The Flat Black Chronicles Fall River MA

The Flat Black Chronicles

Mercy Rule

Caulfield Records, 1999

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/16/1999

Imagine this: You're a member of a very talented trio. You'vebeen toiling at your craft for well over a decade. During thattime, you've produced a respectable name for yourself, playing inbars, small clubs and charity events. And after years of playing inthese confined, sweaty places and breaking more guitar and bassstrings than you can remember, you're rewarded with a recordcontract.

And after being signed to that record contract, you even manageto land in the "Hot Upcoming Bands" section of Rolling Stone in their year-end issue. Things only getbetter. You snag a power producer who has made at least one collegeradio classic. Then, all of a sudden, you hit the ceiling.

The record label decides that rock is no longer as profitable assome other music genres and decides to drop nearly all of the bandson their label, including yours. You begin to endure the flags ofred tape as you and your bandmates get passed along to othercompanies like a beer bong at a frat party. And to rub dust in youreyes, you wind up having to buy back the record you made with that producer and put it outindependently - all the while, remaining optimistic that your alltoo brief brush with the big leagues won't be your last.

This saga is poured out on Mercy Rule's latest album The Flat Black Chronicles, an album that almost never madeit to fans' ears. Though not a concept album, the album itself hasa general theme of what it means to be a band struggling to breakout. And in a weaker sense, the theme also involves the perspectiveof a music fan.