR - bass, Nick - drums

And how did you guys get together?

We all knew of each other through other friends and acquaintances and all had the desire to make rock music with a darker edge.

Describe your sound to all those who haven't heard of you yet.....

Dark, heavy and brooding with a lot of ferocity to it.

Who would you say are your major influences?

Well our rhythm factory comes from a jazzy/hip hop background, think Cypress Hill but with a heavy element present in bands like Life Of Agony. Dany and Dan are influenced by bands such as Alice In Chains, Korn, Rage Against The Machine, Slipknot... I guess these run into the vocal influences too along with stuff like Soundgarden and 'Mindcrime'-era Queensryche.

You released an EP last year - how's that gone down with critics and fans?

We have been very lucky, it seems most people have received it well. We've had lots of support from Kerrang, Metal Hammer and Classic Rock. We've also had lots of support online and our fanbase has continued to grow steadily too, they are the guys and girls we really care about. With critics it's so often about personalities, unfortunately it seems objectivity can get lost in the mix sometimes, but even on that front we've been very fortunate so far.

How are the all song writing duties split?

We all have roles in the songwriting process. Normally someone brings in an idea, we fight for five hours and then - bang! - there's a song sitting there! Everyone would have to take credit for it as all our stuff we feel has come out sounding a bit 'different' and with its own identity.

I hear you're currently in the process of recording your first album - tell me how all that's going.....

Yeah, things are coming along nicely. We actually record, produce and mix all our own music so it takes us a lot longer than the standard 2-4 weeks in a studio a label will grant you these days. But it means we keep all our own work and we dictate how it comes out sounding. I think we can say it's going well and it will definitely surprise a few people.

Any ideas when we can expect it to be released?

That would be a risky estimation, hopefully by the summer.

Do you have any plans to tour this year?

There are many plans in the works at the moment, touring is definitely a part of that.

You've been together for just over a year - tell me the highlights so far.....

Winning Metal Hammer's contest to support Biohazard was amazing. Our recent victory in getting 'Greed' onto the Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock game is another highlight, alongside getting confirmed to play Hammerfest 3.

Have you had any interest from labels yet?

There has been interest, but really we wanted as little interference from a label as possible whilst working on our first album. We're quite protective of the creative process and how we want to do things. Once the album is done I guess we'll worry about labels...........

www.myspace.com/themercyhouse

www.themercyhouse.net