Swollen Members

"Mercenary" (video)

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Feb 14, 2013

Last week, Vancouver rap unit Swollen Members previewed their impending Beautiful Death Machine with a studio-set video for "King of Diamonds." The group take themselves elsewhere on the next teaser track, "Mercenary."

Settling in on chill piano twinkles and a Rob the Viking-delivered boom bap, that track has Prevail cleave through bars about burying his enemies. Madchild, meanwhile, sounds off about being a bear-fighting gladiator, while also referencing his well-documented cleaned-up lifestyle with the line: "Now that I'm straight edge, I'm sharper than a straight edge." X'ed-up sticklers will no doubt gasp at the cigarette in the rapper's hand, while safety nuts may cringe that he's also sitting by a propane tank at the time.

In a statement to Exclaim!, Prevail said, "The new Swollen Members video for 'Mercenary' is one of my favourite pieces that we have shot. Rob and I have a few scenes in an abandoned European-style hotel [Vancouver's old Hotel Europe in Gastown], and it came out looking amazingly mysterious. In contrast, Madchild shot his scenes in a very clean artistic backdrop and the two elements lend to each other seamlessly."

As previously reported, Beautiful Death Machine drops March 19 through Battle Axe/Suburban Noize.

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